Parliamentary questions

Karen Gillon

705 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the decision to limit the provision of enhanced disclosure checks, in particular to the voluntary sector.

Answer · Shona Robison: Enhanced level disclosure checks can only be undertaken in line with current legislation. Entitlement to seek a check at this level depends on whether a particular position is (a) exempted from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and (b…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21599 by Keith Brown on 19 March 2009, what information is available on how many local authorities are delivering two hours PE per week to all pupils.

Answer · Keith Brown: It will take time for HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) to build an accurate picture of the position across all local authorities. However, through discussions with local authorities and schools we understand that all East Renfrewshire schools and Perth and…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the budget previously allocated to Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire for local regeneration was transferred to South Lanarkshire Council and how much that represented.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire had no budget specifically allocated for local regeneration activities. The Scottish Government and COSLA agreed the transfer of local regeneration functions from Scottish Enterprise to the local authorities, with effe…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how assets previously owned by Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire have been allocated between Scottish Enterprise and South Lanarkshire Council to support economic regeneration.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Government and COSLA agreed in July 2008 that it was important to review the assets held by local authorities and Scottish Enterprise which relate to the delivery of local regeneration. In line with that agreement, meetings have taken place…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will make available to South Lanarkshire Council to assist with the economic regeneration of Clydesdale.

Answer · John Swinney: South Lanarkshire Council will receive £1,245.2 million through its Local Government Finance Settlements over 2008-10. The council received £605.1 million in 2008-09 and will receive £640.1 million during 2009-10. This represents an increase of 5.8 per cent o…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the new cleaning staff announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing at the SNP conference on 17 April 2009 will be allocated to the State Hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The State Hospital has been allocated funding for two whole-time equivalent domestic staff.

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Lanarkshire has been allocated funding for 38 whole-time equivalent domestic staff.

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the criteria for applications to the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government announced on 30 April 2009 that the Town Centre Regeneration Fund was open for applications. Full details of this fund, including application form and guidance notes can be accessed from the Scottish Government website at: <a…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the resources available to local authorities to enable them to maintain the non-trunk road network to a standard comparable to that required for trunk roads.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: A joint review with COSLA is currently underway. It will be concluded in time to inform the allocation of funding to local government from 2011-12, following the next Spending Review. The Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding fo…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to what standards it expects its contractors, such as BEAR Scotland, to work in maintaining the trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The trunk road network is managed and maintained by operating companies who are contracted by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. They carry out day-to-day inspection, management, maintenance and repairs to the trunk road network as set o…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to local authorities on the standards it expects to be maintained on the non-trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Local authorities are expected to conform to specific guidelines contained in the Code of Practice for Maintenance Management “ Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance published by the Institute of Highways and Transportation in July 2005. <…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that additional resources are required by any local authorities to enable them to maintain adequately the non-trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding for local roads and transport through the core local government finance settlement and each council is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of local roads in their area. It is…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that South Lanarkshire Council requires additional resources to maintain adequately the non-trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Funding for local roads is provided through the core local government finance settlement and each council is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of local roads in their area. It is entirely for councils to allocate the total resources available ba…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the distance is of the non-trunk road network in miles, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is given in the Scottish Transport Statistics No 27 2008 Edition, which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47269). The specific information requested can be found on page 100, tab…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it provides per mile to local authorities to maintain the non-trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with record levels of funding amounting to £23 billion over the period 2008-10. The vast majority of the funding, including that to maintain the non-trunk road network, is being provided by mea…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the distance is of the trunk road network in miles.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The total length of the trunk road network is 2116 miles, of which 243 miles are motorway and 104 miles are motorway slips. Source: Scottish Transport Statistics No 27 2008 Edition.

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spends per mile on maintaining the trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: In 2008-09, £131 million was spent maintaining the trunk road network. This equates to approximately £64,000 per mile. This excludes the lengths of trunk road managed under the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contracts for sections of the M77 and A7…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the single outcome agreements with local authorities detail how they will maintain the non-trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We are currently in the process of agreeing single outcome agreements (SOAs) for 2009-10 with all 32 Community Planning Partnerships. We aim to complete this process by 1 June 2009. All finalised agreements will be available on the Improvement Service website…

22 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the minimum percentage of Grant Aided Expenditure that a local authority should spend on the non-trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not set spending guidelines for local authorities. The allocation of funding to particular functions is the responsibility of each individual local authority.

5 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the funding for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme has been allocated in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jim Mather: A grant totalling £1.023 million for the three years 2006-09 was awarded to Community Service Volunteers (CSV) for its Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme. No part of that grant was hypothecated to any specific area.

5 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the amount currently provided in annual funding for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme has been allocated to South Lanarkshire Council for 2009-10.

2 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it considers that the removal of services provided by the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme would have on the people of Clydesdale.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the question S3W-21531, answered on 10 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/…

2 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons it has decided to stop providing ring-fenced national funding for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme.

Answer · Jim Mather: A three-year fixed term grant of £1,023,000 was awarded on 15 March 2006 to Community Service Volunteers (CSV) to assist the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme which has now come to its expected and planned end.

2 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available to South Lanarkshire Council to support the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme after March 2009.

Answer · Jim Mather: It is for the local authority and community planning partnership to decide on how to address their local service delivery priorities. The services RSVP offers, supporting and co-ordinating volunteer efforts, may be of interest in such deliberations.

2 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make transitional funding available to the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme.

Answer · Jim Mather: We understand that the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme of CSV has been pursuing funding possibilities with a variety of sources as its current funding from the Scottish Government comes to its expected and planned close. The services which RSVP offers …

9 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish guidance on sustainable food procurement.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Guidance on sustainable food procurement is already in place. It is currently being updated and will be re-issued in the near future. It complements the next steps announced on 19 June for Scotland''s National Food and Drink Policy, towards ensuring an agile …

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at what level it considers tope stock would become at risk in the Solway Firth.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Generally the Scottish Government receives advice on the state of fish stocks from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and would consider stocks to be at risk when ICES advises so. ICES currently provides no advice on tope stocks.…

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it would make a Scottish statutory instrument to prohibit the catching of tope by commercial fishermen in the Solway Firth.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The introduction of an SSI is a significant step and one that could only be taken where we believe that a failure to act would represent a real and present danger to the tope stock. Moreover, the Scottish Government''s view is that it is better to pl…

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring tope stocks in the Solway Firth.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government receives advice on the state of fish stocks from a variety of sources including the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, Fisheries Research Services, landings data and real time information from the fishing industry a…

2 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to issue its determination on the Clyde windfarm application, given that the inquiry report was received more than one year ago.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Clyde wind farm was granted consent on the 21 July 2008. The consent and decision letter can be viewed on the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents website at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energy-…