Parliamentary questions
Linda Fabiani
2,507 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the First Minister’s apology on 1 December 2004 to those who, as children, suffered abuse and neglect in residential care homes, it will cease to use the defence of time bar in cases of compensation claims for historic institutional child abuse.
Answer · Johann Lamont: Prior to 1984 claimsfor damages for personal injury were subject to both the three year limitation periodand the 20 year long negative prescription. The effect of prescription is to extinguishtotally a potential claim so that it no longer exists, whereas limi…
25 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the First Minister’s apology on 1 December 2004 to those who, as children, suffered abuse and neglect in residential care homes, it will recommend to local authorities that they do not use the defence of time bar in cases of compensation claims for historic institutio…
Answer · Hugh Henry: It is a matter for local authoritiesto decide how to handle claims that are brought against them.</p>
25 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the First Minister’s apology on 1 December 2004 to those who, as children, suffered abuse and neglect in residential care homes, it welcomes Fife Council’s decision not to use the defence of time bar in cases of compensation claims for historic institutional child abu…
Answer · Hugh Henry: It is for each local authorityto decide how to respond to individual claims in the light of all relevant circumstancesof each particular case.</p>
22 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any owners of domestic properties used by military personnel are required to ensure that these properties meet the same quality standards as those set for any public sector landlords.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: We understand that servicefamilies accommodation in Scotland may be owned by the Ministry of Defence or may beprivately rented properties contractually provided to the Ministry. In neithercase would the Scottish Housing QualityStandard specifically applicable…
22 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the quality standard regulations it sets for public sector landlords in relation to domestic properties also apply to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in respect of the houses it provides in Scotland for members of the armed services and, if so, what discussions it has had with the M…
Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-31267 answered on 15 February 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility forwhich can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…
19 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25531 by Patricia Ferguson on 22 May 2006, who the members are of the informal Cross Party Group on Fair Trade; how often the group has met since 25 January 2005; how the Fair Trade agenda and the aspiration for Scotland to become a Fair Trade Nation…
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The members of the informalCross Party Group on Fair Trade ,to avoid confusion, now called the All PartyGroup on Fair Trade are:</p><p>Patricia Ferguson, Ministerfor Tourism, Culture and Sport (Chair)</p><p>Jamie Stone MSP, ScottishLiberal Democrats</p><p>Mur…
12 Jan 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many PPP contracts where land has been disposed of by local authorities that land has been transferred to the developer for disposal of surplus.
Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not routinelycollected. Local authorities, as public sector procuring bodies, are required todemonstrate that the PPP projects they are undertaking represent value for moneyas compared to a conventional procurement approach. They are also …
20 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to report to the Parliament on the structure and functioning of the protocol between it and the Home Office on asylum seeker children.
Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive has committed tokeeping Parliament fully informed of progress with the March Agreement – and wewill report when key measures are implemented. We will, for example, inform Parliamentof the findings of the autumn 2006 joint inspection of services …
20 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of Scottish children’s services is in relation to asylum seeker children and how this has been affected by the protocol between the Executive and the Home Office.
Answer · Robert Brown: All asylum seeker children havethe same right to help and support as other children – to get access to health,education and other services from local service providers.</p><p>We continue to implement theprovisions of the March 2006 Agreement with the Home Off…
20 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the protocol between it and the Home Office on asylum seeker children and whether the protocol will bring the treatment and protection of asylum seeker children in line with the provisions of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Answer · Robert Brown: We have made good progress inimplementing the measures in the March 2006 Agreement referred to by the member.The joint inspection of local services for the children of asylum seekers – to assessthe quality of those services – took place in the autumn. We are …
20 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors asylum seeker children to ensure that they receive appropriate education opportunities and provision.
Answer · Robert Brown: Under the Standards in Scotland’s SchoolsAct 2000 every child, including asylum seeking and refugee children, has a rightto school education provided by an education authority. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requireseducat…
20 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take, within its responsibilities, to improve its monitoring of asylum seekers in order to provide assistance to victims of trafficking.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does notroutinely monitor the reasons for which people seek asylum. Officials in the Immigrationand Nationality Directorate of the Home Office, who are responsible for handlingasylum claims, have been issued with guidance on identifying…
13 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it is acceptable for a local authority to proactively seek information from tenants in relation to their particular tenancies, in light of the terms of the Executive’s guidance notes for local authorities on private landlord registration and the Data Protection Act 1998.
Answer · Des McNulty: It is for each local authorityto decide how to gather evidence to satisfy itself that applicants for landlordregistration are fit and proper. In doing so they must ensure that they act in accordancewith the Data Protection Act 1998. The Scottish Executive’s g…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students on Erasmus programmes at Scottish universities receive exemption from tuition fees.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: In the academic year 2003-04(the most recent year for which we have figures), 2,168 incoming students attendedScottish Institutions through the Erasmus Programme. It is a condition of the ErasmusProgramme that host institutions may not request payment of tuit…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from institutions furth of Scotland have studied at Scottish institutions under the Erasmus programme in each year since 1998.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table providesthe figures requested for overseas students studying at Scottish institutions throughthe Erasmus Programme for each year since 1998-99.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td valign=top> <p align=cen…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to students studying abroad on programmes such as the Erasmus programme and how it will increase this support.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24258 on 23 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from Scottish institutions have studied at foreign universities under the Erasmus programme in each year since 1998
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table shows therequested information for students from Scottish higher education institutions foreach year between 1998-99 and 2005-06.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=623> <tr> <td width=118 valign=top> <p align=center>Ye…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from Scotland have studied at foreign universities under the Erasmus programme in each year since 1998, also expressed as a percentage of participating students from the United Kingdom.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Thefollowing table shows the requested information for students from Scottishhigher education institutions for each year between 1998-99 and 2005-06:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=635> <tr> <td valign=top> <p align=center>Year</p> </…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses have been categorised as “affordable” in the East Kilbride constituency in each year since 1999 and what the projected figure is for each of the next five years.
Answer · Des McNulty: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated demand is for affordable housing in the East Kilbride constituency.
Answer · Des McNulty: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many passenger bus journeys there have been in the East Kilbride constituency in each year since 1986.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Bus patronage figures are onlyavailable at national and regional level. This information, for the last 10 years,is included in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin, Transport Series, Busand Coach Statistics: 2004-05 which can be found at <ahref="http:/…
12 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28435 by Lewis Macdonald on 2 October 2006, what assurances were received from NHS Lanarkshire about the frequency of the proposed shuttle bus service for patients, relatives and staff between Monklands, Hairmyres and Wishaw General hospitals, follow…
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: In announcing my approval ofNHS Lanarkshire’s service reconfiguration proposals under <i>A Picture of Health</i>,I placed a number of requirements on the board. These included the development ofa shuttle bus service between Monklands, Wishaw and Hairmyres Hos…
8 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many road traffic accidents there were on the A71 in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005 in each local authority area and how many (i) fatalities and (ii) serious injuries there were in each case.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Data about injury road accidentsare collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which oneor more people were injured and which become known to the police.…
6 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of total hospital cleaning costs per square metre was spent on cleaning staff wages in 2005-06, broken down by hospital.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on the proportionof total hospital cleaning costs accounted for by staff pay in 2005-06 is includedis table 1 of <i>Proportion of total hospital cleaning costs</i> <i>spent on cleaningstaff pay in NHS hospitals</i> a copy of which has been placed …
6 Dec 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of weekly catering costs per patient was spent on (a) food and (b) catering staff wages in 2005-06, broken down by hospital.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Costs are only collected forcatering supplies and total pays, so food costs can not be shown separately; incomeis netted off against the cost of supplies.</p><p>Information on the proportionof total hospital catering costs, by pay and supplies, is shown in ta…
29 Nov 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30079 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 November 2006, whether it will publish the national race equality strategy and action plan and the four strategic group plans before dissolution.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We are aiming to publish boththe National Race Equality Strategy and Action Plan and the four strategic groupplans before dissolution.</p>
22 Nov 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28514 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2006 and its decision to hold a consultation event on 6 December 2006, when it intends to publish the final version of its national strategy and action plan for race equality.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We hope to publish the NationalRace Equality Strategy and Action Plan and the four strategic group plans in theearly new year.</p>
22 Nov 2006 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is measuring potential destitution among asylum seeker children.
Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive does not measuredestitution among asylum seekers.</p><p>We do, however, continue to workclosely with local partners, for example the Scottish Refugee Council to help ensurethat all asylum seekers and their children get the help and support they …
16 Nov 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the capital receipts from the sale of council houses since 1979 (a) have been used to pay off local authority capital housing debt, (b) have been used to carry out works on remaining housing stock and (c) are still retained in some form by local authorities, broken down by loc…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The available information isshown in the following table. Data on housing revenue account receipts used to redeemdebt is only available from 1987-88 and data on capital expenditure financed fromreceipts only available from 1996-97, we do not collect specific …
16 Nov 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the capital receipts have been to each local authority from the sales of council houses since 1979, expressed at 2005 prices.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following tables show thetotal value of sales to sitting tenants of local authority stock, at 2005 prices.Table 1 shows sales to April 1996, by old district council area and table 2 showssales from April 1996 by local authority area. Note that the reorgan…