Parliamentary questions
Linda Fabiani
2,507 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which charitable organisations (a) have been investigated, (b) are under investigation and (c) await investigation by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and how many of these organisations, under each category, are or have been in receipt of Executive funding.
Answer · Johann Lamont: This is an operationalmatter for Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator a non-ministerialdepartment, the Scottish Executive cannot answer on behalf of OSCR. The membershould therefore contact OSCR directly for this information.</p>
15 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform’s statement that “The average increase in council tax in Scotland has been lower than anywhere else in the United Kingdom - much lower than south of the border” (Official Report c. 27561), what monies have come to Scotland, u…
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has received£92 million under the HM Treasury statement of funding policy arrangements, to balanceany change in the cost of council tax benefit subsidy.</p>
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister’s sports summit at Stirling University considered ways of increasing Scottish participation in the Olympic Games.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Yes. Workshop sessions involvingdelegates at the Sports Summit discussed the key priorities for the on-going developmentof sport in Scotland in light of London’s successful bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games andGlasgow’s bid to secure the 2014 Commonwealth G…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister’s sports summit at Stirling University considered how to increase the participation of young Scots in sports.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Yes. Workshop sessions involvingdelegates at the Sports Summit discussed the key priorities for the on-going developmentof sport in Scotland in light of London’s successful bid to stage the 2012 OlympicGames and Glasgow’s bid to secure the 2014 Commonwealth G…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the establishment of a separate Scottish Olympic team formed part of the discussions at the First Minister’s sports summit at Stirling University.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: No. Workshop sessions involvingdelegates at the Sports Summit discussed the key priorities for the on-going developmentof sport in Scotland in light of London’s successful bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games andGlasgow’s bid to secure the 2014 Commonwealth Ga…
1 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23451 by Mr Tom McCabe on 6 March 2006, when it expects to have an action plan in place to implement its review of the community council system.
Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28066 on 26 September 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…
1 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23451 by Mr Tom McCabe on 6 March 2006, when it will report on its review of the community council system.
Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28066 on 26 September 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…
1 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23451 by Mr Tom McCabe on 6 March 2006, when it will complete its review of the community council system.
Answer · Tom McCabe: We have now completed the evaluationof the 356 responses to the Consultation Paper “What can we do to help communitycouncils fulfil their role” and this concludes our review of community councils.I plan to publish the outcomes of the evaluation together with …
24 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will transpose into Scots law EU Directive 2003/35/EC, which had a deadline of 25 June 2005 as specified in Article 6 of the directive, and what the reasons are for the delay in transposition.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Public Participation Directive(2003/35/EC) amended the Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (1996/61/EC)and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (1985/337/EC) requiringimproved public participation arrangements in those and in certain other…
24 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26372 by Rhona Brankin on 14 June 2006, whether the Scottish Ministers' approach, as outlined in the answer, is consistent with that of the European Court's judgment in C-6/04 Commission v United Kingdom in respect of the conservation of natural habi…
Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27549 on 21 August 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…
24 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what cognisance it has taken of the European Court's judgment in C-6/04 Commission v United Kingdom in respect of the conservation of natural habitats.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive is fullyaware of the judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in case C-6/04. We have recentlyconsulted on proposals to amend the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations1994 and these include changes which reflect t…
24 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any financial contribution to the costs incurred in building the second weather forecasting station needed to ensure adequate radar coverage when the original was relocated from Corse Hill to enable the development of the Whitelee wind farm site.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive has made no financialcontribution towards the building of the second weather radar station.</p>
24 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any financial contribution to the costs incurred in relocating the Met Office's weather forecasting station from Corse Hill to enable the development of the Whitelee wind farm site.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive has made no financialcontribution towards the cost of relocating the Corse Hill weather radar station.</p>
21 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S20-9423 by Ross Finnie on 23 March 2006, what the outcome was of the meeting between the Minister for Environment and Rural Development and Barry Gardiner MP regarding the erosion of rural postal services.
Answer · Ross Finnie: At my meeting on 6 March 2006 with BarryGardiner MP, then minister with responsibility for postal services, I had a constructivediscussion about post offices and rural service provision which gave me an opportunityto hear the problems that the post office net…
21 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S20-9423 by Ross Finnie on 23 March 2006, what the outcome was of the meeting held on 14 February 2006 between the Minister for Environment and Rural Development and representatives of the Royal Mail Group regarding the availability of postal services th…
Answer · Ross Finnie: We discussed issues related tothe post office network, in particular in rural areas. Royal Mail and Post Officerepresentatives explained the work that has been on-going to explore alternative,more sustainable means of service delivery. I made clear my view of…
19 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what commitment it makes to the partial transfer of local authority housing stock.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We believe that in certain circumstancespartial transfer may be an appropriate option for some councils as part of a strategyto meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard for all of their stock. Detailsof the support available for partials transfers is set ou…
19 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider establishing arms-length management organisations for local authorities whose tenants have voted against large-scale voluntary housing transfer.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There is alreadyprovision in the law which enables councils to set up bodies such as Arms LengthManagement Companies. Section 20 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003 gives wide powers to local authorities to create orenter into arrangements with other …
3 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26407, how it defines “routine use” in respect of mixed-sex general wards.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The answer to questionS2W-26407 means that the Executive is not aware of any general wards whichordinarily accommodate patients of both sexes at the same time. In extremesituations where patient numbers outstretch bed availability, patients may beplaced in mi…
22 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it measures destitution among the asylum seeker community in Scotland.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive doesnot measure destitution among asylum seekers.</p>
22 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office about compliance with EU Directive 2003/9/EC in relation to asylum seekers resident in Scotland.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Home Office is primarilyresponsible for ensuring the implementation of this Directive. However, therehave been discussions between the Executive and the Home Office to ensure that,where devolved services are involved, Scottish legislation is compliant wit…
22 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many asylum seekers in Scotland have been granted the right to work under EU Directive 2003/9/EC.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive doesnot hold this information as it is for the Home Office to consider requests forpermission to work.</p>
22 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Home Office in relation to the reinstatement of the concession that allowed asylum seekers to apply for permission to work.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive hasdiscussions with Home Office colleagues on a regular basis and raise with thema number of issues including immigration policy and its impact on Scotland.During these discussions the concern within Scotland over the removal of the rig…
21 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider changing the terms of the bursary regulations to include children of asylum seekers and unaccompanied asylum seeker children.
Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive has noplans to amend the bursary regulations to include such children. Executive fundsto authorities towards the cost of bursaries cease at the end of this financialyear, as bursaries are superseded by the Education Maintenance Allowanc…
21 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider making Education Maintenance Allowance available to children of asylum seekers and to unaccompanied asylum seeker children.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive hasno current plans to extend Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) support tothis group of young people.</p>
21 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many task forces, working groups or other similar bodies it has convened for purposes connected with its race equality strategy; what the (a) purposes and (b) membership of any such bodies were or are, and in what capacity each member served or serves.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: To date four strategicgroups have been established to finalise action plans that will inform the ScottishExecutive’s National Strategy and Action Plan for Race Equality, which is dueto be published later this year. The groups are:</p><p>Race Equality in Rural…
21 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the results of the review of the action plan of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A revised Scottish RefugeeIntegration Forum action plan will be published in the autumn as part of the nationalstrategy and action plan for race equality in Scotland.</p>
21 Jun 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of unaccompanied asylum seeker children in Scotland and whether this information is held on a central register.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive doesnot hold information on the number of unaccompanied asylum seeker children in Scotland. However,I understand that the Home Office maintains a database on unaccompanied asylumseeker children who are supported by local authorities.</p>
21 Jun 2006 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is taking to review the provision of facilities in the Parliament complex for people with disabilities and their carers.
Answer · Duncan McNeil: The SPCB is committed to providingaccessible facilities for disabled people and their carers, and has taken anumber of steps to enable the equal participation of disabled people and theircarers in the Parliament including accessing the tours and other major e…
31 May 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15925 by Mr Andy Kerr on 25 April 2005, whether it is aware of any hospitals which still use mixed-sex wards and which hospitals have had a clinical governance review by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The programme to eliminate mixedsex accommodation was completed in the autumn of 2005. The Executive is not awareof any hospitals which still make routine use of mixed sex general wards.</p><p>NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’sclinical governance and risk man…
30 May 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for a hernia operation in each NHS board area.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The majority of patients whorequire in-patient and day case treatment, including hernia operations, are treatedquickly. Nearly 53% of the patients treated in NHSScotland hospitals receive immediatetreatment and never join a waiting list. Of those who do wait …