Parliamentary questions

Mary Mulligan

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

18 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many babies were involved in the pilot programme of using helmets to treat benign positional plagiocephaly in Yorkhill Hospital’s orthotic department.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Yorkhill Hospital has been undertaking initial experimental work to explorewhether it had the technical capability to produce and fit helmets for treatingplagiocephaly. It has not undertaken a properly constituted pilot programme.Five babies were treat…

18 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the ruling by the European Commission that British citizens who travel elsewhere in the European Union for health treatment should be recompensed, the same ruling would apply to citizens who travel from Scotland to England.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The recent European Court ofJustice ruling indicates that reimbursement of a patient’s costs should follow arrangementsalready in force for treatment in the patient’s home country. Currently, patientsrequired to travel within Scotland, or indeed to England, f…

18 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what sleep aids for use by babies with postural plagiocephaly are fully funded by the NHS.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Sleep aids for use by babieswith postural plagiocephaly are not recommended and are therefore not availableon the NHS.

18 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what sleep aids are recommended for use by babies with postural plagiocephaly.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Sleep aids are not recommendedfor use by babies with postural plagiocephaly.The current advice is to place babies on their back to sleep, positioningthe child’s head on different sides each night.

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students on planning-related courses in Scottish universities are due to graduate in 2006 and, of these, what percentage it anticipates will find employment in the public sector.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The number of graduates from Scottish higher education institutions in planning subjects in the academic year 2003-04 is given in the following table. This is the most recent year for which data are currently available. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellp…

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students there are on planning-related courses in Scottish universities.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: In the academic year 2003-04, there were 960 students on planning courses at Scottish higher education institutions. This is the most recent year for which data are available. The following table gives the numbers for each level of study. Students Stud…

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for planners in local authority planning departments, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The information requested is not held centrally.

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planners are employed in local authority planning departments, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The information requested is not held centrally.

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning reporters it estimates it will need to employ if a third party right of appeal is introduced in the Planning Bill.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The number of reporters which would be required would depend upon the precise nature of the third party appeal right which was introduced. Even then, estimates are bound to be highly speculative because it cannot be known with certainty how many people would …

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning reporters are employed in the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters’ Unit.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporter’s Unit employs 17 established civil servants as inquiry reporters. In addition, 19 self-employed inquiry reporters are used to accommodate peaks in caseload.

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of public inquiries in respect of planning has been in each of the last five years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The average length of public inquiries or hearings in respect of planning in the last five years is five days. A yearly breakdown of the figures is provided in the following table. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td…

6 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public inquiries in respect of planning have been held in each of the last five years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The number of planning inquiries or hearings in respect of planning held in the last five years is 512. A yearly breakdown of the figures is provided in the following table. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Ye…

16 Nov 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in providing respite care for people who are cared for in their own homes.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Audit Scotland monitoring of local authority provision shows that respite care for people who are cared for in their own homes has increased significantly in recent years. The Care 21 report published on 30 September calls for the development of a national re…

4 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, if the strategic projects review for all transport modes, or any other detailed evaluation, concludes that the Dalkeith bypass remains a priority, whether it will investigate alternative alignments to protect the Dalkeith estate.

Answer · Tavish Scott: I refer to my answers to questions S2W-18343 on 18 August 2005 and S2W-18344 on 24 August 2005. 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…

4 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Dalkeith bypass will be considered under the strategic project review for all transport modes, to be carried out by the Executive in 2006.

Answer · Tavish Scott: In June of this year my predecessor announced the decision to proceed with the Dalkeith Northern Bypass. Construction is programmed to start in 2006 and therefore this scheme will not be part of the Strategic Projects Review.

4 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to re-assess plans for the Dalkeith bypass in respect of integration into the existing transport network and the impact of the wellbeing of the local population and the natural environment, in light of the estimated cost of the bypass, the time that has elapsed…

Answer · Tavish Scott: Statutory permissions are in place for the Bypass and land has been acquired by the Scottish Executive. There are therefore no plans to formally reassess the proposals.

20 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-6783 by Ross Finnie on 19 May 2005, what investment it is making in the provision of recycling facilities in each local authority area, except West Lothian.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The following table shows the awards made, through the Strategic Waste Fund, to each local authority from 2000-01 to 2029-2030. We have included West Lothian for ease of reference. The table includes awards from 2008-09 onwards which are indicative at this st…

29 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the second supplementary question to question S2O-6076 by Nicol Stephen on 14 April 2005, when the next trunk road review will take place.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: No decision has yet been taken on the date of starting the next trunk road review. As the last review took place in 1995, I have indicated it would be appropriate to hold such a review soon after the new Regional Transport Partnership are established.

20 Apr 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in recruiting specialist nurses to support people with cancer.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Nursing People with Cancer in Scotland: A Framework, published in April 2004, sets out the strategic vision that will shape nursing services for people with cancer across NHSScotland, in all care settings and in all geographic areas. The plannin…

7 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is carried out of the educational progress of adopted children.

Answer · Euan Robson: The educational progress of adopted children is not separately monitored.

7 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to local authority education departments regarding adopted children who are in the education system and their needs.

Answer · Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive has not issued guidance specifically on the education of adopted children. Local authorities have a duty to provide support after adoption to children and their families, and this could include any educational needs. The Scottish Execut…

4 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13645 by Lewis Macdonald on 1 February 2005 regarding discussions that the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development had with Scottish Water, what priority Scottish Water will give to the provision of water services in areas facing high d…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: In my statement to the Parliament on Wednesday 9 February, I outlined the range of priorities that the Executive would require Scottish Water to address during the next investment period. That statement made clear that the investmentproposed would support hou…

2 Feb 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what vocational courses are being offered to intelligent pupils who lack interest in traditional academic subjects.

Answer · Euan Robson: The National Qualifications framework offers a range of vocational courses to all learners. The present provision is being extended by the introduction of new skills-for-work qualifications for 14 to 16-year-olds.

20 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Scottish Water regarding investment in areas facing a high demand for housing.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I last met the Scottish Water Board on 24 January to discuss a number of matters including those relating to delivery of the current investment programme.

20 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers the share of the cost of water services to new housing developments should be between Scottish Water and housing developers.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: As part of Paying for Water Services 2006-2010, the Executive recently consulted on the principle of developers funding increased local capacity required by their developments. A Ministerial Statement including our decisions on this will be made in the…

20 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of Scottish Water's capital investment has been directed to providing a service for new housing in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not heldcentrally. In the current investment period some £200 million will secure positivebenefits in addressing current constraints and an additional £41 million will address development constraints and firsttime connections in rural area…

13 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12862 by Lewis McDonald on 16 December 2004, in circumstances where Scottish Water and the owners of property, in this case a local authority, cannot co-operate to identify the source of a leak and repair it, who will decide who is responsible.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The responsibilities for the repair of water pipes and sewerage pipes are set out in Water (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended, and the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968, as amended. In the event of an unresolved dispute, it is a matter for the aggrieved parties to se…

15 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any additional resources will be made available in 2004-05 to enable local authorities to deal with contaminated and derelict land.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We announced in June the allocation of £5 million for cleaning up derelict and contaminated land that is creating health risks or causing blight on local communities. I am pleased to say that I am able to allocate a further £5.720 million to local authorities…

6 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for finding and repairing a water leak where it is unclear whether the leak is coming from a burst pipe in a street or from a council tenant's garden.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Scottish Water is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the public water and sewerage networks. The maintenance and repair of water, sewerage and drainage networks within the curtilage of an individual property are matters for the owner of that proper…

2 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2O-4329 by Nicol Stephen on 2 December 2004, what guidance will be given to project managers regarding the resiting of Bathgate station; whether the new station will continue to be served by local buses, and whether the new station will have a taxi rank.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: There are issues in the first instance for the scheme promoter and in due course for the relevant Parliamentary Committee to consider.