Parliamentary questions
Mary Scanlon
4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2547 by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2003, whether any local authorities propose to recycle and compost more than 25% of municipal waste by 2006 and, if so, which authorities.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3236. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">htt…
7 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2547 by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2003, which local authorities have submitted plans estimating that they will achieve 25% recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2006.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The National Waste Plantarget of recycling and composting 25% of municipal solid waste by 2006 appliesto Scotland as a whole, rather than individual localauthorities. Integrated Waste Management Plans under the Local Government inScotland Act 2003 will lay do…
25 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the draft Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2003, what steps it will take to ensure that the proposed register is kept up to date.
Answer · Hugh Henry: We recognise that it is imperativeto the success of the scheme that the register is kept up to date at all times.It is for this reason that we propose that the register will be web-based and willbe automatically updated as an application progresses and reflec…
25 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2003 will include a requirement that every creditor must consent to a scheme.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The regulations do make provisionfor the consent of every creditor. However, they will also provide for where thatconsent may be dispensed with. This is to take account of the circumstances in whicha creditor does not respond or unreasonably withholds consent…
24 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why expenditure on restoration work in Scotland's canals has fallen from #44.8 million in 2000-01 to #20.1 million in 2002-03.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The £44.8 million spent on restorationwork in Scotland’s canals in 2000-01 included funding for the restorationof the Millennium Link. The Millennium Link was a major project which involved thebuilding of bridges, tunnels, new sections of canals, and the Falk…
24 Sep 2003 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all individuals affected by a planning proposal should have equal status in the consultation process.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Some members of the public benefitfrom statutory requirements for notification of planning applications, either as,for example, neighbours or owners, occupiers or lessees of the land to be developed.However, it is open to anyone to comment to the planning aut…
18 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what canal restoration projects will not be able to proceed in light of the statement in British Waterways Annual Report 2002-03 that "funding is insufficient to meet the aspirations of the policy paper, Scotland's Canals - an asset for the future".
Answer · Nicol Stephen: No specific canal restorationprojects are identified as aspirations in the policy paper. However, an additional£2 million has been allocated to British Waterways in Scotland thisyear for important repair work to be undertaken on the Caledonian Canal. This fun…
18 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to identify, and invest in, areas vulnerable to flooding and coastal erosion.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Environment ProtectionAgency (SEPA) holds maps that indicate, approximately, those areas at an annualrisk of flooding from rivers of 1% (1 in 100 year risk). In addition, a report commissionedby the Executive <i>Climate Change: Flooding Occurrenc…
18 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken in response to the recommendation in the report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, Mobile Phones and Health, that clearly-defined physical exclusion 'ones be established around base station antennas that delineate areas within which exposure guide…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Government response to thereport from the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) said that clearexclusion zones should already be in place around all base station antennas to preventthe public from exposure to radiofrequency radiation above the…
16 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita local government funding for 2003-04 is for (a) Orkney Islands Council, (b) Shetland Islands Council, (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (d) the Highland Council, (e) Moray Council and (f) Argyll and Bute Council.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Details of how much each authorityhas received in revenue grant can be found in the local government finance circular1/2003 (Bib. number 26534) which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.</p>
16 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita funding for 2003-04 is for (a) NHS Highland, (b) NHS Shetland, (c) NHS Orkney, (d) the Western Isles NHS Board, (e) NHS Grampian and (f) Argyll and Clyde NHS Board.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Revenue per capita funding allocatedto date for 2003-04 is as follows:</p><table class=MsoTableGrid border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p> </p> </td> <td> <p>£</p> </td> </tr> </thead> <tr> <td> <p>Highland NHS Board</p> …
16 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the construction of Stromness, Scrabster and Hatston piers was completed within agreed (a) time limits and (b) budgetary limits.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Construction of new berthingfacilities to enable NorthLink's new vessels to berth at Scrabster, Stromness andHatston is a matter for the harbour authorities concerned, respectively, the ScrabsterHarbour Trust and the Orkney Islands Council.</p><p>Both harbour…
16 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether adequate funding is given to (a) Orkney Islands Council and (b) Shetland Island Council for the provision of internal ferry and air services.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The recent local government financesettlement from Spending Review 2002 gave increases of 6.9%, 4.9%, 3.4% (£3.2 million,£2.4 million, £1.8 million) to Orkney Islands Council and 6.9%, 4.0%, 3.4% (£4.6million, £2.8 million, £2.5 million) to Shetland Islands C…
16 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what subsidies are available to ferry operators for livestock services serving the Orkney and Shetland Isles and whether these subsidies will be made available to all ferry operators carrying livestock.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Under the terms of the Highlands andIslands Shipping Services Act 1960, Tariff Rebate Subsidy (TRS) is paid to eligibleshipping operators wholly or mainly engaged in providing services to the Highlands andIslands in accordance with an undertaking, a draft of …
16 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what subsidies are available to ferry operators for freight services serving the Orkney and Shetland Isles and whether these subsidies will be made available to all ferry operators carrying freight.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Subsidies for general roll-on/roll-offor load-on/load-off freight services serving the Orkney and Shetland Isles werewithdrawn in 1995. However, Tariff Rebate Subsidy (TRS) is paid to eligible shippingoperators wholly or mainly engaged in providing bulk freig…
15 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to provide the additional 29 secure accommodation places for young offenders, announced on 24 March 2003.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Four of the five providers announcedon 24 March are finalising their secure redevelopment plans.</p><p>Discussions are continuing withRossie School to consider how we can best achieve an 18-bed secure unit in the north-east.</p>
12 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports recommendation 10 of the report of the Scottish Charity Law Review Commission that Scottish charities should receive mandatory 80% relief from water and sewerage charges.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive responded in full to<b> </b>the McFadden Report on 16 December 2002.In our response we indicated that we had already said in the context of the WaterIndustry (Scotland) Act 2002 that we supported the phased withdrawal of relieffrom wate…
12 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the levels of overcrowding at Her Majesty's Prison Inverness referred to in the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report 2002-03.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:</p><p>As a consequence of the needto manage unprecedented prisoner numbers we have no immediate plans to reducethe prisoner numbers at HM Prison In…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been allocated to each local authority to tackle graffiti and vandalism.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The revenue grant provided tolocal authorities is largely unhypothecated and it is up to each authority how itallocates these resources to meet its local needs and priorities. Details of howmuch each authority has received can be found in the local government…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities are undertaking housing stock transfers and how many local authorities intend to participate in transfers in future.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: East Dunbartonshire, City of Edinburgh and Fife Councils are in the process of undertaking partialtransfers which are being supported by the New Housing Partnerships programme. Financialsupport is also being provided to Western Isles and Argyll and Bute Counc…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an outline of the voluntary accreditation scheme for private landlords, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The intention is that schemeswill be established locally on a voluntary basis by local authorities and landlordsworking in partnership, and work is in progress to provide suitable advice and guidance.Communities Scotland has commissioned a project to be compl…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was allocated to flood alleviation measures and flood defences in each of the last five years.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Thecapital allocation provided to local authorities specifically for flood preventionand coast protection projects for each of the last five years is as follows:</p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=188> <thead> <tr> <t…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive where “good neighbour” declarations are being piloted, as referred to in A Partnership for A Better Scotland, and how they will be evaluated and utilised.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The principle of Good NeighbourDeclarations has been woven into the funding requirements of the “Building strong,safe and attractive communities funding programme”, where they are referred to asneighbourhood compacts. Local authorities are required to underpi…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support is being given to local authorities to deal with abandoned vehicles.
Answer · Ross Finnie: In 2002-03 local authoritieswere provided with funding of £2.2 million in recognition of the additional coststhat the implementation of the End of Life Vehicles Directive will place on clearingabandoned cars. We have advised COSLA that £2.202 million will be …
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities are on course to meet its target of recycling 25% of waste by 2006.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The target of 25% recycling andcomposting of municipal waste by 2006 applies to Scotland as a whole, rather thanto individual local authorities. Fourteen local authorities have so far submittedplans estimating that they will achieve a rate of 25% or over by 2…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in relation to a national voluntary citi'en's entitlement card.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Our Partnership Agreement confirms we will evaluate the local pilot projects in order to assess the desirabilityof creating a national voluntary citizen’s entitlement card for appropriatepublic services in Scotland. The Smartcard consortium partners, consisti…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will play in revitalising the Post Office network, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Royal Mail, post offices andpostal services are reserved issues but the Scottish Executive recognises theimportance of the availability across Scotland of services provided by the Post Office network.</p><p>The Deputy Minister for SocialJustice launched a £2 …
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a full needs-based assessment is being conducted by the Standing Committee of Chief Constables to identify the appropriate level of resourcing required by the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency consistent with the review of its mission statement, aims, objectives and targets.
Answer · Hugh Henry: This recommendation, arisingfrom the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) Primary Inspection of the ScottishDrug Enforcement Agency, is currently being considered by the working group establishedby the Standing Committee of Chief Constables to review the HM…
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that budget monitoring for the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency is conducted at a more detailed level, as recommended by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMIC) in the Primary Inspection 2003.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Improved arrangements for budgetmonitoring and accountability of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) arebeing considered by the working group established by the Standing Committee of ChiefConstables to review the recommendations arising from the HMIC …
11 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Standing Committee of Chief Constables is carrying out a thorough review of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency, as recommended by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMIC) in the Primary Inspection 2003 of the agency.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Following publication of theHMIC's Primary Inspection of the SDEA, a working group was established under theauspices of the Standing Committee of Chief Constables. The terms of reference of the group is to review each of the recommendations made and present p…