Parliamentary questions

Mary Scanlon

4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that Scotland gains the economic benefits from its production of equipment for wind farm development.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We have created the Forumfor Renewable Energy Development in Scotland to bring together stakeholders to work with the Executive to ensure that Scotland can take full advantage of these opportunities. Withsupport from the enterprise networks, Scotland has alre…

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what agreement has been reached with (a) the Ministry of Defence and (b) the Cairngorms National Park regarding the need for pylons 65 feet higher than at present to carry wind farm energy south from the Highlands.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No agreement has been soughtor reached.Discussions between thedeveloper, Scottish and Southern Energy, the stakeholders, such as the planningauthorities, and the wider community on issues that will inform the ultimatechoice of routes for the proposed t…

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure sensitive siting of wind farms in order to protect the scenic and environmental heritage.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The Executive revised itsplanning guidance and advice in 2002 to help ensure that wind farms are sitedin the right locations. These documents set a planning framework which balancesthe Executive’s obligations to tackle climate change with the need to ensureth…

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2W-5132 by Lewis Macdonald on 20 January 2003, how it judges future renewable energy requirements, given that it is unaware of the future output operation or lifespan of current base-load stations.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: All existing base-loadstations are privately owned and operated, and their future lifespan is amatter for the generation asset owners. The UK Energy white paper, published inFebruary 2003, envisages that the energy system in 2020 will be much morediverse than…

30 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4132 by Cathy Jamieson on 26 November 2003, what its position is in respect of the statement in the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HM Prison Inverness that two members of staff had recently been required to attend a central belt Court …

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The prosecution or defencedecides whom to call as witnesses in a criminal trial. The Scottish Prison Service’s(SPS) job is to respond promptly to these criminal justice requirements; thoughthis may occasionally disrupt the work of the prison we seek to keep t…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were referred by Children's Panels to services outwith Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by service.

Answer · Euan Robson: No central record is kept ofchildren placed outwith Scotland in order to fulfil supervision requirements. Theprincipal services accessed in England and Wales are likely to be secure accommodation andmental health places. Some children from England also use pl…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) will place increased emphasis on access to sports facilities for school pupils as part of the inspection process.

Answer · Peter Peacock: HMIE already take goodaccount of access to sports facilities in the context of their evaluation ofaccommodation facilities. This occurs in every school inspection and in asample of schools, inspectors also take a closer look at provision for physicaleducation…

21 Jan 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports proposals by Scottish Natural Heritage to continue culling hedgehogs in the Western Isles.

Answer · Allan Wilson: There is a continuingneed to protect the threatened wading bird populations on the Uists. The Scottish Executive is of the view that SNH’s proposalsrepresent the most effective.

5 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research there is that proves any beneficial effects of parenting orders.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Evaluation commissioned by theYouth Justice Board for England and Wales, Positive Parenting: The National Evaluation of the Youth Justice Board’s Parenting Programme, found that parenting ordershad had a positive impact on parents and recorded improvem…

5 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has in relation to the 62% of anti-social behaviour orders that result in a perceived improvement in behaviour.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The latest report on the useof anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) by the Chartered Institute of Housing,which was commissioned by the Scottish Executive, provided a range of usefulinformation on the use of ASBOs in the period 1 December 2001 to 31 March 200…

5 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4159 by Lewis Macdonald on 5 December 2003, how much additional capacity of wind-generated electricity can be transmitted using the existing national grid structure in Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: A Renewable Energy NetworkStudy, Impact of Renewable Generation on the Electrical TransmissionNetwork in Scotland, published in 2001 found that 650 MegaWatts of newinstalled renewables capacity could be connected to the grid without the needfor …

18 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to its news release SEc356/2003 on 8 December 2003 and its financial inclusion strategy, what level of interest is considered to be extortionate in relation to the Department of Trade and Industry scheme to crack down on money lenders and what level is consider…

Answer · Margaret Curran: The pilot project which isstarting in Glasgow in April will be aimed at tackling illegal,unlicensed money lenders whose rates are likely to be "extortionate” and accompanied withthreats of violence and intimidation. In this respect no loans made byu…

18 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the proposed 60% non-renewable energy will be produced beyond 2020.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The overall pattern ofenergy production beyond 2020 will depend on a number of factors, includingvariations in fuel prices, technological advances, increased energy efficiency,and the investment decisions by electricity generators active in the market.

18 Dec 2003 · Written Question

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Operational decisions inrespect of existing power stations are a matter for the private owners of thoseassets in conjunction with the appropriate licensing authorities.

18 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities can refuse planning permission for wind farms on the basis that the developer does not have access to the transmission network.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: Irefer the member to the answer given to question S2W-5130 on 22 January 2004 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">http://www.scottish.parliam…

18 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the granting of planning permission for wind farms is dependent on the provision of access to the transmission network.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: No. Agreement to connect tothe transmission network is a matter for operators and the owners of the grid.

10 Dec 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce legislation to ensure that the crime of male rape is covered by Scots law.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The conductwhich can be described as “male rape” is already a crime in Scots law. Cases are regularly brought beforethe courts and are charged as indecent assault and sodomy, such chargesemphasising the non-consensual nature of the offence. As with the crime …

20 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how NHS boards can implement its policy with regard to the elimination of postcode prescribing and meet their statutory requirement of breaking even at the end of the financial year.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: To enable effective,innovative treatments to move smoothly into mainstream use across NHS Scotland,the Scottish Medicines Consortium is developing a “horizon scanning process” toallow it to identify its likely future workload, ideally 12 months in advance.Thi…

20 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) staff will be relocated to Inverness carefully and sensitively, reducing as far as possible any disruption to our performance while treating staff fairly, as referred to in A Natural Perspective, if 70% of SNH staff currently based in Edinbu…

Answer · Allan Wilson: The management of therelocation of its headquarters staff to Inverness is an operational matter for SNH. However, the Executive strongly supports SNH management in their aim to encourage as manystaff as possible to move to Inverness. SNH have indicated that t…

20 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the electricity grid will be upgraded and what the cost of each connection will be from (a) Dounreay to Beauly, (b) Beauly to Denny and (c) Western Isles to the National Grid in order to provide extra capacity for increased renewable energy generation.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: While the regulation of theelectricity network is a reserved matter, the Executive is working with the UKGovernment, the regulator, and the industry to ensure that the grid isstrengthened in order to fully realise Scotland’s renewable energy potential. I unde…

14 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places are required in medium secure units in order to comply with the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2003.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive's 1999 policystatement covering the provision of mental health and social work services formentally disordered offenders made proposals for the organisation anddevelopment of these services throughout Scotland. The statement confirmed that NHS b…

14 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are obliged to consult Scottish Water prior to granting planning permission for new developments and whether new developments can go ahead if Scottish Water objects to the water and sewerage arrangements.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: Local authorities areobliged to consult Scottish Water where a development is likely to require amaterial addition or a material change in the services provided by ScottishWater. Should Scottish Water object to a proposed development then theirobjection would…