Parliamentary questions

Patricia Ferguson

1,079 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it arrived at the figure of £70 million when calculating the resources required to fund the council tax freeze in 2011-12.

Answer · John Swinney: The £70 million is a continuation of the money provided to all 32 local authorities in each of the last three years to enable them to freeze their council tax at 2007-08 levels. This sum was agreed with COSLA as part of the 2007 spending review discussions an…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what level payments to local authorities will be uprated in 2011-12 for the delivery of the shared Scottish Government/COSLA commitments on free personal care.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government and COSLA have agreed a package of measures for 2011-12 which they have recommended to local authorities. The package is associated with an overall sum of money for local government. Each local authority is now considering whether to a…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications for local authorities will be in the event that police officer numbers fall below 17,234 at any point in 2011-12.

Answer · John Swinney: Maintaining police officer numbers at least 17,234 is one element of the 2011-12 funding package agreed by Scottish Government and COSLA''s Leadership and currently being considered by councils. To secure the full funding package, councils are required to agr…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what Glasgow’s share of the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding budget will be in 2011-12.

Answer · John Swinney: Glasgow City Council''s share of the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding budget in 2011-12 is £68.1 million. This is the same proportionate share as included for Glasgow in the 2010-11 budget.

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding budget will be in 2011-12.

Answer · John Swinney: The budget for the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding for 2011-12 is £97.710 million.

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of additional resources are likely to be raised by increasing the business rates that are paid by the largest retail properties, including supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks, as outlined in Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37881 on 13 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Ap…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional resources raised by increasing the business rates that are paid by the largest retail properties, including supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks, as outlined in Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12, will be directed to support town centres and, if so,…

Answer · John Swinney: It is estimated that increasing the business rates paid by the largest retail properties will raise an additional £30 million in 2011-12. That resource will be used to support a range of front line services provided by councils, and maintaining the s…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidelines have been developed on the use of the new £50 million Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Scotland Fund and, if so, what those guidelines state.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has developed an investment strategy for the JESSICA Holding Fund, in conjunction with the European Investment Bank. This sets the context in which Scottish Urban Development Funds will operate. Once established, UDFs will agree detail…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who will determine what projects should benefit from the new £50 million Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Scotland Fund.

Answer · Alex Neil: Investment decisions will be made by Urban Development Fund managers, working with the European Investment Bank and JESSICA Investment Board.

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the distribution of the new £50 million Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Scotland Fund.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government will not take investment decisions and therefore has had no discussions with local authorities about the distribution of JESSICA funding. The Government has worked closely with local authorities during the development of the J…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how projects with the potential to benefit from the new £50 million Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Scotland Fund will be identified.

Answer · Alex Neil: JESSICA investment is delivered to projects via Urban Development Funds (UDFs). The European Investment Bank is responsible for procuring the UDFs. Once established, UDFs will launch an open call for projects. The government administered a pre-call e…

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the new £50 million Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Scotland Fund will be distributed between cities.

Answer · Alex Neil: There is no distribution formula between areas. Investment decisions will be taken by fund managers, based on the quality of investment propositions.

26 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be used to identify disadvantaged areas in relation to the proposal contained in the draft 2011-12 budget to use the new £50 million Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Scotland Fund to target sustainable investment in the most disa…

Answer · Alex Neil: The JESSICA Scotland fund is part-funded by the European Commission through Priority 3 of the Lowland and Uplands Scotland European Regional Development Fund Programme; so can invest in integrated urban development plans in the 13 local authority areas that a…

23 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scotland Office regarding international development since May 2007.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has had discussions at an official level with the Scotland Office to provide updates on the progress of its international development work.

23 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Department for International Development since May 2007.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There have been a number of official level discussions with the Department of International Development since May 2007. At a Ministerial level, Linda Fabiani, then Minister for Europe and External Affairs and Culture, visited the Department for Inter…

23 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft budget for 2011-12 includes provision for investment in the modernisation or rebuilding of primary schools in Glasgow other than those already announced as part of the Scotland's Schools for the Future programme.

Answer · Keith Brown: The 2011-12 draft budget includes £20 million for the Scotland''s Schools for the Future programme, and £691.8 million support for capital for local authorities. This may be used for capital investment which includes investment in infrastructure such as schoo…

23 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft budget for 2011-12 includes provision for investment in the modernisation of the Glasgow subway in that year.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Funding for Glasgow subway will continue as part of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)''s annual capital grant award. Scottish Government officials are working closely with SPT to consider the detail of their modernisation proposals and the part we c…

23 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft budget for 2011-12 includes provision for investment in the Glasgow Fastlink project in that year.

Answer · Keith Brown: Yes - following the Scottish Government''s budget statement on 17 November, a funding contribution has been set aside for Fastlink in 2011-12. The Scottish Government remains committed to Fastlink and are willing to contribute to the costs of a core scheme wh…

25 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued to NHS boards following the publication of the Mackie Report.

Answer · Shona Robison: No guidelines have been issued to NHS Boards following publication of the Mackie Report produced by the Cross Party Group on Muscular Dystrophy. As indicated in the answers to questions S3W-37100 and S3W-37103 on 3 November 2010, I shall be …

25 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to implement the recommendations of the Mackie Report.

Answer · Shona Robison: I am arranging to meet representatives of the Scottish Muscle Network to discuss the recommendations in the report of its review of neuromuscular services in Scotland, as well as those in the Mackie Report produced by the Cross Party Group on Muscular Dystrop…

25 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many care advisers supporting people with neuromuscular conditions are funded from sources other than it.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37101 on 3 November 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Busines…

25 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many care advisers it funds in order to support people with neuromuscular conditions.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are currently two such care advisor posts, one covering the east of Scotland, the other the west. Until the end of the current financial year, they are funded jointly by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and by NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyd…

25 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many care advisers are needed in order to support people with neuromuscular conditions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is aware that care advisors play a valuable role by providing practical and emotional support for people living with muscular dystrophy and their families. The issue is discussed in the Mackie Report from the Cross Party …

29 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that chief constables have the power to issue XREP shotgun Tasers to frontline officers without authorisation from ministers.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Police forces are deemed to be in the service of Her Majesty under section 54(3) of the Firearms Act 1968 and they are therefore lawfully able to acquire items prohibited under section 5 of the Act, including X12 Tasers, which discharge XREP ammunition. The p…

29 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S3O-11163 by Kenny MacAskill on 1 July 2010 (Official Report, c.28175), that the police are only bound by those sections of the Firearms Act 1968 that specifically refer to them, whether this means that the police are not bound by ot…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government''s understanding is that Section 54(1) of the Firearms Act 1968 expressly applies only sections 1, 2, 7 to 13 and 26A to 32 of the Act to persons in the service of Her Majesty. Section 54(3) includes members of a police force within th…

29 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the duty under equalities legislation for public bodies to assess the likely impact of their decisions and policies from gender, race and disability equality perspectives is binding on police forces.

Answer · Alex Neil: Public authorities subject to the public sector equality duties to promote race, gender and disability equality include Chief Constables of a police force maintained under section 1 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 and police authorities established under se…

29 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is regarding the judgement by the European Court of Human Rights in 2004 in the Makaratzis versus Greece case that there exists “a primary duty on the State to secure the right to life by putting in place an appropriate legal and administrative framework defining the lim…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The responsibility to put in place an appropriate legal and administrative framework as required by Article 2 and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to firearms lies with the UK Government. The Firearms Act 1968 puts in place the…

20 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will estimate the cost of water lost each year as a result of fire hydrants being vandalised.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked the chief executive to reply to your enquiry directly.

20 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much water it estimates is lost each year as a result of fire hydrants being vandalised.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This information is not held centrally by Scottish Government and it would be disproportionate to collect it. As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked the chief executive to reply to your enquiry directly.

20 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent fire hydrants from being vandalised.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This is a matter for individual fire and rescue services in conjunction with community planning partners, the Police and Scottish Water. The information is not held centrally.