Parliamentary questions

Roseanna Cunningham

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

18 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers in each fire and rescue service are specifically trained for emergency water rescue duties and what the nature is of the training they were given.

Answer · Johann Lamont: This information is not heldcentrally.

17 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has given to prosecutors regarding human trafficking cases where women have been forced into prostitution and whether such advice includes charging men who pay for sex with such women with rape.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Relevant Crown Officeguidance sets out the provisions of section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland)Act 2003 which prohibit trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Itis intended that COPFS staff will participate in training with the UKTrafficki…

17 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will replace the £200,000 funding of Operation Pentameter, the joint police operation against human trafficking, which was withdrawn by Reflex, a serious crime law enforcement taskforce funded by the Home Office.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Operation Pentameter was alwaysintended to be a short-term, UK-wide operation to raise public awareness of theissue of human trafficking. As a result of its success, the UK Human TraffickingCentre opened in October 2006. The Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforceme…

13 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what training and support is given to prosecutors by the Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution and Forum.

Answer · John Beckett: The Wildlife and Habitats CrimeProsecution Forum was established to provide an opportunity for its members to consider issues and identify any problems relating totheir work of investigating and prosecutingwildlife and habitats crime, consider waysof bringing…

13 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution Forum was set up; what its membership is; how often has it met, and what action it has taken to increase links between legislators, enforcers and prosecutors.

Answer · John Beckett: The Crown Office and ProcuratorFiscal Service (COPFS) set up the Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution Forumin late 2005. Its membership comprises representatives from the police, RSPB, ScottishSPCA, Scottish Natural Heritage, relevant divisions of the Scot…

25 Oct 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of Scottish Enterprise¿s effectiveness in rural Scotland.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: In 2000, weset out our strategy for rural Scotland in thepublication Rural Scotland: A New Approach. This rural dimension ofeconomic development is fully reflected in our strategy for the enterprise networks.The ScottishEnterprise Rural Policy G…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for midwives, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Table 1 shows the whole timeequivalent number of registered vacancies within maternity services at 31 March 2006 by individualNHS board. These are largely accounted for by Registered Midwives.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many qualified midwives have obtained a training place within one year of graduating in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not heldcentrally. The Scottish Executive has a Partnership Agreement commitment to ensurethat every newly qualified nurse and midwife who wishes to work in NHS Scotlandreceives an offer of employment. All midwives who register with the On…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many midwives have graduated in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Midwifery completions by yearof completion for the last five years are set out in the following table.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td valign=top> Year of Completion </td> <td valign=top> <p ali…

15 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of research highlighted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists showing that children with communication difficulties who cannot access treatment can suffer behavioural problems and that up to one-third will suffer mental health problems, to the detrimen…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Research undertaken inrecent years has produced a body of evidence about the needs of children withcommunication difficulties. The Allied Health Professionals’ ClinicalEffectiveness Network and Practice Development Unit supports speech andlanguage therapists …

29 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will fund the implementation and future maintenance of core paths once they have been identified, taking into account the ongoing need to resolve access complaints arising from the planning process in respect of such paths.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act2003 gives access authorities the power to undertake the maintenance of core paths.Exercise of that power is a matter for the discretion of individual authoritiesand they will need to determine the extent of any such ac…

29 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that funding made available to finance core path planning by local authorities is adequate, given that the core path planning process which is due to be completed by 2008 has not started in approximately 50% of the Perth and Kinross Council area and that funding for o…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Drawing up a plan of core pathsby February 2008 is a statutory obligation for local authorities under the LandReform (Scotland) Act 2003. Failure to meet statutory obligations is notan option for local authorities. This is a matter of prioritising within avai…

29 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to finance core path planning by local authorities, as required by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: At the time of the introductionof the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and with the agreement of COSLA, provisionof £7.4/£8.1 million was reallocated to the GAE line for the Remainder of Leisureand Recreation, to help fund access from 2004-05. These sums were…

15 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether supply under Care and Repair schemes is meeting demand for aids and adaptations to homes of older and disabled owner-occupiers.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Demand for housingadaptations for older and disabled people, including owner-occupiers, isdetermined on the basis of the number of people with an assessed need. Assessmentis normally carried out by an occupational therapist, on behalf of the localauthority.</…

15 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for work to be carried out on homes of older and disabled owner-occupiers under Care and Repair schemes, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: These data are not collectedcentrally. However, work is in hand to improve local data and performancemanagement systems, following a review of indicators last year by the Care andRepair Working Group.

14 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Rural Petrol Stations Grant Scheme is succeeding in its aim of supporting the retention of a sustainable and accessible network of fuel supply throughout rural Scotland and whether its budget of £400,000 for 2005-06 is adequate for this task.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Independent research in 2004found that the Rural Petrol Stations Grants Scheme was a successful scheme that had providedsubstantial social, economic and environmental benefits to many ruralcommunities in Scotland. The research also found that the scheme wasre…

14 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors the number of petrol outlets in rural areas; whether it has made any assessment of the impact of falling numbers on local communities, and whether it has given any consideration as to how this issue could be addressed.

Answer · Tavish Scott: We support the retention ofa sustainable and accessible network of fuel supply throughout rural Scotlandthrough the Executive’s Rural Petrol Stations Grants Scheme, which providesassistance towards essential capital expenditure on fuel supply infrastructurean…

14 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of research by the Energy Institute indicating that the number of petrol stations in Scotland has almost halved since 1990 from 1,723 to 970, resulting in job losses and causing congestion as drivers travel further to fill up, and what action the Executive will take to…

Answer · Tavish Scott: We are aware of the researchquoted in The Scotsman on 13 May. The Energy Institute’s figures are,however, at variance with the latest data produced by the Office for NationalStatistics, which show that the number of petrol stations operating across Sco…