Parliamentary questions
Sarah Boyack
2,373 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to publish an energy efficiency strategy.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive announced on 7 December 2004 its plans to publish an energy efficiency strategy for Scotland. The strategy will set a framework, define objectives and create a more joined–up approach for energy efficiency interventions by the Executive…
16 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated number of houses with unfilled cavity walls is and what level of CO2 emissions this represents, expressed in metric tons of carbon (MtC).
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p> <p>The Scottish House Condition Survey 2002 (SHCS2002) estimated that approximately 780,000 dwellings with cavity walls had no additional insul…
7 Jul 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was spent on the provision and development of children’s play space in each local authority area in the last year.
Answer · Robert Brown: This is a matter for each localauthority. The information is not held centrally.</p>
7 Jul 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what physical area is taken up by golf courses in each local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The estimated physical area taken up by golf courses in each local authority area is shown in the following table. It should be noted that they do not include driving ranges or short “pitch and putt” type courses. The areas are in hectares and are calculated …
7 Jul 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what physical area is designated as children’s play space in each local authority area.
Answer · Robert Brown: Each local authority decideson its own spatial standards for children’s play space in public areas, andeach local authority will also make different requirements of developers. TheNational Playing Fields Association has produced the six acre standard forguida…
7 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what targets are in place at a national level for cycling (a) to work and (b) in respect of all journeys and what progress has been made in achieving these.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The National Cycling Strategy set a target to quadruple the amount of cycling trips on 1996 figures by 2012. No target was set for cycling to work. Progress is measured using figures set out in Table 12.1 of Scottish Transport Statistics No 23, a copy of whic…
6 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in increasing cycle use in Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not collect statistics of cycle use in each year for each local authorityarea. </p><p>Some statistics about cycle useby local authority area are available from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS).This is designed to provide estimat…
6 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what cycle projects have been approved under the Integrated Transport Fund.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Awards have been given under the Integrated Transport Fund (ITF) to Cycling Scotland for its running costs, to the Bike Week Steering Group for its national programme, Sustrans for its research programme on cycling and safer routes, and the Strategic Rail Aut…
6 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what cycle projects have been submitted for funding under the Integrated Transport Fund.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Executive is not currently considering any cycle projects for funding under the Integrated Transport Fund.</p>
6 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the provision of new cycling facilities by each local authority.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Cycling Scotland, whichis core funded by the Executive, published in March 2005 a national assessment oflocal authorities’ performance on cycling provision, which included summaries of the facilities provided by each authority. I have arranged for copies of t…
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it funds into possible environmental causes of childhood cancer.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Childhood Cancer Research Group is funded by the Scottish Executive and the Department of Health and carries out epidemiological research in this area.</p> <p>The Scottish Executive also funds the Scottish Cancer Registry which carries out work on trends …
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research is ongoing into childhood cancer incidence in Scotland.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Full information on current research into childhood cancer incidence in Scotland is not held centrally.</p> <p>Information on some current and recently completed research projects can be found on the National Research Register (NRR) at <a href="http://www.nrr…
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned about the increase in many childhood cancers, as recorded in Childhood Cancer in Scotland 1975-1999, published by the Information and Statistics Division of NHS Scotland.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Concerns about the increased incidence of cancer and the needs of those who suffer from it make cancer one of the top priorities for the Scottish Executive and for NHSScotland. <i>Cancer in Scotland</i>, the Scottish cancer strategy, was put in place to tackl…
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to implement the recommendations of Getting Serious About Play - A Review of Children's Play.
Answer · Euan Robson: The Executive has no plans to implement the recommendations of <i>Getting Serious About Play A Review of Childrens Play</i>, which apply to England only.</p>
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop a national strategy for play.
Answer · Euan Robson: The Executive currently has no plans to develop a national strategy specifically for play.</p>
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to provide or improve local play facilities for children and young people and what proportion of this was actually spent on providing and improving play space in each year since 1999.
Answer · Euan Robson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16583 on 26 May 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.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which of its funding streams are able to support schemes to provide or improve local play facilities for children and young people.
Answer · Euan Robson: There are many Scottish Executive funding streams which are able to support play facilities, including funding allocated to local authorities through revenue support grant via the Grant Aided Expenditure mechanism.</p> <p>More specific funding streams include…
20 Apr 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements can be made to manage the use of nursing banks more efficiently and reduce the need for agency nurses.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I issued a Report and Action Plan on Nationally Co-ordinated Nurse Bank Arrangements on 7 March. The report contains a number of recommendations to improve the efficiency of nurse banks and cut the cost of agency nursing which are being taken forward by NHSSc…
12 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report of the Policy and Financial Management Review (PFMR) of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), what the key recommendations are and what action the minister now proposes to take in view of the review findings.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The report of the PFMR of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) was published by the Scottish Executive today. The report recognises the RBGE as a world class Scottish institution that holds a remarkable international reputation for its size. The RBGE is …
16 Mar 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation it has carried out on the effectiveness of the Do a Little Change a Lot campaign.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive commissions regular independent evaluations of the Do a Little Change a Lot Campaign. The third such evaluation was published in June 2004 and is available on the Executive’s website. I am also arranging that a copy of the report is placed in th…
2 Mar 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what professional development opportunities currently exist for nurses wishing to specialise in ophthalmology.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: NHS boards,as part of their clinical governance arrangements, are required to put in place,or ensure access to, education and training to meet local needs. In areas whereophthalmic services are delivered, NHS boards make sure that appropriate educationand tra…
16 Feb 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve access to qualifications and training in the pre-school and child care workforce.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The survey of pre-school and child care workforce, published this month, shows that the numbers of staff with child care qualifications has increased from 67% in 2003 to 74% in 2004.</p>
19 Jan 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how quality of life funding is benefiting communities.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Quality of Life fund allows councils to support local issues that improve the lives of people and the fabric of the communities they live in. I have been flexible in how local authorities can use this funding, including supporting local programmes that ar…
18 Jan 2005 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has any plans to review its position on the Parliament's smoking room.
Answer · Duncan McNeil: Yes. We keep all of our policies under review as a matter of course. Since the whole issue of smoking is to be the subject of parliamentary debate, we decided to review our position on the provision of a smoking room when the Smoking, Health and Social Care…
23 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the allocation of additional funds for road maintenance announced for 2006-07 and future years reflects the recent report by Audit Scotland on road maintenance in terms of road maintenance priorities.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The increase of £60 million in provision for grant aided expenditure (GAE) in each of 2006-07 and 2007-08, to address the backlog of maintenance on local roads, reflects the Scottish Executive’s Partnership commitment to ensure sufficient resources are availa…
23 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the allocation of additional funding for road maintenance for 2006-07 and future years will have on (a) grant aided expenditure and (b) aggregate external finance in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07 and (iv) 2007-08.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The allocation of additional provision for road maintenance for 2006-7 and 2007-08 will have no impact on the Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) or the Aggregate External Finance (AEF) for 2004-5 or 2005-6. </p><p>In 2006-07 and 2007-08 an extra £60 million has be…
23 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the additional road maintenance funding announced for 2006-07 and future years will be allocated to each local authority and how much each will receive.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive announced on 29 September 2004, as part of the outcome of spending review 2004, an increase in provision for grant aided expenditure (GAE) for road maintenance of £60 million for 2006-07 and 2007-08. This figure is an increase in the Ex…
10 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to consult with key stakeholders in Scotland on the procedures for action on plant pests and the disclosure of site information following a pest outbreak.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive issued a consultation document today. This is being sent to agricultural, horticultural, environmental and consumer groups; to those growers who are authorised to issue plant passports, and to those with current or recent outbreaks of quarantine…
8 Dec 2004 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in making public transport fully accessible to disabled people.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Executive is committed to fully accessible public transport. People with disabilities should enjoy the same opportunities to travel in Scotland as other members of society. To achieve this, we are working with public transport providers and others to impr…
1 Dec 2004 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action local authorities can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Answer · Ross Finnie: It is for local authorities to determine what action they take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Executive provides support for a range of schemes which can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including measures such as the public s…