Parliamentary questions
Sarah Boyack
2,373 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1F-2126 by the First Minister on 26 September 2002, what analysis would need to be carried out on any health implications for staff in the water industry of any fluoridation of the public water supply.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The consultation document <I>Towards Better Oral Health in Children</I>, published on 24 September, seeks views on a range of possible measures to improve children's oral health, including fluoridation. Questions about the implementation of any particular opt…
18 Sep 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is targeting investment to tackle youth crime.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: £25.5 million was allocated to local authorities between 2000 and 2003-04 for community-based programmes to help young people stop offending. On 18 September, I announced that the Executive would continue to invest resources to support the 10-Point Action Pla…
11 Sep 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to improve the health of homeless people.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In October 2000, we announced our intention to prioritise the health of homeless people. To this end we appointed a Health and Homelessness Co-ordinator and issued guidance to NHS Scotland that outlined the requirement to pro-actively address the needs of thi…
28 Aug 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will meet its new targets for renewable energy.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Renewables Obligation Scotland, introduced earlier this year, is resulting in a number of developers applying for consent to build new renewable generating plant. We expect this level of interest to continue and to increase. We will work with developers, …
22 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what scope there is to increase the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources.
Answer · Ross Finnie: As part of the Scottish Climate Change Programme, the Executive is committed to raising the overall proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources in Scotland to 18% by 2010. I believe that the potential exists to go much further. I am therefore t…
15 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the Quality of Life funding to local authorities announced on 11 August 2002 was allocated to voluntary sector organisations.
Answer · Andy Kerr: A number of local voluntary organisations will benefit from the Quality of Life funding through the provision of resources to local clubs, play-schemes and community-based projects. However, the exact allocation to these organisations is a matter for each loc…
9 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to distribute the end year flexibility funding allocated to environment and rural development.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The end-year flexibility funding allocated to the environment and rural development portfolio totals some £76 million, including a planned carry forward of £21.3 million for the Fisheries Decommissioning Scheme. The additional funding will allow us to deliver…
2 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish an organic food and farming action plan.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture, developed by the Executive in partnership with stakeholders from the food and farming industries and the environmental sector, sets out an action plan which is relevant to the organic sector as well as to other f…
2 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken any measures to promote current Energy Saving Trust grants for the installation of solar/photovoltaic units in (a) public sector housing, (b) private sector housing, (c) businesses, (d) schools and (e) hospitals.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Energy Saving Trust (EST) secured the Department of Trade and Industry contract for this UK initiative in May and the Scottish Executive is currently in discussion with the EST about how best to promote the programme in Scotland. We anticipate a marketing…
2 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23320 by Nicol Stephen on 19 March 2002, whether energy efficiency targets will be built into future evaluation criteria under the Public/Private Partnership programme for school modernisation.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The assessment criteria for the current round of local authority bids for revenue support for outline school Public/Private Partnership projects were set out in Scottish Executive Education Department circular 8/2001. We have also announced our intention to p…
2 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for distributing the environmental allocation being made available to local authorities under the end-year flexibility arrangements announced in the ministerial statement by the Minister for Finance and Public Services on 26 June 2002.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Provisional allocations for the additional £95 million of end-year flexibility (EYF) were distributed on the basis of each council's general Grant Aided Expenditure allowances for the current year. It will be up to each local authority how it allocates its al…
5 Jun 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the historic environment can contribute to economic regeneration in light of Passed to the Future - Historic Scotland's Policy for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment.
Answer · Elaine Murray: <I>Passed to the Future</I> sets out the principles of sustainable management of the historic environment. Caring for the historic environment in a sustainable way can improve the quality of life and help to revitalise our towns, cities and countryside. It ca…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to give the police new powers to deal with the playing of loud music, including consideration of the use of fixed penalty notices.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The police already have powers to deal with the playing of loud music, including the power to confiscate sound equipment for up to 28 days if a person fails to stop the noise on being asked to do so by a police officer. We have a range of other measures in pl…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to tackle the issue of inadequate sound insulation in buildings.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Noise problems in buildings are dealt with by a variety of measures, including building standards regulations and environmental health provisions. Recent research supports the current Scottish building standards relating to the transmission of sound and no re…
27 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the terms of reference will be of the policy and financial management review of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive is committed to ensuring that each public body is subject to a regular policy and financial management review. A review of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will start in June 2002. The terms of reference for the review will be:<…
8 May 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the reform of charity law.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24449 on 24 April 2002.
7 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will define and quantify the "equitable contribution" to the UK Kyoto target referred to in the indicator of sustainable development for Scotland on climate change in its document Meeting the Needs... Priorities, Actions and Targets for Sustainable Development in Scotland.
Answer · Allan Wilson: We have agreed with the UK Government that emission reductions, required to meet the UK Kyoto commitment, can be delivered by working in partnership. The policy measures, through which we will deliver our contribution, are set out in the <I>Scottish Climate C…
11 Apr 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to expand its Community Leadership and Climate Change in Scotland document by introducing the full Councils for Climate Protection programme.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive is awaiting the outcome of the Councils for Climate Protection pilot in England and Wales, due to be completed later this month. This will inform the on-going consideration the Executive is giving to ways in which it can further engage with Scot…
11 Apr 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to provide annual Greening Government reports from each of its departments.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive's first annual Greening Government report <I>Our Impact on the Environment</I> published in December 2001 summarised the environmental performance of the Executive as a whole. There are no plans to produce annual Greening Government rep…
11 Apr 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to announce its sustainable development indicators.
Answer · Ross Finnie: We will publish a Scottish Executive statement on sustainable development soon. This document will include a list of the indicators we will adopt to monitor progress towards sustainable development.
25 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the local authority housing capital allocations for 2002-03.
Answer · Iain Gray: I am able to announce the local authority housing capital allocations for 2002-03. These are set out in the following table.<P>Capital Allocation Allocations 2002-03<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=3 WIDTH=255><TR><TD WIDTH="67%" VALIGN="MIDDLE" HEIGHT…
6 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects Her Majesty's Government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
Answer · Allan Wilson: I welcome this opportunity to confirm that UK ratification of the Kyoto Protocol was today announced in the House of Commons by Margaret Beckett. This confirms the UK commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its continuing leading role in internation…
27 Feb 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it next plans to review the energy efficiency requirements within building regulations.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The energy efficiency requirements within building regulations have been reviewed and stringent new standards came into force on 4 March 2002.
25 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what energy efficiency targets have been built into any evaluation process for proposals for housing stock transfer to housing associations in Edinburgh.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Councils, tenants and acquiring landlords will, where appropriate, consider energy efficiency improvements when developing transfer proposals. The detailed specification of individual proposals is a matter for local consideration.
25 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to update the Scottish Ministerial Code.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Ministerial Code was first published in August 1999. It provides a code of conduct and guidance on procedures for Scottish ministers. It also underlines our commitment to working in partnership with the Scottish Parliament. We have updated the co…
25 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it plans to allocate to local authorities in respect of refrigerator recycling.
Answer · Ross Finnie: In my reply to Parliamentary Question S1O-04233 on 6 December, I confirmed that the Executive will provide additional funding to Scottish local authorities to assist them with costs arising from the new regulations on the disposal of fridges, freezers and oth…
21 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what environmental management criteria have been built into the evaluation process through which proposals from local authorities under the school modernisation Public/Private Partnership programme will be considered.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The assessment criteria under which local authority bids for revenue support for school Public/Private Partnership projects are being considered are set out in Scottish Executive Education Department circular 8/2001, copies of which are available in the Parli…
21 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the use of solar power for bus stops.
Answer · Ross Finnie: We have no such plans.
21 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to set energy efficiency targets for education institutions.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: We currently have no such plans.
21 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote research and development in respect of energy efficient technologies like solar panels and photo-voltaic cells.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Research funding for renewable energy is a reserved matter. However, the Scottish Executive is committed to the promotion and development of renewable energy, covering a range of sizes and different technologies. This is currently done under the Scottish Clea…