Dr Sylvia Jackson

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will monitor those sites where GM contaminated seeds were sown and the crops destroyed to ensure that no contamination of the environment has occurred.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-7315.

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that all GM contaminated seeds mistakenly planted in Scotland will be effectively destroyed.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Once my officials have information on the locations where these seeds have been planted they will visit them to verify that crops have been destroyed. Thereafter the sites in question will be monitored.

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what systems are now in place to ensure that GM crops are not grown commercially in Scotland and whether further measures are to be introduced.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Before a genetically modified crop may be grown commercially in the UK it must meet the rigorous requirements of European and UK legislation. A number of GM crops have passed all the regulatory hurdles and could be grown commercially in the UK today. However,…

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what avenues it is exploring with regard to compensation for both the buying of GM contaminated seeds by Scottish farmers and the sowing and destruction of the crop in Scotland.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Compensation is being addressed directly between Advanta and farmers' representatives, who will work out the precise details.

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had directly with Advanta or via Her Majesty's Government regarding the sale of GM contaminated seeds to Scottish farmers.

Answer · Ross Finnie: My officials have had discussions with Advanta by telephone and participated in a meeting with Advanta and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 1 June.

24 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the present position is at the Scottish Cardiopulmonary Transplant Unit at Glasgow Royal Infirmary regarding the lack of consultant cover for those on the active list.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the speech I made during the debate on the Scottish Heart Transplant Unit on Wednesday 24 May.

24 May 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will examine any difficulties experienced by voluntary organisations in relation to "matched funding" and, in particular, those faced by Central Rape Crisis.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Executive is committed to developing a stable funding environment for the voluntary sector. Matched funding, which can be in cash or in kind, can strengthen the impact of the work of a voluntary organisation in a number of ways in addition to the financia…

17 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with telecommunications companies regarding the introduction of planning controls following the publication of the Stewart Report and the report of the Transport and the Environment Committee.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: While the timescale for initial deployment of the network infrastructure is a commercial matter for the third generation operators, Scottish Executive officials met with representatives of the industry on Thursday 25 May to gather information about the likely…

5 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider implementing a directive to halt the siting of telecommunications masts in Scotland until legislation to give councils greater planning powers in this area has been considered.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Neither the report of the Transport and the Environment Committee nor that of the Stewart Group recommends that telecommunications mast development should be halted. I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-5100.

3 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it currently gives and what support it plans to give in 2001-02 to carers and how it plans to support carers' groups such as the Relatives Association of Scotland.

Answer · Iain Gray: Under our Strategy for Carers in Scotland we are supporting carers through a wide-ranging set of measures. £10 million has been earmarked under the Strategy in 2000-01 for carers services, including respite. We expect this to lead to increased services for ca…

28 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any knowledge of diseases transmitted by body piercing undertaken in unhygienic conditions.

Answer · Susan Deacon: If body piercing is carried out in unhygienic conditions, local infections of surrounding skin and superficial tissues can be caused by a number of organisms. The possibility also exists that more serious infections including hepatitis B and C and HIV infecti…

28 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5398 by Susan Deacon on 30 March 2000, what progress is being made in the preparation of the consultation paper seeking views on the need or otherwise for controls over skin piercing.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer to my answer of 12 May to question S1W-6002 from Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray).

28 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a national anti-bullying strategy would help reduce the number of cases of bullying in schools.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-6428.

28 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have school anti-bullying strategies in place.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not collected centrally.

28 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how bullying is best countered in schools.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: There is no single solution for tackling bullying but the most important thing a school can do is have a clear policy to which the staff, pupils and parents are committed. A range of guidance on this issue has been issued to schools and advocates whole school…

28 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether school technicians should have equal access to IT training and other IT benefits currently available to school teachers and school librarians.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Local authorities are able to use money from the NGfL programme of the Excellence Fund to provide technical support for ICT developments. This can include training and staff development for school technicians.

19 Apr 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in relation to supporting women, including child victims, who have suffered rape or other sexual abuse.

Answer · Angus MacKay: The Executive is committed to ensuring that these victims have access to the support they need. <P>We will continue to address their needs in initiatives such as the work being undertaken by the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse and the action plan follo…

7 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to enable surplus money within the Transport Operatives Pension Scheme to be paid out, and what the expected timescale is for distributing this surplus.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: On wind up of the Scottish Transport Group, the Scottish Executive will bring forward for Parliament's approval a Dissolution Order which will prescribe to whom the group should pay the surplus funds. The processes involved, including the wind up of the two S…

7 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all surplus money within the Transport Operatives Pension Scheme (TOPS) will be distributed to existing pensioners and deferred pensioners within TOPS.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: On wind-up of the Scottish Transport Group a Dissolution Order will prescribe to whom the group should pay the surplus funds remaining after tax and having made proper provision for future claims and liabilities. The Scottish Executive will bring forward such…

4 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the distribution of funds from the Scottish Bus Group pension fund to the former employees of the Scottish Bus Group.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Section 14 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 1989 allows for any surplus remaining in the Scottish Transport Group Pension schemes to be paid in accordance with a specific Dissolution Order to wind-up the Scottish Transport Group. The Order would prescribe to w…

4 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the amount of funds currently in the Scottish Bus Group pension fund.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The most recent annual report of the Scottish Transport Group, of which the Scottish Bus Group is a wholly owned subsidiary, showed the value of the surplus at 31 March 1999 to be approximately £120 million (net of tax).

4 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many former employees of the Scottish Bus Group are awaiting payment from the Scottish Bus Group Pension Fund.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I am not aware that any former employee entitled to a pension is not receiving it.

4 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used by the Spending Strategy Group in relation to the distribution of money to different areas of Scotland for education, transport and health.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Spending Strategy Group will propose an allocation of resources between programmes that Cabinet will subsequently ratify. This process will take account of the Executive's commitments to all areas of Scotland as set out in the <I>Programme for Government<…

4 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the precautionary principle is being implemented in relation to the genetically modified crop farm evaluation trials in Scotland.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is committed to acting with caution based on sound scientific advice. Consent to plant GM crops for farm scale evaluations is only granted after stringent laboratory testing and the planting of small, controlled experimental sites have …

4 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is working in a joined-up way to tackle fuel poverty, both within the Scottish Executive and in relation to its links with Her Majesty's Government.

Answer · Frank McAveety: In Scotland, fuel poverty is being tackled through the Healthy Homes Initiative including the Warm Deal. The Executive's policies complement those of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretaries of State for Social Security, Education and Employment an…

29 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to encourage sustainable development within Scotland's proposed National Parks.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Sustainable development will be an important feature of the work of National Park authorities. The focus for this will be through the National Park Plan which each National Park authority will be required to prepare and submit to Scottish Ministers for approv…

29 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to encourage the minimisation, re-use and recycling of waste in Scotland.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is committed to the principles of the National Waste Strategy: Scotland, which it adopted in December last year. The Strategy is a long-term plan to create a sustainable waste management system in Scotland and promotes minimisation, re-…

29 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scotland is on course to meet the waste management objectives as laid out in the EU Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC) and the Environment Act 1995.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Yes. The Waste Framework Directive requires member states to encourage the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste, or the use of waste as a source of energy, to ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health or harming the env…

10 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to help in the rehabilitation of kidney transplant patients, in the light of the withdrawal of funds from the British Kidney Patients Association to provide this service.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Although the British Kidney Patients Association (BKPA) provides a range of support to people who suffer from kidney disease and their families, rehabilitation of kidney transplant patients is essentially for the clinicians concerned. It includes medical, phy…

10 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to promote the "Safer Routes to School" guidelines.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Safer Routes to School guidelines were issued to all schools and local authorities in December 1999. They are intended as a toolkit of measures for use by all those involved in the journey to school to help them to set up safe and environmentally friendly…