Parliamentary questions

Tricia Marwick

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

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the operating costs of the Scottish Charities Office were in 1999-2000.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The operating costs of the Scottish Charities Office form part of the budget of the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service. The provisional figure for the year to 31 March 2000 is £290,000. The final figure will be published in the annual report of th…

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish Charities Office's assessment is of the total amount of donated income received by charities for the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Answer · Colin Boyd: This is not information which is essential to the operational work of the Scottish Charities Office and it is not appropriate for the Charities Office to make any assessment of the total amount of donated income received by charities.

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what working definition of "donated income" is employed by the Scottish Charities Office.

Answer · Colin Boyd: It has not been necessary in the operational work of the office to have a working definition of "donated income". The income of charitable organisations can come from private individuals, the private sector, grant-giving trusts or by way of grant fr…

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what operating guidance the Scottish Charities Office has issued to charities on what it should consider to be "donated income".

Answer · Colin Boyd: No such guidance has been issued by the Charities Office.

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints about the activities of charities are currently being considered by the Scottish Charities Office and what was the source of each.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Scottish Charities Office has 19 investigations at present, eight cases where initial screening of concerns is being undertaken and 23 cases of counsel and assistance. In addition, there are 76 cases subject to monitoring by the Charities Office. In most …

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints were received by the Scottish Charities Office (SCO) regarding the activities of Inland Revenue/SCO recognised charities, in each year since its creation, from each of the following sources: (a) police, (b) fiscal service, (c) Law Society/Faculty of Advocates/Writers t…

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Scottish Charities Office has received 921 complaints since its establishment in 1992. The precise information on sources of complaints and disposal thereof is not readily available and cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost. The majority of c…

29 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7977 by Henry McLeish on 28 June 2000, whether it will detail by public agency, including Glenrothes Development Corporation, Fife Council, Fife Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and government departments, the total amount of public money spent in pro…

Answer · Henry McLeish: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

29 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7976 by Henry McLeish on 28 June 2000, whether it will detail the total amount of public money spent in building the Bankhead Roundabout and associated road improvements, environmental improvements and advance factory accommodation.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The total spend to date for the trunk road elements of the A92 Bankhead Interchange is £5.240 million. The Bankhead Roundabout, associated road improvements and environmental improvements were, in general, aid to economic development and not specific to the C…

28 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the brief given to the MacAulay Land Use Research Institute for its report into the impact of banning hunting with dogs.

Answer · John Home Robertson: The remit of the study commissioned by the Scottish Executive covered the investigation of the economic impact of a ban as it affected fox hunting by mounted hunts, the activities of the Scottish Hill Packs Association and the employment of gamekeepers. Both …

28 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the final cost was to it of the MacAulay Land Use Research Institute report.

Answer · John Home Robertson: The total cost of the research project on the Economic Impacts of a Ban on Hunting with Dogs in Scotland was £20,667.

22 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of any increase in costs to the three Scottish water boards which will result from the implementation of the climate change levy, and whether it will make additional finance available to cover any increased costs.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: All three water authorities have made assessments of the impact of costs of the climate change levy. At this stage, their estimates are as follows: East of Scotland Water Authority: 	£400,000 per annum West of Scotland…

14 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which public agencies made a financial contribution towards attracting Canon to Glenrothes and how much each agency contributed.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-7976.

14 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money was spent in providing the facilities, infrastructure and incentives to encourage Canon to locate in Glenrothes.

Answer · Henry McLeish: In October 1994 Canon was offered RSA of £530,000 which was paid in full.In February 1996 Canon was offered £3,000,000 which was reduced to £2,530,435 in January 1999 and a total of £1,500,000 was paid.Officials in the Monitoring department, Scottish Ex…

9 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to establish and fund a network of agencies to support adult survivors of child abuse.

Answer · Iain Gray: No. We are however contributing to research which is looking at adult survivors of child abuse and their needs and will consider the results in due course.

6 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken any assessment of any additional costs to local authorities as a result of the climate change levy, whether it will detail any such costs broken down by local authority and whether it intends to make an allocation in next year's local government finance settlemen…

Answer · Jack McConnell: Local authorities will be expected to make their own assessment of the impact of the climate change levy on their costs and to take whatever mitigation measures they consider appropriate. The levy is intended to encourage organisations in both the public and …

6 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made an assessment of any additional costs to centrally funded further and higher education institutions as a result of the climate change levy and whether it will detail any such costs.

Answer · Henry McLeish: No. The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Councils are responsible for allocating public funding to Scotland's further and higher education institutions, and they do this with reference to levels of relevant activity rather than specific itemised …

6 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made an assessment of any additional costs to health boards as a result of the climate change levy and whether it will detail any such additional costs broken down by health board.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Subject to enactment of the Finance Bill 2000 the UK Government intends to introduce the levy on 1 April 2001. To safeguard competitiveness in the private sector their intention is to recycle all revenues raised through a 0.3% reduction in employers' National…

6 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made an assessment of any additional costs it will incur as a result of the climate change levy and whether it will detail any such costs broken down by department.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive have put in place a new electricity and energy management services contract with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) from 1 July 2000. The new contract is for two years with a possible extension of a further one year and covers 12 Scotti…

22 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to legislate to provide for a right of access to inland water.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive is committed to legislating to establish a right of responsible access to inland water. Our preference remains to include provisions in the forthcoming Land Reform Bill, failing which, later in the legislative programme.

12 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown for the #36.5 million budget for New Housing partnerships current expenditure in 2000-01 of provision for (a) stock condition surveys, (b) tenant consultation or capacity building, (c) financial planning and (d) other expenditure.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The figure of £36.5 million was prepared on the basis of an estimated £15.5 million earmarked for those councils which are undertaking feasibility and other work related to possible stock transfers. The final breakdown of these earmarked funds has still to be…

12 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail for the years 1999-2000 and 2000-01 the estimated outturn and planned expenditure for (a) Scottish Homes approved development programme, (b) Scottish Homes own stock capital works, (c) housing revenue account capital investment, (d) empty homes initiative, (e) new h…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information requested is set out below:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=621><TR><TD WIDTH="6%" VALIGN="TOP"> </TD><TD WIDTH="59%" VALIGN="TOP"> </TD><TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP">1999-2000Estimat…