Parliamentary questions

Ms Wendy Alexander

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

6 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what factors it took into account in identifying invitees to the planning reform progress and e-planning launch event on 29 April 2009.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: When compiling the invitation list the capacity of the venue, the numbers required for the e-planning launch and the attendee list of the Planning Summit in October 2008 were taken into account. Since it was not possible to have an open invitation we sought t…

6 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the individuals and organisations invited to the planning reform progress and e-planning launch event on 29 April 2009.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The individuals and organisations invited to the event on the 29 April 2009 were: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap valign=top > Last Name </td> <td nowrap valign=top > <p al…

15 Apr 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated for the education of children with additional support needs.

Answer · Adam Ingram : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0423-01.htm">http://www.scott…

24 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21839 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 March 2009, in what parts of Scotland police have not notified the local licensing boards of reports that they have made to procurators fiscal about offences concerning the sale of alcohol to people under 18.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The detailed information requested is being sought from police forces and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy will be placed in the Parliament''s Reference Centre ( Bib number 47921).

12 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its previous assurances that all prosecutions for the sale of alcohol to under 18-year-olds are routinely notified to the relevant licensing boards, whether any remedial action has been necessary to ensure that this is happening.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: It is standard practice in most parts of Scotland for the police to notify local licensing boards of any reports that they make to the Procurator Fiscal about offences concerning the sale of alcohol to those under 18. This position will be strengthen…

12 Mar 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will abandon its proposal to lease out a large proportion of Forestry Commission Scotland land, given that 71% of respondents to its consultation opposed the idea.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0312-01.htm">http://www.scot…

11 Mar 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will re-examine the operation of legal aid rules that in practice mean that many mortgage borrowers facing repossession are not eligible for assistance or, where they are eligible, that many lawyers will not assist because they are required to recover fees from clients if succe…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0312-01.htm">http://www.scott…

26 Feb 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what quantity of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons was contained in buildings demolished in the last year.

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners between the ages of 60 and 74 not in receipt of the guaranteed element of the pension credit have received a central heating system under the central heating programme as a result of their system being (a) broken beyond repair or (b) partial or inefficient since 22 May…

Answer · Alex Neil: To better target the fuel poor, since 22 May 2008 central heating systems were made available to applicants who fall into the priority groups announced by the Cabinet Secretary on 22 May 2008 and again on 18 October 2008. On 22 May the priority group was th…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all notified cases of the 078 strain of Clostridium difficile, broken down by hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As at February 2009, there has been 16 isolates of 078 strain of Clostridium difficile reported, detailed in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=520 > <thead> <tr > <td width=144 valign=top > <p align=center…

12 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners who were assessed as eligible but not prioritised have received a central heating system under the central heating programme since 22 May 2009.

Answer · Alex Neil: Only applicants in the priority groups announced on 22 May 2008 and again on 18 October 2008, have gone on to receive a central heating system under the programme.

12 Feb 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing was first aware of the emergence of the new and potentially more dangerous 078 strain of Clostridium difficile in hospitals.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I was alerted to the emergence of this strain shortly before Health Protection Scotland published their Surveillance of Clostridium difficile Associated Disease in Scotland quarterly report dated 2 July 2008. Health Protection Scotl…

12 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners between the ages of 64 and 74 not in receipt of the guaranteed element of the pension credit have received a central heating system under the central heating programme as a result of their system being (a) broken beyond repair or (b) partial or inefficient since 22 May…

5 Feb 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the local authority settlement 2008 and 2009 provides sufficient resources for education.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0205-01.htm">http://www.scot…

15 Jan 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its reasons are for not introducing a dedicated webpage that would provide at one source publicly-accessible information on hospital-acquired infections and mortality figures for every hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Work is currently in hand to develop a web based portal through which all published information relating to healthcare associated infection (HAI) can be accessed. This will include links to the data now being collected using the new infection reporting templa…

12 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Scottish Planning Policy 1 being superseded by Scottish Planning Policy, what the reasons are for the absence of timescales for the processing of planning applications, particularly large applications.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-18799 on 8 January 2009. 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/Apps2…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the absense in the Scottish Planning Policy document of targets or timescales for the determination of planning applications by planning authorities.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) sets out the government''s priorities for planning and key policy issues rather than performance. The government intends to promote the use of processing agreements for major or national planning applications made under the …

5 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been changes to the motorway and trunk road preparation programme in the last 12 months and, if so, for what reason this has not been publicly reported by Transport Scotland.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: An updated programme will be published on Transport Scotland''s website shortly.

5 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Transport Scotland website states that the motorway and trunk road preparation programme is updated quarterly but the version shown at 4 December 2008 has not been updated since June 2007.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: There was little in the way of substantive change to the estimated starts in the preceding period. An updated programme will be published on Transport Scotland''s website shortly.

3 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16269 by John Swinney on 23 October 2008, whether it will provide in relation to each of the projects the (a) initial project announcement date, (b) project approval date, (c) contract signing date, (d) type of contract awarded or planned, for exampl…

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested for (a) to (d) is provided in the following table. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td valign=top > Project Name </td> <td valign=top > (…

3 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16270 by John Swinney on 23 October 2008, whether it will provide in relation to each of the projects the (a) date of financial close, (b) date the contract was signed and (c) nature of the contract, for example PPP or NPD, and for any project where …

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested for (a) and (ii) is available from the Scottish Government''s website by following this link <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/12308">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/12308<…

3 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any approved capital projects for which contracts were signed (a) in 2008 and (b) since publication of the outline business case for the Scottish Futures Trust.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested for (a) and (b) can be found in the following tables. (a) Capital Projects where Contract was Signed in 2008 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=241 > &nbsp…

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce publicly-available, hospital-by-hospital reporting of Clostridium difficile and other healthcare-acquired infections and, if so, how frequently data will be updated and whether it will be publicly accessible on the web.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-5063 on 4 December 2008. All answers to oral parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.…

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the standard template and guidance for local surveillance of healthcare-acquired infections is to be issued and implemented.