Parliamentary questions

Alasdair Morgan

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

21 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the A75 trunk route should maintain its position on the EU's Essen Trans European Network priority list.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Executive believes that the A75's inclusion in the Trans European Network as part of the Ireland-UK-Benelux priority route recognises the vital role that this road plays in the European road network. Our commitment in the Motorway and Trunk Road Programme…

21 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much European funding has been received in respect of the Glens improvement on the A75.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Trans-European Network (TEN) funding of some £350,000 was received in 1997 as a contribution to the improvement of the A75 at the Glen. The project has since been completed and a further claim for the outstanding amount of 780,000 ECU is being finalised. No o…

21 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre copies of all correspondence since 1997 relating to actual or potential Essen Trans European Network projects in Scotland.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Under the Scottish Executive's Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information, information whose disclosure would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion including internal opinion, advice, recommendation, consultatio…

20 Jun 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board.

Answer · Mike Watson: I met with Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board on 20 May and had a productive discussion on tourism issues.

20 Jun 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it uses in assessing requests from local authorities for additional funding to prevent the closure of rural schools.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Funding for local authorities is not provided on this basis. Local authorities are responsible for funding the schools in their areas from the general resources available to them and determine their own priorities.

20 Jun 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the economy of Dumfries and Galloway following the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Dumfries and Galloway Economic Forum is leading a group of local organisations to assess the scale and nature of the impact in the Dumfries and Galloway area. Their work is feeding into the Economic Impact Assessment Group which Ross Finnie set up in Marc…

14 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to respond to the South West Scotland Dry Stone Walling Association in connection with the standard of dry stone walls constructed as part of the A75 Glens improvement, as referred to in the Minister for Transport and the Environment's letter to me of 4 August 2000.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Officials have now replied to the South West Scotland Dry Stone Walling Association and a copy of the letter has been sent to the member.

24 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to call in the planning application for a proposed waste energy plant at Dargavel, Dumfriesshire.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No. Planning permission for this development was granted by Dumfries and Galloway Council on 31 May 2001. There were no planning reasons for the Scottish Ministers to intervene in the processing of this application by the council.

8 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, for each year from 1995 to 2000, how many persons registered under section 9 of the Marriages (Scotland) Act 1977 have subsequently had that registration removed because of the grounds specified in section 10 (1) (d) (ii) of that Act.

Answer · Iain Gray: None.

7 Mar 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the financial consequences of the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I announced last week that I have asked the Enterprise Networks, visitscotland, the Scottish Agricultural College and other interested organisations to work with my officials to assess the impact of the Foot and Mouth outbreak across local areas, sectors and …

6 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many exam results are still under appeal to the Scottish Qualifications Authority from the 2000 diet and what the estimated timescale is for dealing with these appeals.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I have been informed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority that of the 87,000 appeals submitted as part of the usual appeals process following the 2000 Diet, no appeals remain outstanding.

5 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many road deaths there were in Scotland; (b) how many of these were the subject of a mandatory fatal accident inquiry; (c) how many resulted in a discretionary referral to the Crown Office by the Procurator Fiscal for a fatal accident inquiry, and (d) of these referrals, how many …

Answer · Neil Davidson: The statistical information requested is not available. Crown Office do not record road deaths as a separate category of death. However, every death investigated by the Procurator Fiscal is reported to Crown Office and the question of the need for a Fatal Acc…

5 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times in 2000 procurators fiscal consulted with the relatives of those killed in road accidents prior to deciding whether or not to seek a fatal accident inquiry.

Answer · Neil Davidson: The information requested is not recorded and is therefore not available. However, Procurators Fiscal are subject to an instruction in the following terms: "Where a death is reported to the Procurator Fiscal, and(a) there is likely to be a prosecut…

5 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all sales of Forestry Commission Land since 1 January 1999, showing the location, acreage and selling price in each case.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The table gives details of all the forest land (i.e. the forests, woods, associated unplanted land and land originally acquired for planting) that was sold by the Forestry Commission between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2000, the latest date for which infor…

26 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has any legal obligations and powers in relation to the test firing of depleted uranium shells at Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Ministry of Defence has crown immunity from regulation under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) therefore has no legal obligation or powers to regulate any activity in relation to the test firing of depl…

26 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice has been given by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to the Ministry of Defence on the test firing of depleted uranium shells at Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

19 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many neurologist posts there are in the NHSiS and how many of these are currently vacant, broken down by health board area in each case.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The latest information on the number of neurology staff in post by health board area is shown in the following table. The total number of consultants in this specialty has increased from 32 in 1997. The table should be read in conjunction with the notes below…

29 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of Trans-European Network funding it estimates it will receive for its planned improvements to the A75.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Route Action Plan (RAP) for the A75 identifies a 10-year investment programme. The first two improvement schemes at Cairntop and Chapleton are at an early stage of planning. We will consider whether it might be appropriate to apply for Trans-European Netw…

29 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many representations it has received, and from whom, with regard to the award of trunk road maintenance contracts.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Department has received a number of representations from a wide range of respondents including bidding consortia, local councils and CoSLA, trade unions and council workers.

29 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it uses to assess whether an independent museum is of national importance.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-2806 on 18 January.

29 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has taken with regard to the firing of depleted uranium shells into the Solway Firth near Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: In 1999 Scottish Environment Protection Agency staff visited the Dundrennan Range and subsequently held discussions with the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency about the environmental monitoring programme there.

19 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which information returns on cattle that are required from farmers by its Rural Affairs Department duplicate information returns which farmers already provide to the cattle movement scheme computer system at Workington.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Action to reduce repeat requests for cattle information has already been implemented and wherever possible requests for duplicate information are avoided when pre-printed information is supplied or is available. Further measures to eliminate the remaining req…

10 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current establishment is of the procurator fiscal service, how many vacancies there are and in what grades.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The total number of legal staff in post as at 1 January 2001 is 325. There are 12 vacancies.The total number of non-legal staff in post as at 1 January 2001 is 817. There are 25 vacancies.

10 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fatal accident inquiries have been held in each of the last ten years.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The available figures are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP">1990-91</TD><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP">112</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JU…

10 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the motorway network is surfaced with porous asphalt.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Porous asphalt surfacing is not utilised on Scottish motorways or on the remainder of the Scottish trunk road network, primarily for serviceability reasons. Where we have opted not to use traditional hot-rolled asphalt surfacing, we use negative-texture propr…

29 Nov 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is with regard to relief on water charges for community halls and charitable organisations.

Answer · Allan Wilson: I understand that, following a consultation exercise, the authorities are considering their position with regard to the remaining reliefs for charitable organisations. When the authorities have reached a decision, they will write as soon as possible to all th…

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary teachers aged (i) 26 to 30; (ii) 31 to 35; (iii) 36 to 40; (iv) 41 to 45; (v) 46 to 50; (vi) 51 to 55, and (vii) 56 to 60 there were in each local authority area in the last academic year.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The following tables show the latest information available on the age profile of primary and secondary teachers in each local authority area.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=606><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=11 BGCOLOR="#ffffff" HEIGHT=20><FONT …

9 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list, for all non-departmental public bodies ultimately responsible to it, (a) their budget, (b) their staffing level, (c) the number of board members and (d) the emolument of board members.

Answer · Angus MacKay: All the information requested for all non-departmental public bodies for which the Executive is responsible is published in the Cabinet Office annual report Public Bodies 1999. A copy is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre or the …

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Lord Advocate notified the Presiding Officer that he did not intend to refer the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Bill to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Answer · Colin Boyd: A letter dated 13 September 2000 was sent on behalf of the Lord Advocate notifying the Presiding Office that the Lord Advocate did not intend to make a reference to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in respect of the Bill or any provision of it.

31 Oct 2000 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the statement by the convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that "in sourcing materials, preferences will always be given to those from sources that will reduce the need for transportation" (The Herald, 26 September 2000), what specific criteria will be used to assess whether …

Answer · David Steel: The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that the reference in The Herald newspaper of 26 September 2000 was to the tender documentation relating to the external cladding of the MSP building. That document states that, "p…