Parliamentary questions

Alex Fergusson

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

22 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offers were received for Penninghame prison by the prescribed closing date; how many came up to the expected price; why no offer was accepted at the closing date, and what steps are being taken to advance the sale.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Mr Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. Mr Cameron's response is as follows:The Scottish Prison Service are still engaged in the process of disposing of the site in accordance with approved p…

21 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current trading status is of each firm named in the Locate in Scotland Annual Review 1999-2000.

Answer · Henry McLeish: As stated in the Editors Notes section of the press release issued with the Locate in Scotland Annual Review:"The figures for inward investment in Scotland - both from overseas and from the rest of the United Kingdom - have been collat…

21 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial aid was provided to each firm named in the Locate in Scotland Review 1999-2000 and what the terms under which the aid was provided were in each case.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The principal form of assistance available under the government's regional policy is Regional Selective Assistance (RSA). Payments are released in instalments only after the achievement of capital expenditure and job creation/safeguarding milestones which are…

21 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs were created in the last five years by each firm which received financial assistance from the Scottish Enterprise Network in this period; how this figure compares in each case to any initial agreement concerning jobs made when the financial assistance was first agreed, and h…

Answer · Henry McLeish: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask the Chairman of Scottish Enterprise to write to Mr Fergusson, a copy of which will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre.

21 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all of the firms which have received financial aid from the Scottish Enterprise Network in the last five years, specifying in each case the level of aid granted, the terms under which aid was granted and the firm's current trading status.

19 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum and maximum waiting times are for radiotherapy for lung cancer in each of the five cancer centres once a positive diagnosis has been made.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Information is not available centrally in the form requested.Cancer centres give high priority to starting treatment as soon as possible after clinical decisions on treatment options have been made. At present, waiting times for radiothera…

19 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the hypothecated tobacco tax funding will be available to local authorities for drug and alcohol related services.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I shall be announcing my decisions shortly in the light of the views expressed at the Healthy Scotland Convention on 3 July.

9 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the plans to levy a #100 license fee on all retail butchers' shops are final; what the purpose is of the license, and why the fee is being introduced earlier in Scotland than in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Answer · Susan Deacon: As the Regulations have been laid and approved by the Scottish Parliament, the £100 licence fee will become statutory - as of 2 October 2000.Licensing has been introduced to improve food safety. The licensing scheme will ensure that certain…

9 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why retail butchers which offer ready-to-eat products will have to pay the #100 license fee when other establishments which offer similar products are not subject to such a requirement.

Answer · Susan Deacon: All retailers engaged in the handling of unwrapped raw meat and its subsequent sale, together with ready-to-eat food will require a licence - whether a traditional retail butcher or other retailer dealing in these products.

9 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost to collect the #100 license fee from retail butchers' shops in Scotland.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The fee of £100 is intended to cover the full costs of administering each licence application including the collection of the fee itself, which accounts for a small proportion of the total cost.

3 May 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to further encourage farmers to diversify into timber production.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Woodland Grant Scheme and the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme both offer incentives for farmers to diversify into timber production. Last year over 8,500 hectares were approved for planting under these schemes, more than in any previous year.

2 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether blood and tissue samples have been taken and analysed from victims of new variant Creut'feldt Jakob Disease (CJD) and, if so, (a) whether the results show the presence of (i) vitamin disorder and (ii) trace element disorder, and (b) how the results differ from those obtained from …

Answer · Susan Deacon: We are not aware of research of this nature currently being carried out in Scotland. However, the CJD Surveillance Unit, based in the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, has confirmed that although they carry out a number of tests on blood and tissue sampl…

2 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5094 by Mr Jack McConnell on 28 March 2000, what plans it has to ensure that private companies which are in receipt of public funding pay all invoices timeously, and are not able to defer payment in order to delay going into receivership.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG), which includes Government and business representative organisations, promotes best payment practice across the UK. All companies, whether in receipt of public funds or not, should abide by the guidelines issued by the…

2 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which are the most common vitamin and trace element disorders present within the population.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer given to question S1W-6489.

2 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion and how many of the population, in total and broken down by health board area, are affected by vitamin and trace element disorders.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Vitamin and trace element disorders are relatively uncommon in Scotland. The latest available data derived from the Continuous Morbidity Recording System, indicate that, in 1998, 0.05% of the population - 2,700 individuals - consulted their GPs about such dis…

2 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reduce the number of people who suffer from vitamin and/or trace element disorders so as to decrease the numbers requiring medical attention and hospitalisation.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer given to question S1W-6489.

10 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available in order to progress the pilot project which it has established with organisations and producers in Dumfries and Galloway to look at developing viable markets for locally produced goods, and how that funding will be applied.

Answer · Ross Finnie: As it is still in its planning stages there are no budgets set against this initiative at present. But the pilot project, which will look at developing alternative viable markets for local Dumfries and Galloway produce will be given whatever support is necess…

10 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement by the Minister for Rural Affairs on 30 March 2000, why Scottish farmers will not have their annual groundwater maintenance charge of #123 waived for the next four years as will be the case in England and Wales.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: It is Executive policy that SEPA should move to full cost recovery in its charging regimes. Charges levied under the Groundwater Regulations have therefore been set as low as possible, consistent with recovery by SEPA of the costs of regulation from polluters…

27 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has, further to the answer to question S1W-2234 by Susan Deacon on 19 January 2000, to educate people who smoke to look out for possible symptoms of lung cancer and seek medical help.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Information and advice on the effects of smoking, symptoms of lung cancer and where to seek medical help is readily available from a variety of sources including, for example, well women and well men clinics, Healthy Living Centres, GPs surgeries and hospital…

27 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is (a) the average time between referral and start of treatment and (b) the maximum waiting time for lung cancer patients in each of the five cancer centres in the last year.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of the three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. Waiting times for investigation and treatment are a high priority within the Scottish Cancer Group's work programme.Initial treatment for lung cancer can take place in …

27 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities will be exempted from the terms of the Competition Act 1998.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Competition is a reserved matter. Our understanding is that some of the activities of local authorities will fall within the scope of the Competition Act 1998, and that this is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading.

22 Mar 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committed to maintaining the existing bio-diversity within Scotland's countryside.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Yes. The is responsible for the implementation in Scotland of the UK obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity. There are 275 Species Action Plans and 32 Habitat Action Plans in place which are relevant to Scotland. All Scottish local authorit…

9 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that household gas consumers are made aware of the importance of using contractors who are "CORGI" registered when carrying out works related to gas installations.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Gas safety is a reserved matter. I understand that HSE, which has responsibility for these matters, undertakes a seasonal gas safety advertising campaign each year. This campaign emphasises the need for regular maintenance and servicing of appliances by CORGI…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of agri-environmental funding under the Countryside Premium Scheme in future years and why no applications from Dumfries and Galloway were accepted in the last year.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Countryside Premium Scheme is a national scheme designed to deliver conservation benefits in the wider countryside. The arrangements for ranking applications ensure that the resources available are directed to those applications likely to deliver the grea…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list, by local authority area, how many applications were accepted into the Countryside Premium Scheme and how many were rejected in the last year.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The information requested is set out in the table below:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP">Local Authority </TD><TD WIDTH="25%" VALIGN="TOP">Applications Accepted</TD><TD W…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that bodies in receipt of public funding pay all invoices on time.

Answer · Jack McConnell: All public bodies are subject to the provisions of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. For an initial period, the Act provides that small firms have a statutory right to claim interest in respect of the late payment of invoices from larg…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reduce red tape and regulatory costs which operators of smaller abattoirs need to comply with, and whether any evidence exists to indicate that such red tape and regulation can result in (a) longer journey times for animals going to slaughter and (b) detrimenta…

Answer · Susan Deacon: A review of red tape in the meat industry was carried out last autumn. The Group reported on 13 December and the Scottish Executive accepted most of its recommendations. While there was no discussion in the report of journey times to slaughter, there was cons…

7 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that the redistribution of resources under its modulation proposals will be ring-fenced in order to ensure that monies raised in any one region will be reinvested within that region.

Answer · Ross Finnie: A final decision on the introduction of modulation will be announced in due course. This will include consideration of the needs of particular regions.

7 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make "Lifelong Learning" available to people aged 50 and over by enabling them to have access to student loans.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Student loans are available to eligible students aged 50-54 who wish to retrain in order to enhance their employment prospects. Students aged over 54 are not eligible for loans because it is unlikely that they would be able to repay the loan, and many will ha…

7 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how valuable it considers the role of Gingerbread Scotland to be in relation to lone parents and what plans it has to ensure its survival by grant assistance or other funding.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to my answer to question S1W-4845