Alex Fergusson

18 Sep 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many leukaemia patients, and those with other blood-related diseases, there are in Scotland who require blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In 2002, 50 patients with a principaldiagnosis of leukaemia or Hodgkin’s disease or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma had bone marrowtransplants.</p><p>In the same year there were 254peripheral blood stem cell transplants for people with a principal diagnosis ofleukaemi…

4 Sep 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what revenue was raised by Scottish Water and the former West of Scotland Water in Dumfries and Galloway for each of the last five years from (a) domestic customers and (b) business customers and how much was invested in the water infrastructure in Dumfries and Galloway in each of these …

Answer · Ross Finnie: The questions raised are of an operational nature. I have therefore askedthe Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply. His response is:</p><p>ScottishWater raised £13 million from domestic customers in Dumfries and Galloway in 2002-03, and the West of Scotl…

4 Sep 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what revenue it expects to be raised by Scottish Water in Dumfries and Galloway in each of the next five years from (a) domestic customers and (b) business customers and how much it expects to invest in the water infrastructure of Dumfries and Galloway in each of these years.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The questions raised are of an operational nature. I have therefore askedthe Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply. His response is:</p><p>ScottishWater is expecting to raise £14.5 million from domestic customers in Dumfries and Galloway in 2003-04. The …

3 Sep 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the administration of Scottish Water.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Since its creation 17 monthsago, Scottish Water has made steady progress in merging systems and operationsinherited from the former three water authorities and I am satisfied with itsadministration. There is, however, no room for complacency and rates of prog…

5 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, or intends to take, to reduce the incidence of ragwort poisoning on roadside verges.

Answer · Ross Finnie: <p>Under the Weeds Act 1959, responsibility for the control of ragwort rests with the occupier of the land on which ragwort is growing. If ragwort growth on roadside verges has been caused by a ragwort problem on agricultural land, and is brought to the atten…

31 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been made available to each of the 22 projects it has approved for pipeline funding under the Supporting People scheme.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The final allocation of funding for each project ascribed pipeline status has not yet been determined. An announcement will be made in due course.

30 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its contract with eTourism Ltd contains performance criteria to cover the technical integrity of visitscotland.com.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Ministerial approval to the eTourism joint venture partnership proposal was based on a detailed business case, the public version of which was placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre in October 2002 (Bib. number 27374). The business case covered a range o…

17 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bed-and-breakfast bookings have been made through visitscotland.com in 2003 to date, broken down by area tourist board area.

Answer · Frank McAveety: This is a matter for visitscotland.com. The information is not held centrally.

20 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to review the grant funding that it makes available to the ME Association following the recent resignations of three board members because of concerns about the financial affairs of the charity.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has been informed by the ME Association of their financial position, and is keeping the situation under regular review with the organisation.

18 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to determine whether there is any link between the 1-in-60 level of cases of multiple sclerosis in Leswalt and Kirkcolm, Wigtownshire, and levels of tributyltin identified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Loch Ryan.

Answer · Allan Wilson: There is currently no evidence of any link between the identified cases of MS in Leswalt and Kirkcolm with tributyltin (TBT) levels in Loch Ryan.<P>Despite a great deal of research worldwide it has not been possible to identify the cause of multiple sclerosis…

11 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-336 by Peter Peacock on 3 June 2003, whether it will define the phrase "commercial close".

Answer · Peter Peacock: Commercial close is the point at which a contract is signed between the party procuring a facility or service through a public private partnership and the party selected to provide that facility or service.

4 Jun 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that temporary trunk road closure orders to facilitate community events such as gala days and common ridings are fully effective.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Yes. The promotion of a temporary traffic regulation order for a trunk road closure is an effective and legal way to facilitate community events.

5 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33266 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 January 2003, how many journeys were undertaken in 2002 by ambulances transferring patients between (a) the Garrick Hospital, (b) private homes in the DG9 postcode area and (c) GP surgeries and (i) Dumfries and Gallowa…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This detailed information is not readily available. The Scottish Ambulance Service transfers many patients from the Stranraer area to hospitals in Dumfries and elsewhere, including Ayr and further afield. The general manager of the service's South West Divisi…

29 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made towards the implementation of the fallen stock scheme.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Proposals for a fallen stock scheme are under active consideration. Key stakeholders are closely involved in this process.

15 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report of its short-life action group on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

Answer · Frank McAveety: We expect the report to be published within the next two weeks. I will send copies to the parliamentary members of the Cross Party Group on ME. I take this opportunity to thank the members of the short-life group for giving their time and expertise, and the p…

13 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider holding a public inquiry on the proposed location of the Robin Rigg development, given the opposition of Dumfries and Galloway Council and Allerdale District Council to the development.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This application for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 has completed its public consultation process and is being considered by officials. A recommendation has yet to be brought before the Scottish ministers for determination. The decision …

13 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what annual average subsidy would be payable by electricity consumers for the electricity generated if the 60-turbine wind power station being proposed for Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth was approved.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) imposes limited additional costs upon all suppliers of renewable energy. The extent to which these costs are reclaimed from consumers is a commercial matter for the companies concerned.

13 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what direct subsidy would be payable to the developers if the 60-turbine wind power station proposed at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth was approved.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The developers have made an application to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for assistance under the UK Capital Grants Scheme for offshore wind. The outcome will be determined by a competitive process and is expected to be announced during the summe…

13 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to consider the planning application to build a 60-turbine wind power station at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth and what consultation process will be introduced.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: An application has been made to the Scottish ministers for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for the construction and operation of a wind farm at Robin Rigg. That part of development that will take place within Scottish waters will not requ…

13 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role the Minister for the Environment and Rural Development will play in the consideration of the planning application to build a 60-turbine wind power station at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth and of the objections to the application, with specific reference to national scenic areas.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Minister for the Environment and Rural Development will have no direct role to play in the consideration of the application for consent for the proposed wind farm development at Robin Rigg. I shall make the determination on behalf of the Scottish minister…

8 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made by Schlumberger Sema through eTourism Ltd with visitscotland.com.

Answer · Mike Watson: The first few months of visitscotland.com operations have been very successful. Since its new National Contact Centre was opened in August, it has received over 100,000 phone and email enquiries, and has made over 4,000 bookings with tourism businesses across…

26 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps can be taken to ensure that rabies does not spread from bats to other mammals such as rats and mice.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Based on experience in other parts of Europe where bat rabies is widespread and cross-infection of other mammals, including rats and mice, is considered to be at negligible levels, no preventative action here is felt to be necessary.

30 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the funding of regional and independent museums.

Answer · Elaine Murray: Local authorities are responsible for the funding of museums in their areas and independent museums are the responsibility of individual groups of trustees. The Executive welcomes the diversity and range of museums and funding sources in the sector. Following…

21 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding will be required for (a) establishing the proposed Robin Rigg Wind Farm and (b) the continuing operation of the wind farm over its lifetime.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The proposed development at Robin Rigg would, subject to obtaining all necessary planning consents, be eligible for funding from the UK capital grants scheme for offshore wind farms. Any decision to bid for such funding is for developers to take. The continui…

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been employed in its Environment and Rural Affairs Department and what the total salary cost has been in each year since 1999-2000.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested can be found in the following two tables:<P>Table 1: Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department <P>Count of Permanent Staff as at 1 April (Headcount) 1999-2002<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=323><TR><…

3 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency has claimed back from the European Union for detecting and dealing with varroa mites in honey bees in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the agency's budget for varroa mites.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Agricultural Science Agency do not claim any money back from the European Union for work carried out under the Honey Programme. However, the Scottish Executive claims back under Council Regulation (EC) 1221/97, 50% of all monies spent on varroa w…

3 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many abattoirs closed in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Ross Finnie: There have been six such closures during that period. Details are:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=434><TR><TD WIDTH="37%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Year</TD><TD WIDTH="26%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>No. of Closures</TD><TD WIDTH="37%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Local Author…

30 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much is raised through modulation in each Environment and Rural Affairs Department area and how much each such area receives through schemes funded by modulation.

Answer · Ross Finnie: During the EAGGF year (16 October 2001 - 30 September 2002) the split of expenditure on agri-environment schemes through modulated funds and matched funding by area office was as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=510><TR><TD WIDTH="17%" …

30 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to standardise qualifications for nursery nurses.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive has no current plans to change the qualifications structure for nursery nurses.<P>We are commissioning research into the content of early years qualifications, to be completed in 2003. The results of this research will help to inform future cons…

25 Sep 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the spending review will have on the A75 Trans-European Network Route.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The trunk road programme will be maintained at a level which allows continuing improvements to long-distance, single carriageway strategic routes, such as the A75. This will include delivering on our current commitment to complete six major improvement scheme…