Parliamentary questions

Alex Johnstone

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

4 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average household water charge is for (a) metered, (b) non-metered and (c) all households for 2006-07 and what information it has about how this compares with England and Wales.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Scottish Water’s averagehousehold water and sewerage charge for 2006-07 is £287. The average householdcharge in England and Wales for 2006-07 is £294. The Executive does not hold themore detailed information sought.

23 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with the Minister for Environment and Rural Development and Professor Alan Alexander in the days immediately prior to Professor Alexander’s resignation from his post as Chairman of Scottish Water.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Minister for Environment and Rural Development and the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development met Professor Alan Alexander on 9 February. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the views of the Executive, supported by Scottish Water’s re…

23 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what reasons it was given for the resignation of Professor Alan Alexander from his post as Chairman of Scottish Water.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Professor Alan Alexander tendered his resignation as Chair of Scottish Water to the Minister for Environment and Rural Development on 20 February 2006. His reason for doing so was that he did not agree with the view of the Executive and Scottish Water’s regul…

23 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the severance package was for Professor Alan Alexander on his resignation from his post as Chairman of Scottish Water.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Professor Alexander resigned because of the disagreement between him and the Executive over Scottish Water’s 2006-10 delivery plan that is described in the answers to questions S2W-23461 and S2W-23462 on 8 March 2006. Given the importance to Scottish Water an…

22 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it believes the positive impact for Scotland will be of its attendance at the Tartan Day celebrations in the United States.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Tartan Week 2006 programmeincludes a large number of events and meetings that will showcase Scotland as aplace to visit, live, work, study and do business with. The Executive works withprivate, public and voluntary sector bodies in Scotland and in the USA…

22 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the aims are of its attendance at the Tartan Day celebrations in the United States of America this year.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive’s Tartan Weekactivity flows from our International Strategy. It has the following objectives:building political ties;attracting tourism to Scotland;promoting economic growth, andcementing cultural ties.Tartan W…

22 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much its budget is for Tartan Day celebrations in the United States of America in 2006, broken down by agency and department.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The budget for Tartan Week in2006 is £660,000. This is made up of £560,000 in support for events around TartanWeek in Chicago, New York and Washington DC and £100,000 on marketing. This expenditure isallocated from the Finance and Central Services Department …

12 Sep 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how long the Holyrood car park has been leaking and who is responsible for the cost of repairs.

Answer · John Scott: The first recorded notification of the car park leaking problem was in November 2004. Possible sources of the water causing the leaks are being investigated and the establishment of responsibility for the cost of repairs will form part of that investigation.<…

29 Aug 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body why the doors in the MSP block at Holyrood are being replaced; how many doors are being replaced; whether it expects to have to replace more doors in the near future; what the cost implications to the taxpayer are of replacing the doors, and what the purchase price per …

Answer · John Scott: The doors in the MSP block are being replaced because they have been found to be defective. Twelve doors are being replaced. Currently, there is no requirement to replace any more doors and no such requirement is envisaged in the foreseeable future. It is not…

16 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to question S2W-15297 by Lewis Macdonald on 15 April and S2W-16232 on Patricia Ferguson on 5 May 2005 and given that the report of the Country Sports Tourism Group considered the value of country sports in general but not the specific value of shooting sports, whet…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive has no plans to measure the economic, environmental and social impact of shooting sports. However, further to the answers to questions S2W-15297 on 15 April 2005 and S2W-16232 on 5 May 2005, the Country Sports Tourism Group has estimated the val…

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had, or plans to have, with Her Majesty's Government regarding any further removals by the European Union of derogations from sectors that can currently use red diesel.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W–16458 answered on 25 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliame…

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to any concerns that the pleasure craft sector in Scotland might have regarding EU proposals that would remove the derogation that allows pleasure craft owners to use red diesel.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-16458 answered on 25 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliame…

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made, or plans to make, of the importance of pleasure craft-related tourism to the economy.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Pleasure craft-related tourism is very important to the economy of parts of Scotland. VisitScotland has worked in partnership with Sail Scotland over a number of years to assist in the development of this tourism market and has provided funds to support their…

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had, or plans to have, with (a) Her Majesty's Government and (b) representatives of the pleasure craft sector regarding EU proposals that would remove the derogation that allows pleasure craft owners to use red diesel.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has no powers in relation to fuel duties, however we are in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including taxation of fuel. A meeting between Scottish Executive officials and the British Marine Feder…

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15297 by Lewis Macdonald on 15 April 2005, whether the report, commissioned by the Country Sports Tourism Group, will measure the (a) direct and (b) indirect economic, environmental and social impact of shooting sports and, if not, whether the Execut…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I fully recognise the value of country sports to the tourism industry in Scotland, especially to rural areas. The research project in question was commissioned by the Country Sports Tourism Group, which includes VisitScotland, and gathered information on visi…

11 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was allocated to Aberdeenshire Council in 2002-03 from the Health Improvement Fund and for what purposes this money was allocated.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Health Improvement Fund (HIF) was established for a four-year period (2000‑04), to provide additional funding to NHS boards for health improvement activities. No HIF resources were directly allocated to local authorities, however NHS boards do work …

5 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with organisations such as the National Farmers Union Scotland and other potential stakeholders about the development of biofuels, including biodiesel, and what the outcome has been of any such discussions.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Forestry Commission Scotland is responsible for the administration and promotion of biofuel crop growth within the Executive. Senior officials from Forestry Commission Scotland are scheduled to meet with NFU Scotland on 26 May to discuss, amongst other things…

5 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage the development of biofuels and what specific support is available to encourage the development of biodiesel.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive recognises the potential for biofuels to contribute to a low carbon energy sector, and in particular transport energy and recognises that biodiesel currently represents one of the most promising options. Farmers growing crops for biofue…

5 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was allocated to Aberdeenshire Council in 2002-03 through healthy choices funding and for what purposes this money was allocated.

16 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for measuring the (a) direct and (b) indirect economic, environmental and social impact of shooting sports.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has no plans to undertake work of this nature. The Country Sports Tourism Group, which includes VisitScotland and the enterprise networks, with others, recently commissioned a report on the benefits to Scotland of country sports in general.

16 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to measure the value of sea and inshore angling in the same way that the value of freshwater angling was measured in the 2004 research report, The Economic Impact of Game and Coarse Angling in Scotland.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is presently considering the possibility of commissioning a report on the economic impact of sea and inshore angling.

2 Mar 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the guidelines for the siting of speed cameras.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Handbook of Rules and Guidancefor the Scottish Safety Camera Programme is reviewed each year in conjunction withthe many stakeholders of the Programme at national and local level. A comprehensivereview in 2004 resulted in a number of changes to how camera…

23 Feb 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to redraw the boundary for Dundee City Council to include parts of Angus.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Scottish ministers have no current plans to redraw local government boundaries.However, we will of course listen to any representations made to us by local authorities or communities.

16 Feb 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor the system of GP out-of-hours cover in remote rural areas.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The new GP out-of-hours arrangements are the responsibility of NHS boards. The health department monitors boards' overall performance, and this year I will be chairing annual reviews to hold NHS boards to account for their performance in providing services to…

1 Dec 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what priority it attaches to addressing the issue of underage drinking.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Tackling harmful drinking by children and young people through a wide range of preventative, educational and other measures is a key priority under the Executive’s national Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems. Current activity will be further reinforced by th…

25 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has had, or plans to have, with battle re-enactment, pageant and martial arts groups about the proposed ban on the sale of swords.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The First Minister recently announced the Executive’s five point action plan on knife crime, including a ban on the sale of swords. The Executive plans to consult on those proposals in the new year. All groups and individuals with an interest in these matters…

10 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on Aberdeenshire Council’s interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights that pupils aged 16 or over, who are excluded from school, have the right to have this information withheld from their parents.

Answer · Peter Peacock: It is the responsibility of Aberdeenshire Council to ensure its policies comply with the law.

27 Oct 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available to assist community groups in acquiring premises for the provision of facilities for young people.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive provides grants for premises to voluntary youth and community organisations through the Local Capital Grants Scheme. The Rural Challenge Fund and Social Inclusion Partnership Fund can also provide capital funding for the acquisition of premises.…

21 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10071 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 17 September 2004, where each of the wind farms are located; what the capacity of each wind farm is, and what the reasons were for allowing the appeal on one wind farm application.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The following table lists the location proposed for each of the wind farm appeals referred to in answer to question S2W-10071. The generating capacity is not always specified at planning appeal stage, and so the information included in the table is a best est…