Parliamentary questions

Alex Neil

3,059 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison officers have been employed in each year since 1990.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Reliable information is readilyavailable only from 2000 and is as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> …

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the staffing levels have been at the headquarters of the Scottish Prison Service in each year since 1990.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Reliable information is readilyavailable only from 1999 and is as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width=…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the staff costs have been for (a) HM Prison Kilmarnock since it opened in 1999 and (b) the Scottish Prison Service in total in each year since 1990.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:(a) SPS does not hold theinformation. (b) The informationrequested is contained in SPS Annual Reports which are published on the SPSwe…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of wilful fire raising there have been at each prison in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Our information relates to “Arson”.I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23890 on 16 March 2006. All answersto written parliamen…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of serious injury of prison officers by prisoners there have been at HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont in each year since 1999 and how these figures compare with the incidence of such injuries at other prisons.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Ihave asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond.His response is as follows:The information is not availableas incidents involving prison officers are not differentiated from those againstour other staff. Incidents of…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the prison population has been in each month in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:The information is asfollows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td valign=top> <p class=MsoHeader align=left…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of discipline by prisoners there have been in each prison in each year since 1999, broken down by category of breach of discipline, and expressed as a percentage of the total population in each prison.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:The available information onbreaches of discipline by prison establishment in financial years 1999-2000 to2004-05 has been placed in the Scot…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will introduce to reduce the number of violent offences at HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont which was reported in the Sunday Herald on 29 January 2006 as having the highest incidence of violence of all prisons.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:The Governor initiated anexercise in 2005 to examine trends and behaviours among young offenders and tofind ways to prevent or minimise the l…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the impact of the 2012 Olympic Games in London on the availability of technicians and construction workers in Scotland and whether it agrees with the comments of John Methven, Director of European Operations at Petrofac, reported in the Scotsman on 18 November 20…

Answer · Allan Wilson: We have measures in place to minimise the impact of the 2012 Olympic Games on the availability of technicians and construction workers in Scotland. Current industry research indicates that the overall size of the construction activity needed for the 2012 Olym…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what communication it has had with Her Majesty’s Government on the Executive’s position that no new nuclear power stations should be built in Scotland until issues relating to the waste management of such facilities have been resolved.

Answer · Allan Wilson: There have been no discussionsbetween the Executive and the UK Government on the subject of new nuclear stationsin Scotland. The Scottish Executive is, however, engaged in discussionswith DTI on issues raised in the UK Energy Review and DTI are aware of Scott…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the reserves of opencast coal that could be exploited in the future.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Details of consented reserves of opencast coal is available from the British Geological Survey at <ahref="http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/occ/home.html">http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/occ/home.html</a>. Information on other reser…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much opencast coal has been mined in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The information is available from the British Geological survey and can be found at: <ahref="http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/occ/home.html">http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/occ/home.html</a>.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in whom the ownership of opencast coal is vested; what royalty is paid to its owner by those exploiting it, and how it will ensure the reinvestment of these royalties back into communities affected by opencast mining operations.

Answer · Allan Wilson: This is a reserved matter.However the freehold ownership of virtually all unworked coal is vestedthroughout the UK in the Coal Authority, a non departmental publicbody which was established upon privatisation of the British Coal Corporationin 1994. Royalties,…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the construction of the new A8000 to M9 link road will be funded.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Funding of the route upgradeis a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority in the first instance. However,we are committed to underwriting the costs of the upgrade of theA8000-M9 Spur, to a maximum of £24 million over three years.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the cost of the new A8000 to M9 link road has risen from an estimated £15.15 million, excluding VAT, identified in the 1999 strategic roads review, to £35.6 million in 2005.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The cost of A8000 upgrade wasestimated in the Strategic Roads Review by the then Scottish Office at £15.15 millionexcluding VAT, at 1998 prices. Responsibility for taking the project forward sincethat time, and for later estimates of costs, lies with the City…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Forth and Tay road bridges are classified as either motorway or trunk roads or local roads or whether they form a different category of road.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Forth and Tay Road Bridges arepart of the local road network.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the rationale was for giving responsibility to the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to manage the Forth Road Bridge, given that there already existed an arrangement whereby motorways and trunk roads were the Executive's responsibility and local roads were local authorities' responsi…

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Forth Estuary TransportAuthority is the successor body to the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board, which wasoriginally set up under private legislation to manage the construction andoperation of the bridge. The new authority was created with the ability to fund…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Forth Estuary Transport Authority is funded; what its budget has been in each of the last three years, and what it will be in each of the next three years.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Forth Estuary TransportAuthority (FETA) is principally funded through tolling revenues. Details ofFETA’s past and future budgets are available from the Authority, which producesannual operating reports and accounts.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the employment costs of the collection of tolls on the (a) Forth Road Bridge and (b) Tay Road Bridge were in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tavish Scott: These are matters for theForth Estuary Transport Authority and the Tay Road Bridge Joint Boardrespectively, as they own and operate these bridges.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of the annual cost to the Scottish economy caused by traffic delays as a result of the collection of tolls on the (a) Forth Road Bridge and (b) Tay Road Bridge.

Answer · Tavish Scott: No.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications on 1 March 2006 (Official Report c. 23596), in what ways extra revenue raised by bridge tolls is being invested in local transport improvements.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Toll revenues at the Tay Road Bridge coveressential maintenance and operational costs, and cover debt servicing costs. Thereis no additional revenue for other transport improvements.At the Forth Road Bridge,decisions on projects that the Forth Estuary …

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new railway station in Ravenscraig, identified as being desirable in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive isworking with the Ravenscraig Partnership which is developing the proposal for anew railway station at Ravenscraig.Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if r…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new railway station in Mossend, identified as being desirable in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive willwork with local and regional transport planners developing proposals for newtransport projects ensuring that the proposals meet Scottish TransportAppraisal Guidance criteria. The promotersof new stations are advised to take account …

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new railway station in Abronhill, identified as being desirable in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Joint Structure Plan 2000.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications on 1 March 2006, when it estimates that it will be in a position to announce whether a new crossing over the Forth will be necessary and, should such a crossing prove necessary, what its design woul…

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Executive will not be ina position to make an announcement on the need for a replacement crossing of the Forth until the Forth Estuary Transport Authority has concluded a number ofconcurrent technical investigations and the Executive has completed its ear…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what total public expenditure on transport, both directly by it and by local authorities, has been in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Information on total public expenditureincurred by the Scottish Executive on transport is included in its annual Core Departments’Resource Accounts, copies of which are available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. numbers 12591, 18347, 25810, …

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the rationale was for the formation of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Forth Estuary TransportAuthority (FETA) was created to oversee the operation, management andmaintenance of the Forth Road Bridge and has a wider scope of responsibility than theformer joint board. FETA was given these wider powers, including the powers to…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the decision by the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to install new toll booths on the Forth Road Bridge at a cost of £5 million was taken before the completion of the Tolled Bridges Review.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Yes. Responsibility for thetoll plaza, booths and systems is a matter for the Forth Estuary TransportAuthority. Works started on the upgrade in July 2005.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to it was of the millennium bridge project over the Forth and Clyde Canal on the route of the A80.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The millennium bridgeproject was the responsibility of and promoted by British Waterways.Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21275 by Tavish Scott on 15 December 2005, whether it will revise these figures to include an estimate of what the total cost would be to (a) upgrade the A80 to full motorway status on the on-line route by one lane more than is presently planned, as …

Answer · Tavish Scott: No. Neither of these isbeing proposed.Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for moreinformation if required.