Alex Neil

12 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with respect to the development of the injury dataset under the National Clinical Dataset Development Programme, what plans there are to instruct accident and emergency (A&E) departments to start collecting this information via the nationally procured A&E Emergency Department Information…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Now that a dataset to support injury surveillance has been agreed and the A&E (EDIS) IT system has the ability to collect this information, consideration is currently being given to national implementation. NHS Forth Valley and Greater Glasgow and Clyde a…

7 May 2008 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide a detailed account of the process used to select staff to service the Commission on Scottish Devolution, chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman.

Answer · Alex Fergusson: One member of staff has been assigned to the Commission on Scottish Devolution. The selection process involved the Chief Executive in identifying an official that had the appropriate skills and experience to support the commission''s secretariat. The member …

28 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average atmospheric temperature above Scotland has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.</p> <p >The Met Office collects data on Scottish temperature but does not publish data on atmospheric temperature above Scotland. The Met Office will consider whether they can meet …

28 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average surface temperature in Scotland has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.</p> <p >The Met Office publishes data on Scottish surface temperature, available on their website at <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/seriesstatistics/scottemp.txt">ww…

28 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average sea level along the (a) North Sea, (b) Atlantic, (c) Irish Sea coast has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.</p> <p >The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL), based at the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL), is responsible for the collection, publication, analysis and interpre…

24 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given any consideration to introducing a national and heavily-discounted dog microchipping scheme, as was carried out by the Dogs Trust until January 2008.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: We have no plans to introduce a national discounted dog microchipping scheme. The Dogs Trust offer a discounted scheme to microchip dogs at a cost of £10 from their two rehoming centres in Scotland. A typical charge to microchip a dog by a private veterinary …

24 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many microchip scanners are currently available to local authority dog wardens.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: This information is not held centrally. However, in addition to microchip scanners held by local authorities, the vast majority of veterinary practices will also have microchip scanners which can be used to identify stray or lost animals.</p>

26 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the commitments made by the UK Government to the United Nations prior to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1192 (1998); what the implications are of these commitments, and what recourse it or any third party individual or organisation has to the courts to…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: It would be inappropriate to refer to any issue in the case which is before the courts. We have reviewed the commitments made by the UK and United States Governments in their letter of 24 August 1998, as referred to in the preamble to Security Council Resolut…

26 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to criminal prosecutions or appeals arising from them, it believes that, if a relevant document in a trial is available to the prosecution but not to the defence, the defendant would be able to obtain justice as defined in the UN Charter for human rights and that the …

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Disclosure is a vitally important aspect of criminal procedure in Scotland. The principal purpose of disclosure is to secure the fair disposal of criminal proceedings in accordance with the accused''s rights at common law and under Article 6 of the European C…

26 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its Infrastructure Investment Plan.

Answer · John Swinney: An Infrastructure Investment Plan which sets out the government's intentions for investment in the fabric of Scotland will be published today and can be accessed on the Scottish Government Website at <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent">ht…

25 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases since 1945 the defence has not been given access to a piece of evidence or document which has been revealed to the prosecution; whether there are any precedents where a document has been disclosed to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission but not to the defence in…

Answer · Elish Angiolini: It would be inappropriate to refer to any particular case which is before the courts.</b></p> <p >However, the duty on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to disclose evidence to the defence is set out in <i >The Crown''s Principles of Dis…

13 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget was for the Get Ready for Work programme in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 and what the throughput was in each year.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally as operational responsibility for Get Ready for Work is a matter for Skills Development Scotland. However, we do on this occasion have the statistics requested and have attached them below for your convenience:</p> <tab…

13 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of work-based mentoring projects by Eddy Adams Consultants Ltd will be published; which minister has responsibility for such projects, and when the report will be made public.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The <i >Review of Work-based Mentoring Approaches</i> report was undertaken by Eddy Adams Consultants Ltd to provide a better understanding of the role  work-based mentoring can play in developing the skills and employability of young people in Scotland. This…

13 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or will make, an assessment of the impact on the Scottish economy, particularly on the whisky industry, of the tax changes announced in the UK Budget on 12 March 2008.

Answer · John Swinney: Whisky and the wider spirits industry make a vital contribution to the Scottish economy. The effect on the whisky industry and the wider Scottish economy of the increase in excise duty announced at budget 2008 will not be known fully for some time. We are exp…

13 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the changes to council tax benefits, announced in the UK Budget on 12 March 2008 and effective from October 2009, will have on household incomes in Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Approximately 7 per cent of households will be affected by the changes in council tax and housing benefit announced at Budget 2008. The average Scottish household''s income is estimated to increase by 35p a week during 2010-11 as a result of these reforms.</p>

13 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a community infrastructure levy or any similar measure.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Following the withdrawal by the UK Government of its proposals to introduce a planning gain supplement the Scottish Government is undertaking a review of the operation of the systems of planning agreements in Scotland. This review will aim to ensure that we h…

13 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the volume and value of orders by the Ministry of Defence for procurement from Scottish companies, including orders for kilts and trews.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Ministry of Defence have confirmed that they have placed orders to the value of £950 million in 2005-06 (the latest year figures are available for) with Scottish companies. This figure covers both equipment and non-equipment orders. The MoD has placed an …

12 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement about establishing a public judicial inquiry into the Shirley McKie case.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Shirley McKie case has cast a cloud over the individuals involved and has been a source of serious concern for the criminal justice system for the past decade. Previous reviews have helped to shed some light on matters, but they have not fully explained t…

4 Mar 2008 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many hits there were on Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner’s website in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.

Answer · Mike Pringle: The number of hits on the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner's website was 23,267 in 2005, 20,339 in 2006 and 23,463 in 2007.</p> <p >The number of visitors to the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner's website was 1,575 in 2005, 1,580 in…

4 Mar 2008 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many complaints, other than those concerning constituent representation, the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has dealt with since responsibility for complaints about constituent representation was transferred to the Presiding Officer.

Answer · Mike Pringle: </b> The SPCB does not hold this information but we have been advised by the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner that between May 2007 and February 2008 inclusive he received 22 complaints, 17 of which related to matters other than constituent repre…

28 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Lord Advocate will reply to my letters of 6 December 2007 and subsequent reminder in respect of the issues arising from a trip to Paris organised by Greenfaulds High School in October 2006.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The letter was answered on 12 March 2008.</p>

28 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated level of student debt in Scotland was in (a) 1997, (b) 1999 and (c) 2007.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The average debt owed to the Student Loans Company by Scottish borrowers entering repayment in 1999 was £2,863. The corresponding figure for 2007 was £5,808. These data were supplied by the Student Loans Company. Corresponding data for 1997 are not available.…

25 Feb 2008 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total cost has been of (a) window cleaning, (b) gardening and landscape maintenance and (c) interior and exterior cleaning of the Holyrood building in each year from 2004-05 to 2007-08.

Answer · Alex Johnstone: </b> The costs are shown in the following table. The costs of window cleaning include the costs of cleaning window surrounds, such as louvers, and removal of pigeon waste.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=618 > <thead> <tr > <td …

22 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Scotland’s commitment to the European Child Safety Action Plan project, what proportion of all rugby related injuries since 2000 resulted in (a) quadriplegia, (b) concussion, (c) ligament damage and (d) bone fractures, among males aged (i) 12 to 15 inclusive and (ii) 16 and o…

Answer · Shona Robison: The data requested is not held centrally.</p>

22 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Scotland’s commitment to the European Child Safety Action Plan project, what the annual frequency was, by (a) type and (b) cause, of unintentional sporting injuries among children since 2000; how many such injuries resulted in hospital admission, and what the main causes were…

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45010).</p>

22 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Scotland’s commitment to the European Child Safety Action Plan project, what plans there are to develop a child injury surveillance system.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are no plans currently to develop a national child injury surveillance system. However, the lessons learned in the course of a pilot project in Lanarkshire endorsed by both the Scottish Governments Justice and Health Directorates working collaboratively…

22 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Scotland’s commitment to the European Child Safety Action Plan project, what plans there are to develop an inter-agency collaboration to enable the creation and implementation of a common dataset for injury data collection in children.

Answer · Shona Robison: An interagency collaboration was formed to develop a common dataset for injury including injury to children in 2004. As a result of this collaboration a common dataset was agreed following detailed discussion. This is available for implementation.</p>

22 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Scotland’s commitment to the European Child Safety Action Plan project, how many childhood accidental (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal injuries there have been in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) cause of injury, (ii) category of injury and (iii) NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Table 1 (Bib. number 45008) shows number of emergency hospital admissions due to unintentional injury, by cause of injury, category of injury and NHS board of residence, for under…

6 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been referred to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission in each year since its inception; of these how many (a) have been the subject of a full-scale review, (b) have resulted in referrals back to the courts, (c) have been dismissed, (d) have taken over (i) 6, (…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is provided in the attached table.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td valign=top > <p align=center >&nbsp;</p> </td> <td valign=top > <p align=center >1999-2000</p> </td> …

4 Feb 2008 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total cost has been of repairs and alterations to the Holyrood building since its opening in October 2004 and whether it will itemise these costs; whether there have been any snagging costs, and whether it will itemise the estimated costs of all planned repairs…

Answer · Alex Johnstone: The information is not available in the exact form requested and the cost of itemising individual repairs and alterations would be disproportionate. The total cost of maintenance and alterations to the Holyrood building since its opening in October 2004 is £3…