Parliamentary questions

Alex Neil

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

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of NHS contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; how many such contracts there were; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of NHS contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each o…

Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on NHS contractsawarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland is not held centrally.The awarding of contracts by NHSScotland is done locally by NHS boards or when anational contract is being awarded, by Scottish Healthcare Supplies.

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service vacancies in each grade it has advertised (a) only externally, (b) only internally and (c) simultaneously for both internal and external applicants in each of the last six years and how many external applicants have been recruited under (a) and (c) in the same time …

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive fills posts through a variety of different methods, as appropriate, including internal and external recruitment and managed moves of existing staff. Where vacancies are advertised externally it is open to Scottish Executive staff who me…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific targeted measures it has taken to reduce the number of 16 to 19-year-olds not in employment, education or training; how much each measure has cost, and what impact each has had.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The combination of a wide rangeof mainstream and targeted policies spanning early years, education, children’sservices, regeneration, enterprise and lifelong learning underpin the Executive’sapproach to reducing the size of the not in employment, education or…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its original strategic objectives the Standards Commission for Scotland has achieved since its inception.

Answer · George Lyon: The objectives achieved by the Standards Commission for Scotland can be found in its annual report and accounts 2003-04 and annual report and accounts 2004-05. Copies will be available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre by 9 November 2005 and the B…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its original strategic objectives VisitScotland has achieved since its inception.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive’s New Strategyfor Scottish Tourism 2000-2005, published in 2000, included eleven high-level targetsagainst which the success of the Strategy could be measured in 2005. Some have alreadybeen exceeded, but volume and value data for 2005 will not b…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its original strategic objectives Scottish Natural Heritage has achieved since its inception.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) was set up under the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 with the general aims and purposes of: Securing the conservation and enhancement of, and fostering understanding and facilitating enjoyment of, the natural herita…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its original strategic objectives Communities Scotland has achieved since its inception.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: At the time of its creation inNovember 2001, Communities Scotland was set a series of strategic objectives relatingto: the delivery of the national housing investment programme; supporting communityregeneration; regulating and inspecting social landlords, and…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its original strategic objectives Highlands and Islands Enterprise has achieved since its inception.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Enterprise andNew Towns (Scotland) Act (1990) sets out the powers and functions of Highlands andIslands Enterprise. In 2001, ministers set the medium-term strategic directionfor the organisation in A Smart, Successful Scotland,refreshed in 2…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its original strategic objectives Scottish Enterprise has achieved since its inception.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Enterpriseand New Towns (Scotland) Act (1990) sets out the powers and functions of ScottishEnterprise. In 2001, ministers set the medium-term strategic direction for theorganisation in A Smart, Successful Scotland, refreshed in 2004.Progress measur…

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government in respect of the Work and Families Bill introduced in the House of Commons on 18 October 2005.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the implications for devolved matters in Scotland of its legislative programme. This contact reflects the approach, set out in Devolution Guidance Note 1 …

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government in respect of the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill, as introduced by Dennis Canavan MSP.

Answer · Tom McCabe: None.

25 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place between the First Minister or Deputy First Minister and business representatives or organisations with the purpose of discussing the Executive's procurement policies and their impact on Scottish businesses since 1 September 2005; who these meetings were with…

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Deputy First Minister met with representatives of Graham Technologies on 21 September to discuss issues, including public sector procurement. The Director of the Scottish Procurement Directorate and the Head of Business Growth and Innovation Division also…

25 Oct 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what (a) lunches, (b) dinners, (c) trips within the United Kingdom, (d) overseas trips and (e) other forms of hospitality it has paid for (i) its members, (ii) the Parliament's Chief Executive and officials within his staff and (iii) any guests in each of the last three…

Answer · Duncan McNeil: The Presiding Officer has agreed to write to the member on this matter.

24 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on the names of any Scottish fingerprint experts who were cited as witnesses at the Lockerbie trial or were precognosced in this connection.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-20010 on 7 November 2005. All answers to written are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search">http://www.sc…

24 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on the names of the Scottish Criminal Records Office personnel who were involved at any stage of the Lockerbie investigation and their duties.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I will provide a full answerto the member in due course once the records of the Lockerbie criminalinvestigation have been examined.

24 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on whether Chief Superintendent Harry Bell of Strathclyde Police and later head of the Scottish Criminal Records Office was involved in the Lockerbie investigation and, if he was, on what his duties were, over what period he performed them and what d…

Answer · Colin Boyd: Chief Superintendent HarryBell, now retired as Head of the Scottish Criminal Records Office, was a ChiefInspector in Strathclyde Police at the time of the Lockerbie bombing and wassent to Lockerbie in the immediate aftermath of the bombing as part ofStrathcly…

24 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on the names of all the fingerprint experts from the Scottish Criminal Records Office or other Scottish fingerprint bureau who were involved in expert examination related to the Lockerbie investigation, on what material each worked on, and on what th…

Answer · Colin Boyd: Fingerprint examination wascarried out in the Lockerbie investigation in 1991 and 1992 by officers ofLothian and Borders Police, who compared fingerprints taken from Malteseimmigration documents, hotel registration cards and other documents. Theofficers invol…

3 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of newspaper reports that the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has awarded a contract valued at £50,000 to a New Zealand company to eliminate rats on the island of Canna, whether any other company was invited to tender for this work and, if so, how many applications were receiv…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Canna Seabird Recovery EC LIFE-Nature Project receives no direct financial contribution from the Scottish Executive. The major proportion of funds will come from the European Commission, with some co-financing from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH is …

20 Sep 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has received any invitations to attend the Better Regulation Conference, organised by the Cabinet Office as part of the UK Presidency of the European Union and being held in Edinburgh on 22 and 23 September 2005 and, if so, how many invitations it has receive…

Answer · Duncan McNeil: The SPCB is not aware of any invitation to attend having been received.

20 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role its ministers or civil servants will have in the Better Regulation Conference, organised by the Cabinet Office as part of the UK Presidency of the European Union and being held in Edinburgh on 22 and 23 September 2005.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Deputy First Minister attended the reception for the Conference on 22 September 2005 and Executive officials liaised with, and gave assistance to, Cabinet Office officials in setting up the Conference.

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18253 by Tavish Scott on 18 August 2005, what the original deadline was for the completion of the roadwork improvements to the Auchenkilns roundabout; whether there will be a delay in reaching this deadline, and, if so, what the reasons are for such …

Answer · Tavish Scott: The contract completion date is 26 September 2005. As I said in my reply to you on 18 August 2005, the contractor expects the new junction to be fully open to traffic at Christmas this year. The reason for the delay is due to structural failure.

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has had with Scottish Enterprise about possible reorganisation of the structure of the local enterprise company network.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Officials have discussed with Scottish Enterprise whether they might wish to bring forward any proposals relating to the organisational structure of Scottish Enterprise. No specific proposals have been put forward or are currently under consideration.

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether armed police officers have operated patrols on Scotland's public transport network since 7 July 2005; if so, how often, and whether this policy will continue.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information relating to the frequency of armed police patrols is not held centrally. The deployment of armed officers to any incident or to provide security to any location is a matter for individual Chief Constables in accordance with an assessment of the th…

18 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether carers travelling with blind passengers will qualify for concessionary fares under the national concessionary travel scheme to be introduced in April 2006.

Answer · Tavish Scott: No decisions have been taken on the eligibility criteria for the Scotland-wide free bus scheme for older and disabled people. The final criteria, including any companion entitlements, will be contained in secondary legislation. We plan to consult on the conte…

17 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the event that Glasgow is successful in its bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, it will consider making representations to Her Majesty's Government to (a) create a Commonwealth Games lottery or (b) make the newly-created Olympic Games Lottery a joint Olympic-Commonwealth …

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: On 16 August 2005 at Hampden Park, the First Minister announced that the Scottish Executive will be giving its full support to a bid by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland to stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. We have not requested a…

17 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it and its agencies have taken to implement the recommendations of Sheriff Waldron, contained in her written determination resulting from a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of a prisoner in HM Prison Perth on 13 July 2003, published on 9 December 2004 and, in particular, w…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: All prisoners in the SPS establishments and HM Prison Kilmarnock who participate in Education programmes or who self-refer with poss…

16 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning will invite the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to acknowledge and reply to the letter of 18 July 2005 he received regarding the £16 million proposal for the "Spirit of Scotland" project.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, but I understand that he has replied to the letter in question.

10 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will now respond to my freedom of information request for a copy of all Scottish Enterprise's board papers relating to the development and establishment of intermediate technology institutes.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I replied on 23 August, providing the information requested. I regret the delay in responding.

10 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total remuneration costs were for the members of Scottish Enterprise's executive board in each of the last two financial years and what the estimated costs are for the current financial year.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Remuneration of executive board members is determined by Scottish Enterprise within pay remits approved by Scottish ministers. Details of remuneration of senior directors for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are contained within Scottish Enterprise’s annual accounts, copi…

10 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total spend of it and its agencies was on modern apprenticeship programmes in each of the last two financial years and what the estimated spend is for the current financial year.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The modern apprenticeship (MA)programme is delivered by the enterprise networks and is funded through their Grant-in-Aidallocations. The actual expenditure on the programme is therefore an operationalmatter for them. Annual accounts are available on their web…