Parliamentary questions

Alex Neil

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

23 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists have been banned from driving in each of the last five years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The available informationis given in the tables.The number of personswith a charge proved in Scottish courts where a driving disqualification had beenrecorded, 2001-02 to 2005-06.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td nowrap valign=…

23 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists have been charged with driving while banned from driving in each of the last five years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The available informationis given in the table below.The Number of PersonsProceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Driving whilst Disqualified1,2001-02 to 2005-06.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td nowrap valign=botto…

11 Jan 2008 · Written Question

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The number and percentage offull-time first year students at Scottish higher education institutions (HEI) whodid not continue their education at an HEI in the United Kingdomafter one year is shown in table 1.Table 1: Number andPercentage of Full-Time F…

11 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the destination of leavers from higher education institutions, broken down by (a) mode of study, (b) level of qualification, (c) domicile and (d) institution, as shown in the DLHE survey, showing also the (i) the full-time paid work category broken down into (A)…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop:  1. The informationrequested is given in tables 1 to 5 of Destinations of graduates from Scottish universities:2002-03 to 2005-06, a copy ofwhich has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number44474).2. The Destin…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review its use of low copy number DNA, in light of recent developments in other judiciaries in the United Kingdom.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Low copy number (LCN) DNA analysisis not performed by any of the Scottish Forensic Science Laboratories but, if itis believed that such analysis could be appropriate in any case, police forces inScotland may send DNA samples to other forensic service provider…

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the Scottish Courts Service towards full cost recovery in relation to summary applications made to sheriff courts.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: As a result of the new fees structure implemented in August 2008, the overall level of cost recovery for Sheriff Court civil business is projected to rise to 78% by 31 March 2009. The Scottish Court Service does not monitor the level of cost recovery attribut…

3 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any remedial action has been taken by the Scottish Police Services Authority in respect of any of its fingerprint experts who gave written or oral evidence to the Justice 1 Committee’s Scottish Criminal Record Office and Scottish Fingerprint Service inquiry stating that their coll…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: These are operational mattersfor the Scottish Police Services Authority. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Services Authority to write to you.

3 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any fingerprint experts who still support the fingerprint identifications of Shirley McKie and Marion Ross remain employed by the Scottish Police Services Authority and, if so, whether they are authorised to appear as expert witnesses for the Crown and whether it is satisfied that…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: These are operational mattersfor the Scottish Police Services Authority. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Services Authority to write to you.

3 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors the extent to which the Scottish Police Services Authority and Chief Constables properly follow the requirements of employment law and human rights legislation in respect of people who have acted as whistle blowers within their respective organisations.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Compliance by individual publicbodies with employment law and human rights legislation is a matter for those bodies.Guidance on a range of relevant issues has been provided in On Board: A Guide for Board Membersof Public Bodies in Scotland(available at…

3 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Crown Office has had with other UK jurisdictions in respect of the implications of the ruling in the recent Omagh bombing case for the reliability of low copy number DNA and what the outcome has been of any such discussions.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Crown Office officialshave carried out an internal review of criminal cases and investigations involvingthe use of low copy number DNA and will liaise as appropriate with other agenciesin the United Kingdom in relation to the approach to be taken when informa…

3 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many criminal prosecutions in each of the last three years the Crown Office or Procurator Fiscal Service has made use of low copy number DNA in pursuing a prosecution.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Crown Office andProcurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database does not include searchableinformation about individual types of evidence used by the prosecution, nor aboutevidence used in pursuing a prosecution.We have, however,been able to e…

19 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make available details of its Scottish Futures Trust initiative.

Answer · John Swinney: A consultation document settingout the government’s proposals for the Scottish Futures Trust initiative will beissued today and can be accessed on the Scottish Government Website at <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current">http://www.scotland…

28 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the (a) Airdrie and Shotts and (b) Hamilton North and Bellshill parliamentary constituencies will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

13 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the possible introduction of a regional minimum wage policy and, if so, what the outcome has been of these discussions.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Governmentofficials have spoken to their counterparts in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) on this matter. DBERR officialssay there are currently no plans to introduce a regional minimum wage.

30 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, for every $1 increase in the price of oil above $60, or the price that had been assumed in the UK budget, what information it has on approximately how much of that $1 goes to HM Treasury.

Answer · John Swinney: The collection ofNorth Sea Oil and Gas tax revenues is a matter reserved to the UK Government.The Scottish Executive does not have access to the detailed informationrequested.However, as thisquestion is of particular relevance to the consultation on th…

30 Oct 2007 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will list for each individual MSP who submitted their name at least once for a computerised ballot for oral questions since 3 May 2007, excluding Scottish Ministers and the Presiding Officer, the number of times each member has been selected to ask a question…

Answer · Alex Fergusson: During the period between 3 May and 31 October 2007 selections were made, by computerised ballot, for question times taken in 14 meetings of the Parliament. The maximum number of times that members could have submitted their names for selection was 40 times a…

25 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints it has received about Network Rail's treatment of angling clubs and those who engage in freshwater fishing in lochs in central Scotland; what the nature of the complaints has been, and what action is being taken to deal with such complaints.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Governmenthas received no complaints relating to the Network Rail’s treatment of angling clubsand those who engage in freshwater fishing in lochs in central Scotland.

16 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the gross number of jobs (a) lost and (b) created in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Swinney: There is noinformation held centrally on the number of jobs lost or created in Scotland. However, data is available on the net change injobs over time. Table 1 shows the net change in employee jobs in Scotland in each year since 1999.Table 1 Annual Cha…

15 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its agencies have powers of compulsory purchase and, of these, which have used such powers in each of the last four years, also showing the general purpose in each case for using the powers.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Historic Scotland and Transport Scotland have the powers of Compulsory Purchase.I have asked MalcolmReed, Chief Executive of Transport Scotland and John Graham, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond to you directly.

12 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the names of the special advisers currently in post; what their pay bands are for 2007-08; how many special advisers are in each pay band, and what the total salary cost of employing special advisers was in 2006-07.

Answer · John Swinney: There are currentlysix special adviser full-time appointments, one part-time appointment, one unpaidappointment and one short-term appointment until the end of October 2007. Therewill be one further full-time special adviser appointment from 22 October. Thesp…

2 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the public appointments that it has made since January 2005 which do not fall within the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland or the commissioner’s code of practice.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Governmentdoes not maintain a central list of the appointments that fall outwith the remitof the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland. However, details of all regulated ministerial public appointments are publishedon the Government’s …

25 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those companies that have had all or part of their Regional Selective Assistance awards clawed back, also showing how much was clawed back in each case and what percentage this represents of amounts (a) paid out and (b) awarded.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Executive has,since April 2002, routinely published information on regional selective assistance(RSA) recoveries, payments and accepted offers. Full details can be found onthe RSA website at:<ahref="http://www.scottishbusinessgrants.gov.uk…

2 Aug 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-949 by Jim Mather on 27 June 2007, how much of the hydro capacity was installed before 1990.

Answer · Jim Mather: The following informationis taken from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), published by the Departmentfor Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.At the end of May2007 there was an installed hydro capacity in Scotland of 1,246.9 MW from stati…

31 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all public appointments for each year since May 2003, also indicating which appointments fall within the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland or are covered by the commissioner’s code of practice.

Answer · John Swinney: The information isnot available on an annual basis.The previous ScottishExecutive last published annual information on regulated public appointments inFebruary 2003. The Annual Report on Appointments to Non-Departmental Public Bodiesin Scotland …

26 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Registrar General will publish his annual report for 2006.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scotland’s Population2006: the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends is published today. The Report contains informationabout births, deaths and marriages during the year, together with otherdemographic information. A copy of the repo…

20 Jul 2007 · Written Question

10 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the numbers of people achieving modern apprenticeship status in each modern apprenticeship framework area affect future labour market projections for skills demand and, in particular, the needs of a knowledge economy.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Executive doesnot produce labour market projections. Labour market projections are howeverproduced by FutureSkills Scotland. These projections are designed to provide a broadindication of likely future trends and are not detailed enough to identi…

10 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people achieved modern apprenticeship status in each modern apprenticeship framework area in the most recent year for which information is available.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise (SEn)and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are responsible for collectingstatistical information for the national training programmes they deliver andpublish a range of statistical information on their websites. This includes thenumbe…

10 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many recipients of educational maintenance allowance there have been in each of the last two years in each local authority area, broken down by age profile, and what the total expenditure has been on the programme.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Summary statistics onEducation Maintenance Allowances are published annually on the ScottishExecutive website.(a) Academic year 2004-05In 2004-05 23,650 studentswere on the EMA scheme, of those 16,870 attended school and 6,780 were atcollege. Th…

10 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the appointments by ministers that are not in the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland or covered by the commissioner’s code of practice.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-15444 answered on 13 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:<ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…