Parliamentary questions

Alex Neil

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

29 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding to date has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent on the group set up by the Welfare to Work Advisory Task Force to help people on the New Deal move into the construction sector.

Answer · Iain Gray: As with the Scottish Welfare to Work Task Force itself, the Construction Sub-group is an unpaid advisory group. It seeks to provide a co-ordinated employer led approach to helping the unemployed take up jobs in the construction sector, drawing in expertise fr…

29 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit, targets and objectives are of the group set up by the Welfare to Work Advisory Task Force to help people on the New Deal move into the construction sector.

Answer · Iain Gray: The aim of the Scottish Welfare to Work Task Force Construction Sub-group is to increase the number of long-term unemployed people entering the Construction Industry through an employer-led welfare to work access model, tailored to the needs of Scotland. T…

29 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reform the cash retention system in relation to public sector construction contracts.

Answer · Iain Gray: The use of cash retentions is a common practice that has, for decades, been a feature of standard conditions of contract widely used in the construction industry. Whilst retentions are at times unpopular with contractors, they do provide some comfort to clien…

29 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the proposed Public Appointments Committee will be established.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The decision on whether a Public Appointments Committee should be established is entirely a matter for the Parliament.

29 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit of the proposed Public Appointments Committee will be.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27983.

19 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any public appointments to non-departmental public bodies made in the last three years that were judged to have broken the Commissioner for Public Appointments's Code of Practice.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27777.

19 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any public re-appointments to non-departmental public bodies in the last three years that were not advertised and made on the invitation of ministers.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27777.

19 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any public appointments made in the last year that were not advertised and made on the invitation of ministers.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27777.

19 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there were any public appointments made in the last year where the Commissioner for Public Appointments's Code of Practice was broken, other than those in the appointments exercise referred to in page 8 of the Commissioner's Seventh Report 2001-2002.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27777.

19 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which appointments were referred to in page 8 of the Commissioner for Public Appointments's Seventh Report 2001-2002 "where the Executive had failed to follow the Code of Practice in several key respects."

Answer · Andy Kerr: My colleagues and I are absolutely committed to the delivery of a fair, open and transparent public appointments system. Arrangements are kept under continuous review and improvements introduced whenever and wherever appropriate.Neither the audit reports r…

19 Jul 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for the future of the fire service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive set out its plans for the fire service in Scotland in the consultation document The Scottish Fire Service of the Future, published on 30 April 2002. This provides the framework for taking forward changes needed in developing the …

18 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27087 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 July 2002, whether it will list by title each official document relating to guidelines and legislation it has sent to each police force in the last three years, excluding e-mails, letters and circulars.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Official documents sent to forces, relating to guidelines and legislation, would normally be covered by a letter or circular. As stated in the reply to the earlier question, there is no central monitoring of exchanges between the Executive and police forces a…

12 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines and legislation are in place in order to ensure that every hospital has a specialist working in nutrition.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A number of documents, including the Scottish Diet Action Plan and the CRAG-funded audit into the nutrition of elderly people in long-term care, make recommendations relating to the employment of suitably trained staff. Departmental guidance on nutriti…

12 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialists work in nutrition in each hospital in Lanarkshire and how long each has been in post.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: DietiCians are nutrition specialists who translate the science of nutrition into practical information about food. They work with people to promote nutritional well-being, prevent food-related problems and treat disease.Information on length of service and…

12 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any research into (a) the level of malnutrition amongst patients admitted to hospital and (b) whether such patients receive proper nutritional care following admission.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A Clinical Resource and Audit Group funded report, on the care of the elderly in long-term care (published in August 2000) examined this issue. The NHS was asked to implement the recommendations flowing from this work in a joint letter from the Chief Nursing …

10 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents have occurred in Hamilton in each of the last five years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. The Executive's statistical database can provide figures on the number of injury accidents by police force area, by…

10 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has evaluated the effectiveness of traffic orders and whether it has any plans to review the current position.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The making and subsequent evaluation of the effectiveness of Traffic Regulation Orders is a matter for the roads authority which promoted them. There are no plans at present to carry out any review.

10 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers Strathclyde police force employs specifically to deal with traffic issues, broken down by division.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Information of this nature is an operational matter for the Chief Constable and not held centrally.

10 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it offers (a) police forces and (b) local authorities any guidance on the administration and implementation of traffic orders.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Guidance on the procedures for making Traffic Regulation Orders was issued to local authorities and police forces on 4 March 1999. This guidance supplements the Local Authorities' Traffic Order (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999, which came into force on…

27 Jun 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-26404 on 11 June 2002, who was responsible for commissioning the due diligence procedures on Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and whether the procedures were completed prior to the issuing of the contract.

Answer · David Steel: The Construction Manager, Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Limited, was responsible for conducting due diligence procedures, which were completed before the contract was awarded.

27 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representation it will have at ministerial and official level at the European Council in Brussels on 24 and 25 October 2002.