Parliamentary questions
Alex Neil
3,059 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what targets local authorities have been set in relation to the recycling of waste other than household waste.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: No recycling targets for local authorities have been set to date. These will be considered when the Executive has received guidance from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency following output from a working group which it has established as part of the i…
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4411 by Angus MacKay on 23 November 2000, what transfers to and from the local government settlement and changes to other programmes within the Scottish Block took place in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Answer · Angus MacKay: These transfers and other changes are prior to the devolution settlement and are therefore set out in House of Commons papers Main Supply Estimates 1997-98 number 335, Summer Supply Estimates 1997-98 number 65, Spring Supply Estimates 1997-98 number 511, Wint…
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is in relation to the development of biotechnology clusters.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: In November 1999, Scottish Enterprise launched the "Framework for Action": a four-year £40 million strategy to grow the biotechnology cluster in Scotland.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One year on, the cluster is growing faster than forecast. The number of new …
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost will be of changing the name of the Scottish Tourist Board to Visitscotland.
Answer · Alasdair Morrison: No estimate of cost has been made. However, STB will strive to keep costs to a minimum.
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it estimates the change of name of the Scottish Tourist Board to Visitscotland will have on the number of visitors to Scotland in the next year.
Answer · Alasdair Morrison: I believe the change of name will have a positive impact. Scotland will become more visible to potential customers as a result of consistent branding especially the alignment of identity with the tourism website.
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to raise the level of innovation in Scotland's industrial base.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Executive, both directly and through the enterprise bodies, is involved in a wide range of initiatives to support innovation in Scotland's industrial base. In addition, the Department of Trade and Industry operates, on a UK-wide basis, a number of schemes…
29 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have anti-drug education policies.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The 1999-2000 survey of drug education in schools produced the following results for primary and secondary schools:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=609><TR><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Type of School</TD><TD WIDTH="…
29 Nov 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the New Deal for Young People in Scotland has performed to date.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Figures to end September 2000 show that 60,900 young people had joined the New Deal programme and 29,200 had secured jobs, of which 21,800 were sustained.
23 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with Her Majesty's Government in respect of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill, in particular on any impact it might have on local government in Scotland, on the number of Scottish MSPs and on any referenda that might be held in Scotla…
Answer · Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive is in contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including certain aspects of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill.
23 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of those who started the New Deal for Young People at its inception are still in job placements.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the delivery of the New Deal throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners including the Scottish Executive.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This information i…
22 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of collecting the council tax has been in each of the last two years in both absolute terms and as a percentage of the revenue raised.
Answer · Peter Peacock: In 1999-2000, the net expenditure (provisional outturn) relating to the collection of the council tax and outstanding community charge (excluding the administration of council tax benefit and community charge rebates) by local authorities in Scotland was £ 33…
22 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people within its target groups have been vaccinated against influen'a.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10980.
22 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions the Minister for Justice has had with Chief Constables with regard to protecting elderly people from physical attacks.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have had no recent discussions with Chief Constables regarding physical attacks on elderly people.
22 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of New Deal for Schools capital funding on the infrastructure of schools in each local authority area.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The New Deal for Schools capital grant was introduced in financial year 1997-98 and provides additional capital resources of £115.7 million over five years for repairs to school buildings and to improve facilities for information and communications technology…
22 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent on providing NHSiS nursing care to residents of private nursing homes in each of the next three years and how many NHSiS beds will become available as a result.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Of the 20,000 persons in nursing homes currently, 4,300 fund their own care, the remainder being funded by local authorities and DSS. As announced on 5 October, the NHSiS will be responsible for funding the nursing care of all residents of nursing homes. The …
22 Nov 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is dealing with burkholdaria cepacia outbreaks in children's hospitals.
Answer · Susan Deacon: There has for long been comprehensive central guidance on the prevention of infection in hospital, most recently revised in 1998 in the form of the <I>Scottish Infection Manual</I>. This guidance contains a chapter on the prevention of infection in "Unit…
21 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate claims that the Scottish Prison Service has misled it and the Parliament concerning the running costs of Kilmarnock Prison.
Answer · Jim Wallace: No. The Scottish Prison Service has provided consistent information on the cost of the contract for HMP Kilmarnock. Additional information has also been published in the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts for 1999-2000 which have been certifie…
21 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average annual cost to the taxpayer will be of each prisoner place at Kilmarnock Prison over the 25 year period of the contract, based on the total cost of the contract in respect of Kilmarnock Prison, in (a) cash terms and (b) net present value terms.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>The average annual cost per prisoner place will be (a) around £21,000 in (real) cash terms and (b) £11,000 in Net Pr…
21 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9796 by Mr Jim Wallace on 26 September 2000, what the actual cost to the taxpayer of the contract in respect of Kilmarnock Prison will be over the 25 year period of the contract, specified in cash terms rather than net present value terms.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The actual cost of the contract in (real) cash terms is around £266 million.
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies there are in the renewable energy industry.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not held centrally.
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed in the renewable energy industry.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not held centrally.
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has invested in renewable sources of energy since 1 July 1999.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: The contracts awarded to renewables generators in Scotland since 1994 under the three Orders making up the Scottish Renewables Obligation are funded by the Fossil Fuel Levy on all electricity suppliers. The levy rate is set each year by the Director General o…
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has invested in the research and development of renewable sources of energy in the last year under the third Scottish Renewables Order, and how much it is projected to spend in the next four years.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: None. Research and development of renewable sources of energy is carried out under a UK programme funded by the Department of Trade and Industry. The contracts awarded to renewables generators in Scotland under the three Orders making up the Scottish Renewabl…
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Scotland's energy production comes from renewable sources.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: At present, around 11% of Scotland's electricity demand is met from renewable sources. Nearly all of this is accounted for by long-established hydro generation whose output varies year by year depending on rainfall. The rest comes from a wide range of renewab…
15 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty's Government in relation to the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be considered at the Nice Inter-governmental Conference.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive has been in close contact with the UK Government on the Charter over the course of the negotiations, and has participated actively in the development of the UK's negotiating position. The Solicitor General visited Brussels in September to discus…
10 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments is responsible for issues relating to science.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Science underpins, directly or indirectly, a wide range of Scottish Executive policies. These cover not only innovation in industry and wealth creation more generally, but also health, agriculture and fisheries, the environment, the built heritage, education,…
10 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list, by department, the scientific programmes which it sponsors or funds.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Executive sponsors or funds the following scientific programmes:<U><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Health Department</U><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department is responsible for encouraging and supporting r…
10 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the Science Research Investment Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 5 July 2000 will be spent funding science in Scotland and what percentage of the money available under the fund this figure represents.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Executive is in discussion with the UK Government, other devolved administrations and the Higher Education Funding Councils about the detailed distribution of this new infrastructure fund. A formal announcement of the amount that will be spent in Scotland…
10 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government in relation to the UN Climate Change Summit being held in The Hague during November 2000, particularly with regard to the Kyoto Protocol.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Executive has worked closely with the United Kingdom Government in developing the United Kingdom negotiating strategy for the Sixth Conference of the Parties. Our aim is to reach an environmentally credible and effective outcome that will create the condi…
8 Nov 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the status of the merger between the Scottish Council for Educational Technology and the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Learning and Teaching Scotland was formed on 1 July. Professor Tom Wilson has been appointed as Chair and Mike Baughan as Chief Executive along with a further eight board members. Appointments to the Advisory Council will be announced shortly. Officials are k…