Parliamentary questions
Andrew Welsh
539 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursing posts are currently vacant at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.
10 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many bank and agency nurses have been used at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee over the last year and what the cost of using such nurses was.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information you have asked for has been provided for 2000-01 for Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust of which Ninewells hospital forms a part. Information on individual hospitals use of bank and agency nurses is not available centrally but may be avail…
6 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what inquiries it has made regarding how much it will cost local authorities to store domestic refrigerators and free'ers following the introduction of EC Regulation 2037/2000.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I confirmed on 6 December in response to question S1O-4233 on 6 December 2001, that financial assistance would be available for local authorities. With a view to ensuring that our estimates of their needs are as accurate as possible we wrote to them on the sa…
6 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19778 by Rhona Brankin on 21 November 2001, in light of the announcement made by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that #6 million will be allocated to English local authorities to help with the storage of old refrigerators and f…
Answer · Ross Finnie: My reply to question S1O-4233 on 6 December 2001, confirmed that the Executive will provide additional funding to Scottish local authorities for the remainder of this financial year and that I would announce the allocations once firmer costs had been identifi…
5 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to take account of the interaction between cities and their surrounding areas as part of the review of the cities.
Answer · Iain Gray: The remit of the Cities Review states that the review process will take account of the interaction between the cities and their surrounding areas.<P>Ministers intend to meet with the cities neighbouring authorities, to listen to any issues that they wish to r…
5 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place as part of its review of the cities, where these meetings took place and which local authorities attended.
Answer · Iain Gray: The Cities Review Sounding Board contains representatives from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Highland Councils. The Sounding Board has met three times in Edinburgh.<P>The Cities Review Team visited the following cities:<P>Aberdeen and met represent…
5 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to ensure that local authorities contiguous to cities are consulted on and participate in the review of the cities.
Answer · Iain Gray: All local authorities neighbouring Scotland's cities will have the opportunity to meet with ministers as part of the review process.
3 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was represented at the Waste Summit hosted by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 21 November 2001 and, if so, by whom.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Waste Summit was convened to discuss waste management in England. The Executive was invited to send a representative on 21 November as an observer (as were the other devolved administrations). The Head of the Recycling and Waste Team, Environment and Rura…
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of packaging is currently recycled.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The latest year for which firm data are available is 2000. During that year the UK recovered 41.9% of packaging materials and this included 36.4% recovered by recycling.
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a responsibility on producers of packaging for disposing of packaging in an environmentally acceptable way
Answer · Ross Finnie: Producer responsibility for packaging is already in place. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 require most manufacturers and users of packaging materials and products to ensure the recovery of 56% and recycling of 18% o…
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of waste paper is currently recycled.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Waste paper is produced in many different forms by a wide range of public and private sector organisations as well as householders. Information on the percentage of total waste paper currently recycled is not held centrally.
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of vehicles which have reached the end of their useful life are subsequently recycled.
Answer · Ross Finnie: In 1999 an average of 77% of the total weight of end-of-life vehicles in the UK was re-used, recycled or recovered, with the remaining 23% being landfilled.
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what goals it has for the recycling of vehicles which have reached the end of their useful life.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive aims to make regulations later this year to introduce the following:<P>for all vehicles, a re-use and recovery target of 85% and a re-use and recycling target of 80%, both expressed as average weight per vehicle and year;<P>for vehicles produced…
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it aims to introduce a total ban on the disposal of tyres in landfill sites.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive intends to phase in a ban on the disposal of tyres to landfill from July 2003. A consultation on proposed regulations to implement these and other controls on landfills will be issued shortly.
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a responsibility on tyre producers for the disposal of tyres in an environmentally acceptable way.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Under forthcoming regulations a ban on disposal of tyres to landfill will be phased in from July 2003. The Scottish Executive is also developing legislation dealing with End of Life Vehicles (ELV). This will apply to cars and light commercial vehicles and wil…
19 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of disposed car tyres are disposed of in landfill sites.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Information on the website of the Used Tyre Working Group (available at www.tyredisposal.co.uk) indicates that in the UK, in 1999, about 28% of used tyres were disposed of in landfill sites.
7 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any research has been conducted into the costs involved in using isolation wards as a measure to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infection and, if so, what these costs are.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research to improve both the health of the people of Scotland and the services provided by the NHS. CSO is not funding any research on the costs of isolation wards. It is, howe…
7 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals currently make use of isolation wards as a measure to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infection; if none do, what plans it has to introduce such wards and, if such wards do exist, what plans it has to increase their number, and what criteria are applied in deciding…
Answer · Susan Deacon: These are operational issues for the NHS but hospitals are expected to follow the guidance contained in the <I>Scottish Infection Manual (1998)</I>. This makes clear that trusts require to provide suitable accommodation for the clinical care of patients with …
7 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has issued to local authorities on the introduction of EC Regulation 2037/2000 which requires the removal of CFCs prior to the dismantling or disposal of domestic refrigerators and free'ers.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive wrote to local authorities, the waste management industry and others with an interest on 14 September 2001 informing them of the new requirements and advising them of the consequent implications for the collection and disposal of used refrigerat…
7 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial or other assistance will be available to assist commercial industries and local authorities to establish a facility to deal with the removal of CFCs from domestic refrigerators and free'ers before they are dismantled or disposed of.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive does not propose to offer any specific assistance for this purpose. The United Kingdom does not currently have the facilities to remove ozone-depleting substances from insulation foams, from which it follows that there is a gap in the market whi…
7 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a facility to deal with the removal of CFCs from domestic refrigerators and free'ers before they are dismantled or disposed of.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no plans to establish such facilities.
7 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding will be made available to local authorities for the storage of domestic refrigerators and free'ers following the introduction of EC Regulation 2037/2000 which requires the removal of CFCs from these appliances before they are dismantled or disposed of.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive recognises that local authorities are faced with the new cost of storing discarded domestic refrigeration equipment until such time as the United Kingdom acquires the technology to remove ozone-depleting substances from insulation foam in an env…
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of injuries caused by fireworks to (a) domestic pets and (b) other animals were reported (i) prior to 5 November, (ii) on 5 November and (iii) after 5 November in each of the last five years.
Answer · Iain Gray: This information is not held centrally.
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of injuries caused by fireworks to (a) domestic pets and (b) other animals were reported in each of the last five years.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally.
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of damage to property with fireworks occurred (a) prior to 5 November, (b) on 5 November and (c) after 5 November in each of the last five years.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally.
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported incidents of damage to property caused by fireworks in each of the last five years involved (a) minors and (b) adults as alleged perpetrators of the incidents.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally.
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many prosecutions there were of persons alleged to have damaged property with fireworks in each of the last five years and (b) how many such prosecutions resulted in a conviction in each year.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not available centrally.
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents involving damage to property caused by fireworks have been reported in each of the last five years.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally.
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents involving injuries sustained from fireworks have occurred (a) prior to 5 November, (b) on 5 November and (c) after 5 November in each of the last five years.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The number of reported injuries prior to, on, and after 5 November, for the past five years is shown in the following table.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=330><TR><TD WIDTH="29%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=14><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="CENT…
6 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported incidents involving injuries sustained from fireworks in each of the last five years involved (a) minors and (b) adults as (i) the alleged perpetrators and (ii) the victims of the incidents.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The age profile of those suffering injuries caused by fireworks, for the last five years is shown in the following table.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=359><TR><TD WIDTH="32%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Age Grou…