Parliamentary questions
Andrew Welsh
539 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19408 by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005, how it plans to meet the EU Directive on biofuels, 2003/30/EC, which requires member states to set indicative targets for biofuel sales by 2010 with a reference value of 5.75% of all petrol and diesel sold …
Answer · Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-19406 on 30 September 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/webapp…
21 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage filling stations to stock biofuels.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The stocking of biofuels is a commercial matter for fuel manufacturers and retailers. However, the Scottish Executive has provided funding of £1.2 million through a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant towards the construction near Motherwell of Scotland…
21 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to encourage inward investment in biofuels in Scotland.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Scottish Development International (SDI), the Executive’s joint operation with Scottish Enterprise, leads on attracting inward investment and other international business to Scotland. SDI works with industry specialists in Scotland and uses its overseas sales…
21 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to meet the EU target of biofuels accounting for 5% of all fuel consumption by 2010.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The EU Directive on biofuels (2003/30/EC) requires member states to set indicative targets for biofuel sales by 2010, with a reference value of 5.75% of all petrol and diesel sold for transport purposes. A target has not yet been set for the UK.</p> <p>With t…
21 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what subsidies are available for the production of biofuels.
Answer · Tavish Scott: There are no dedicated subsidies available for the production of biofuels. However, businesses wishing to invest in biofuel production can be considered for assistance through other generic schemes for providing assistance to business, including Regional Sele…
7 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when its determination on Angus Council's local plan will be finalised.
Answer · Johann Lamont: The Scottish ministers do not determine local plans and only intervene in local planning in exceptional circumstances. The finalised local plan for Angus will be subject to a local plan inquiry early next year. The Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters’ Unit w…
7 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how long it has taken it on average to process and determine local authority local plans.
Answer · Johann Lamont: The Scottish ministers do not determine local plans and only intervene in local planning in exceptional circumstances. Reporters from the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters’ Unit are appointed to hold inquiries into objections to local plans and report to l…
7 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been relocated to rural Scotland and to where they have been relocated.
Answer · George Lyon: Under the Scottish Executive’s Relocation policy 507 public service jobs have been relocated to rural Scotland. The relocation of job opportunities to Scotland’s more rural areas includes:</p> <p>Tiree (Croft House Grant Scheme, eight posts); </p><p>Kinlochle…
7 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been lost in Angus in the last 15 years.
Answer · Tom McCabe: Information on the location of civil service jobs within the Scottish Executive administration prior to 2000 is not held centrally. Since 2000, 20.5 full-time equivalent posts have been lost from Scottish Executive Departments and Agencies in Angus*. Details …
23 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its temporary staff since devolution have obtained permanent full-time employment with the Executive.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
23 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its temporary staff have university degrees.
Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.</p>
23 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on hiring temporary staff.
Answer · Tom McCabe: Where the need for staffing is short term or for a defined period, the hiring of temporary staff for fixed term assignments is one of the options that may be considered under the Scottish Executive’s Resourcing policy.</p> <p>Recruitment of all, including tem…
23 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many temporary workers it has employed in each year since devolution.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown in the following table and refers to temporary staff employed directly in the Scottish Executive core departments.</p> <p>Temporary Staff in Scottish Executive Core Departments as at 1 April of Each Year</p><table border=1 c…
23 Aug 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many temporary workers it has employed since devolution, expressed also as a percentage of its total workforce, broken down by location and grade.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown in the following tables and refers to temporary staff employed directly in the Scottish Executive core departments at 1 April of each year.</p> <p>Table 1, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 1999</…
23 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16265 by Allan Wilson on 9 May 2005 and in light of the fact that none of the CORGI council members with a Scottish mandate and very few members from the rest of the United Kingdom were consulted prior to the introduction of CORGIs Gaswork Notificati…
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive has been liaising with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about developments and I know that Lord Hunt, the UK minister responsible for the Health and Safety Commission and Executive (HSC/E), has recently written to The Scottish and Northern …
23 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17352 by Allan Wilson on 17 June 2005 in which it was admitted that the information that it supplied to members of the public and placed in the Parliaments Reference Centre is factually incorrect, what plans it has to rectify this.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The material that was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre is an exact copy of what was sent to the correspondents and we have no plans to alter or extract anything from these. However, a copy of the subsequent letter that was sent to the Scot…
15 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16264 by Allan Wilson on 9 May 2005 and in light of the statements from SNIPEF and other CORGI Council members that there was no consultation on the introduction of the Complete Safety Initiative scheme, who informed the Executive that SNIPEF, as a m…
Answer · Allan Wilson: Information received from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) suggested that SNIPEF, as a member of the CORGI Council, was as fully engaged as other interested parties when CORGI announced the scheme in August 2004. Officials took this to mean that they had…
9 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16265 by Allan Wilson on 9 May 2005, what information it has on which Scottish organisations or individuals were consulted by CORGI prior to the introduction of the Gasworks Notification Scheme.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive does not hold such information. The Gas Work Notification Scheme is for CORGI, its council and members to decide upon. The information may be available direct from CORGI who can be contacted at 1 Elmwood, Chineham Park, Crockford Lane, …
28 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15979 by Allan Wilson on 21 April 2005 on the introduction of the Gas Work Notification Scheme, what its response will be to those who made representations to it on the scheme.
Answer · Allan Wilson: We have already responded to the letters from Mr McIver, John Home Robertson MSP and Nora Radcliffe MSP and copies have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 36395).</p> <p>We made no response to the letter from Mike Weir. It was trans…
28 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to conduct an economic impact assessment on the introduction of the Gas Work Notification Scheme.
Answer · Allan Wilson: We have no such plans. The Gas Work Notification Scheme is for CORGI (the Council for Registered Gas Installers), its council and members to decide upon.</p>
28 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15979 by Allan Wilson on 21 April 2005 on the introduction of the Gas Work Notification Scheme, why it did not make any representations to the UK Government on the impact of the introduction of the scheme.
Answer · Allan Wilson: When we received the first letter on this issue in February we felt that, as the Health and Safety Commission (HSC), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Better Regulation Task Force and CORGI (the Council for Registered Gas Installers) had all been con…
28 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15979 by Allan Wilson on 21 April 2005 on the introduction of the Gas Work Notification Scheme, what the content was of each of the representations made to it.
Answer · Allan Wilson: I have arranged for a copy of each of the representations to be placed in the Parliaments Reference Centre (Bib. number 36394).</p>
28 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15979 by Allan Wilson on 21 April 2005 on the introduction of the Gas Work Notification Scheme, which organisations made representations to it and when.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Mr J V S McIver of John Fulton (Plumbers) Ltd wrote to the First Minister on 18 February 2005.</p> <p>John Home Robertson MSP wrote on behalf of Ms Catherine Thacker of Bathroom World (Lothian) on 21 February 2005.</p><p>Nora Radcliffe MSP wrote on behalf of …
13 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received, or made to the UK Government, regarding the impact of the introduction of the Gas Work Notification Scheme on the housing market and what studies the Executive has undertaken to determine the economic impact that the scheme will have on gas installati…
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Gas Work Notification Scheme is being introduced by CORGI (the Council for Registered Gas Installers) as a part of the registration scheme they operate. Subject to limited exceptions, under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, employers…
2 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2596 by Cathy Jamieson on 26 September 2003, what action it takes to ensure that prisons are always sufficiently staffed in accordance with management assessments.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SPS Workforce Planning and Monitoring Group consisting of both management and trade union representatives meets regularly to cons…
2 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) recommended and (b) actual maximum number of inmates has been at HM Prison Castle Huntly in each month since 1999.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>Not all information requested is available. There is no recommended numberof prisoners. The following table gives the maximum population fo…
2 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time prison officers there were at HM Prison Castle Huntly in each of the last five years and what the turnover of prison officers was in each year.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>As at 31 March</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=…
26 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the range and nature has been of services supplied to the private health care sector by the NHS due to patients on waiting lists being transferred to the private sector in each of the last five years; what the resultant costs have been to the NHS, and whether any such costs are recov…
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.</p>
26 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions patients on NHS waiting lists have been transferred to private health care in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.</p>
25 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that data in respect of the (a) collation of actual and (b) projection of future costs of free personal care for the elderly is accurate and up-to-date.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: In respect of (a), the collection of actual data, the Executive collects up-to-date information on free personal care expenditure through an annual data collection from local authorities. The accuracy of this data is ensured through validation procedures and …