Parliamentary questions
Andrew Wilson
771 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Sep 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what are the estimated costs in real and cash terms in each year from the launch going forward of the Scotland House office in Brussels in capital, running and staff costs and from which budget line the funding for this will be provided.
Answer · Jack McConnell: As advised in my answer to Mr Wilson's question S1W-1437, the budget for the Scottish Executive EU Office comes from the Administration Vote 6. That answer gave a detailed breakdown of the budget for 1999-2000.<P>Given that this budget was drawn up for the fi…
7 Sep 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives on the Private Finance Initiative.
Answer · Jack McConnell: No. The Scottish Executive has not received any such representations.
7 Sep 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the launch of Making it Work Together: A Programme for Government, whether it will clarify the roles of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Parliament in relation to the modernising and work of the Parliament.
Answer · Donald Dewar: As <I>Making It Work Together: A Programme for Government</I> explains, the Minister for Parliament is responsible for the management and monitoring of the Scottish Executive's business in the Parliament. He is also concerned with the operations and procedure…
7 Sep 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many members of its staff work in divisions or branches that are accountable to the Minister for Finance.
Answer · Jack McConnell: I am directly responsible for a wide range of interests. Around 700 staff work in Divisions that support these responsibilities but many of the staff also support other Ministerial initiatives and objectives. They do not report solely to me.
7 Sep 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the Making It Work Together: A Programme for Government were published, how many were distributed free of charge, and what the total costs of publication were.
Answer · Jack McConnell: 7000 copies of the document <I>Making It Work Together</I> have been printed. Copies have been distributed free of charge to 497 organisations, and to all MSPs and UK Cabinet Ministers. In addition, approximately 850<B><I> </B></I>copies have been distributed…
26 Aug 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what planned expenditure by the Scotland Office is included in the Scottish Budget in each year from 1999-2000 forward, in real terms, when this information was first published, and where.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Under the terms of the Statement of Funding Policy published by HM Treasury on 31 March 1999, the Secretary of State for Scotland is voted provision by the UK Government in respect of the expenses of the Scotland Office. There is no planned expenditure by the…
26 Aug 1999 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what planned expenditure by the Scotland Office is included in the Scottish Budget in each year from 1999-2000 forward, in real terms, when this information was first published, and where.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Under the terms of the Statement of Funding Policy published by HM Treasury on 31 March 1999, the Secretary of State for Scotland is voted provision by the UK Government in respect of the expenses of the Scotland Office. There is no planned expenditure by th…
9 Jul 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of all current policy reviews, green and white papers and consultation exercises which (a) have been initiated by it; (b) are being taken forward by it , having been initiated by HM Government and (c) are being undertaken by HM Government on issues affecti…
Answer · Jack McConnell: This information is not held centrally.
1 Jul 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to list (a) the public sector capital projects involving private finance both planned and under way giving both date of start and estimated completion, (b) the total estimated capital investment included in the projects and (c) the annual public expenditure required to service these proje…
Answer · Jack McConnell: The information requested on our investment in these projects, which represent good value for money, is set out in the attached tables. The dates requested have been provided for the majority of projects but in some cases, labelled N/K (not known), the inform…
1 Jul 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what was the value of land transferred out of public ownership in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Private Finance Initiative agreement.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The excess sites sold to Morrison Construction Limited as part of the Private Finance Initiative contract for the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, namely the City, Princess Margaret Rose and Dental Hospitals were valued by the District Valuer at between £10m…
23 Jun 1999 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Presiding Officer what plans the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has to implement the recommendations of paragraph 81 on page 172 of the Consultative Steering Group Report
Answer · David Steel: An introductory seminar was run for MSPs on Friday 21 May on the subject of Finance. Speakers from The Scottish Office and the Parliament presented an outline of the financial process as it is currently envisaged. Handouts of the presentation were provi…
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer by Nicol Stephen on 17 June 1999, what plans it has to consult the Parliament on the number and range of new economic indicators required; how it intends to keep the Parliament informed of the progress of the review of additional needs and of any planned changes to o…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is currently developing a work programme to improve the dissemination of economic and statistics knowledge on the Scottish economy, raise the profile of the Scottish Executive's thinking on the economy and improve external dialogue and …
18 Jun 1999 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Presiding Officer what is the allocation of rooms on the fifth floor of Parliament Headquarters and specifically what is the name, function and job title of each person occupying each room
Answer · David Steel: The fifth floor of Parliamentary Headquarters is shared between staff of the Parliament and the Scottish Executive. Details of staff occupying rooms in the former category are given in the table below. The detailed arrangements for occupation of the ro…
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to state what plans it has to upgrade the A80 road and what representations it has received from home-owners affected by previous proposals.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Proposals for upgrading to motorway the A80 route between Stepps and Haggs to motorway are being considered within the Strategic Road Review. My answer to Mr Tosh on 26 June provides information on progress of the Review.<FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetic…
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assess the impact of quarrying at Croy Hill on the historic Roman sites in the area and whether these are different from any existing plans.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: We have no plans to assess the impact of quarrying at Croy Hill. A section of the Antonine Wall here is scheduled and in the care of Historic Scotland. The existing quarrying has no direct impact on the monument. Any proposal to quarry within the scheduled…
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide hospital care facilities in the Cumbernauld & Kilsyth constituency.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Acute hospital facilities are available at Monklands Hospital, Airdrie and at Stobhill Hospital and the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. There are no plans to provide further hospital facilities in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many staff are employed in ministerial or junior ministerial private offices as policy advisers and related direct support staff and (b) what are the payscales in which each of these staff are placed.
Answer · Donald Dewar: I refer Mr Wilson to the answers I gave to Mr Gorrie on 24 June (S1W-4, 5 and 8). Individual salaries are not revealed in order to protect the privacy of those concerned. I will announce shortly the arrangements which I have put in place regarding Special Ad…
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) to list the staff of the Executive Policy Unit, and the job titles, role and payscales of each member of staff and (b) to specify the line manager, contract length and office location of each member of staff.
Answer · Donald Dewar: The staff so far appointed in the Policy Unit, with job title, line manager, contract length and office location, are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=612><TR><TD WIDTH="23%" VALIGN="TOP"><B><FONT SIZE=2><P>Name</B></TD><TD WIDTH="25…
18 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to implement the Financial Issues Advisory Group recommendations in full and, if not, to state precisely which of the recommendations it does not intend to implement in full.
Answer · Jack McConnell: In both the Statement I made to Parliament on Thursday 24 June, and my presentation to the joint committees on Wednesday 30 June I made clear our intention to broadly accept the FIAG report. The annex to the report presented to the committees on 3…
15 Jun 1999 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the range and number of economic performance indicators published with reference to Scotland.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: A future strategy for the development of official Scottish economic statistics was outlined in an article in The Scottish Economic Bulletin, No 56, March 1998 - The Scottish Economy: Official Statistics for the New Millennium.<P><P>The official economic stati…
10 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the range and number of economic performance indicators published with reference to Scotland.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: <FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica" SIZE=4>A future strategy for the development of official Scottish economic statistics was outlined in an article in The Scottish Economic Bulletin, No 56, March 1998 - The Scottish Economy: Official Statistics for …