Parliamentary questions
Brian Adam
1,580 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12632 by Mr Andy Kerr on 13 December 2004, how many applications have now been received for the Skipton Fund and how many have been successful.
Answer · Andy Kerr: As at 4 March 2005 the Skipton Fund reported:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p> </p></td> <td> <p align=center>Stage 1 Payment</p></td> <td> <p align=center>Stage 2 Payment</p></td> </tr> …
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any concerns have been expressed in respect of changes in standards for police body armour as a result of new procurement procedures.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I am not aware of any concernshaving been raised with the Scottish Executive on this matter.</p>
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any input into the choice of body armour to be procured for Scottish police forces.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This is an operational matterfor Chief Constables.</p>
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek additional funding from HM Treasury for overtime payments for police officers covering for colleagues on G8-related duties.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The UK Government has already agreed that extra funds will be made available to help meet the agreed additional policing costs incurred in connection with this year’s G8 summit. These costs are currently being assessed but will allow for overtime costs as app…
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will have regular reviews of the police funding formula and, if so, how often.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: We concluded a review of thefunding formula for police grant aided expenditure in 2004 and published a reportin October 2004. It is intended that the information on which the model is basedwill be updated in alternate years in linewith the spending review cyc…
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how future funding for community wardens will be allocated.
Answer · Hugh Henry: On 28 February I announced ScottishExecutive funding to tackle antisocial behaviour up to 2008. It is for local agenciesworking with local people to identify priorities in their area where the fundingshould be spent. Councils can use this funding for communit…
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will become mandatory for police boards to take out personal injury insurance for (a) on-duty police officers and (b) off-duty police officers who attend incidents.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Police boards are required tohave appropriate employers’ liability insurance to provide them with cover in theevent of an employee (which for this purpose includes a police officer) seekingcompensation for an injury brought about as a result of their negligen…
22 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will deliver the commitment to a treatment and assessment unit for former patients of Woodlands Hospital on the site of the hospital.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to S2W-14659, answered 3 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search">http:/…
22 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is meeting its commitments in respect of former residents of Woodlands Hospital in Aberdeen who now are in the community.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: As part of the long-stay learning disability hospital closure programme <i>The same as you? </i>recommended that all health boards should reduce their assessment and treatment places for people with learning disabilities to four for every 100,000 population a…
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many boys participate in football in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the use of ProLaser III speed guns.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: ProLaser III is a Home Officetype-approved device and one of a number of such devices that can be used by policeforces in the United Kingdom. Type-approval and any review would be a matter for theHome Office.</p>
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to the criteria for dealing with applications for registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland from non-Scottish qualified teachers.
Answer · Peter Peacock: It is for the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) to determine the criteria for dealing with applications from non-Scottish teachers. The GTCS has a strict registration policy, which ensures reliable and consistent decisions are made on the fitness a…
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time taken is to deal with applications for registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland from non-Scottish qualified teachers.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The General Teaching Council for Scotland does not calculate the average time taken to process applications from non-Scottish teachers seeking registration.</p><p>Cases vary widely in complexity, depending for example, on country of origin, qualifications, te…
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland are outstanding from non-Scottish qualified teachers.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Currently, the General Teaching Council for Scotland has 45 applications from non-Scottish teachers awaiting the first assessment process. In addition, there are 375 cases which have gone through the first assessment process. In these cases, assessors have wr…
17 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for dog fouling since the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The number of dog fouling fixedpenalty notices issued by local authority area is not held centrally. However, basedon information submitted by those local authorities who responded to a recent surveyundertaken by the Executive, the local authorities who have …
17 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any patients with haemophilia who contracted Hepatitis C from contaminated blood products have been offered anti-viral treatment and, if so, how many.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I would refer you to the answer to question S2W-13558 on 31 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…
9 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13855 by Lewis Macdonald on 7 February 2005, which local authorities have applied for funding to implement the forthcoming EU Environmental Noise Directive; how much funding each local authority has requested, and when funding allocations will be ann…
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: There is no link between the noise provisions of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, the subject of question S2W-13855, answered on 7 February 2005 and the EU Environmental Noise Directive. As stated in my answer to S2W-13865, answered on 7 Feb…
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it and Tayside Police have received regarding the conduct of police officers involved in the seizure of mobile phone batteries at the recent Arbroath FC versus Aberdeen FC football match.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I am not aware of having received any representations in relation to the Arbroath FC versus Aberdeen FC football match of 8 January 2005. I understand that Tayside Police have received two letters on this matter.</p>
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how often mobile phone batteries have been seized by police in connection with football matches, broken down by police force.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it endorses the seizure of mobile phone batteries by police as a reasonable measure to maintain public order at football matches.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Policing of football matches is the operational responsibility of chief constables.</p>
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received on whether seizure of mobile phone batteries by Tayside Police at the recent Arbroath FC versus Aberdeen FC football match was lawful under section 51 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive has neither sought nor received advice on whether the action described was lawful. Policing of football matches is the operational responsibility of chief constables.</p>
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the penalties are for unlawfully disclosing personal information from closed decennial population censuses and how many successful prosecutions there been have for that offence since 1990.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The penalty on summary conviction is imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding £5,000 or both. No prosecutions have been undertaken since 1990 and the Registrar General is not aware of any allegations of unlawful disclosure in t…
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the penalties are for refusing to complete a decennial population census form and how many successful prosecutions there were for that offence in connection with the censuses for (a) 1971, (b) 1981, (c) 1991 and (d) 2001.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The penalty in force at the time of the most recent census was a fine not exceeding £1,000 (level 3 on the standard scale). The number of successful prosecutions in 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 were, respectively, 18, 30, 56 and three.</p>
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered commissioning an independent survey to establish whether Scots would be satisfied with the re-establishment of 19th century 50 to 80-year confidentiality periods for decennial population census records.
Answer · Tavish Scott: We do not propose to commission such a survey, particularly in view of the recent consultation on the proposal, now contained in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 sections 38(1)(c) and 58(2)(b), that personal census information less than 100 year…
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, whether the Registrar General for Scotland has informed it of any documents showing that, in May 1974, ministers considered that Scotland should not be bound to keep in line in all respects with English and Welsh census closure policy and that the proposed 100-year closure rule for Scott…
Answer · Tavish Scott: The closure of census records was raised with ministers in early 1974, in response to enquiries from solicitors wishing to use personal census information in settling executry cases. The Registrar General consulted the Minister of State at the Scottish Office…
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any requests since 1997 from members of the public who do not want their personal census details to be released before the records are 100 years old.
Answer · Tavish Scott: No such requests have been received. The undertakings given on recent census forms state that personal census details will be kept confidential for 100 years. Members of the public would therefore expect, without needing to make a specific request, that their…
8 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the assurances of confidentiality given in respect of each decennial population census from 1841 to 2001.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The following assurances were given on householders’ forms in the various Scottish decennial censuses from 1841-2001:</p><p>1841: No mention of confidentiality on householder’s schedule.</p><p>1851: No mention of confidentiality on householder’s schedule.</…
1 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any correlation between the incidence of sexually-transmitted diseases and where and how sex education was delivered.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-14011 answered on 28 February 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament…
1 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any correlation between the incidence of unwanted pregnancies in young people and where and how they received sex education.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Relevant data are not available to establish whether or not any such correlation exists.</p><p>I understand it would theoretically be possible to relate teenage pregnancies to the school which the mothers had attended, but that there are significant legal and…
1 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commission research into any correlation between where and how sex education is delivered and the incidence of unwanted pregnancy in young people and the incidence of sexually-transmitted disease.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive has no such plans at present. It will be a function of the National Sexual Health Advisory Committee, which is being established as part of the Strategy and Action Plan for Improving Sexual Health, to offer advice on a sexual health research pro…