Mr Brian Monteith

29 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19952 by Dr Elaine Murray on 28 January 2002, when the safety improvements to the National Stadium, Hampden will be completed and when it expects a safety certificate to be issued.

Answer · Elaine Murray: This is a matter for the Scottish Football Association but I understand that the safety improvements to the National Stadium, Hampden, will be completed before the end of February. Glasgow City Council will issue the safety certificate once the works have bee…

25 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which libraries, colleges and workplaces in Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Fife have been branded as "learning centres" to date by learndirect scotland, as referred to in the Scottish Economic Report - January 2002.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Of the 236 learndirect scotland branded learning centres registered at 1 February 2002, 28 are located within the Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Fife areas. There are seven learndirect scotland learning centres in the Stirling area, 20 in Fife and one in Clac…

25 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the coverage of the "Make it in Scotland" manufacturing industry education roadshow for S2 pupils, as referred to in the Scottish Economic Report - January 2002, will be extended to schools in Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Fife.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: We plan to rollout the "Make it in Scotland" campaign for S2 pupils across Scotland in the 2002-03 academic year.

24 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that school board members are aware of the devolved budget granted to their school.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not currently take any specific action in relation to school boards and devolved school budgets, however this is an issue which is being examined as part of current work considering support for school boards in general.

24 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of schools have school boards; how many members of school boards there are; how many vacancies there are on school boards, and how many elections of school boards were contested in the most recent round of school board elections, all broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The biennial survey of school boards, last conducted by the Scottish Executive in May 2000, provides details of the number and percentage of schools with school boards and the number of elections contested. The latest data available for school board elections…

24 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications are for traffic on the A81 from Milngavie to Strathblane of West of Scotland Water Authority's plan to build a new treatment plant at its Milngavie reservoir.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The A81 is a local road and, as such, the responsibility of East Dunbartonshire and Stirling Councils as the local roads authorities for the sections of the road that lie within their areas. This is therefore a matter for the councils to address.

22 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to combat the spread of hospital acquired infections in NHS hospitals in the Forth Valley Health Board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A new national system of surveillance of hospital-acquired infections has been created and we have invested in infection control training for nurses.<P>A National Standard on infection control has been set. The Clinical Standards Board for Scotland (CSBS) wil…

22 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total number of bed days lost as a result of hospital acquired infections was in each NHS hospital in the Forth Valley Health Board area in each of the past three years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available centrally.

22 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with VisitScotland and the local tourist boards regarding establishing the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park as a visitor destination.

Answer · Mike Watson: None. Responsibility for marketing the area of the National Park is an operational matter for VisitScotland and the Local Area Tourist Board.

22 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated for the proposed Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park so far and what further allocations are expected to be made.

Answer · Allan Wilson: In the current financial year £2.15 million has been allocated for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Interim Committee, with further funding of up to £350,000 made available for the Gateway Centre at Lomond Shores. For 2002-03 an allocation of £3.8 million ha…

21 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer how many Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIP) are currently in operation; how many people are employed by each SIP, and what employment, administrative and property costs are associated with each SIP.

Answer · Margaret Curran: There are 48 Social Inclusion Partnerships operating in Scotland. The Partnerships have provided the following information on their staffing and costs for the last financial year, 2000-01. This information excludes project staff and costs and &quot;in kind&qu…

18 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which individuals and organisations have been sent copies of Forth Estuary Transportation Authority Report on Public Consultation.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Copies were sent to all those who were consulted (listed in the answer given to question S1W-21569 on 22 January 2002) or who responded to the consultation, and were placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 18603) and made available on the Exe…

16 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of every individual allocation of money it has made to Clackmannanshire Council in this financial year and for what purpose each such allocation was made.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Details can be found in the <I>document Allocations of Central Government Grant to Local Authorities 2001-02</I>, a copy of which is held in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number19464).

16 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of every individual allocation of money it has made to Stirling Council in this financial year and for what purpose each such allocation was made.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Details can be found in the document <I>Allocations of Central Government Grant to Local Authorities 2001-02</I>, a copy of which is held in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 19464).

11 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will allocate the #20 million announced on 9 January 2002 to tackle bed blocking amongst NHS and health boards.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Minister for Health and Community Care will announce an Action Plan on delayed discharge in February 2002. This will contain details of how the new resources will be targeted to reduce bed blocking in Scottish hospitals.

9 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20574 by Lewis Macdonald on 3 January 2002, how many road accidents resulting in deaths have occurred on trunk roads in the Central Scotland police area in each of the last four years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The number of road accidents resulting in deaths that have occurred on trunk roads in the Central Scotland police area in each of the last four years is as follows: <P ALIGN="CENTER"><CENTER><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=592><TR><TD WIDTH="5…

9 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20852 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 December 2001, who the members of the rural areas maternity service provision sub-group are, when the sub-group will be expected to report and whether any such report will be made public.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Remote and Rural Areas Initiative (RARARI) sub-group on maternity services is chaired by Mrs Brenda Thorpe, Head of Midwifery Services in Dumfries and Galloway. It draws its membership from professional groups, especially from remote and rural areas, incl…

8 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive with regard to its news release SE5127/2002 of 7 January 2002 and in light of the launch of the "know the net" campaign, the review of "click thinking" and concerns over internet safety, whether it retains a target of providing every school pupil in Scotland with internet access and a pe…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Young people are accessing the internet and e-mail in a variety of settings. The Executive is committed to helping them develop the skills to allow them to do this effectively and safely, and schools have an important role to play. We expect that all pupils w…

8 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is anticipating any delay to the centralisation in Perth of the Environmental and Rural Affairs Department offices of Dundee, Stirling or Forfar and, if so, what the financial implications of any such delay will be.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Although we are now looking to open the new office in Perth at the end of this year as opposed to September, we do not anticipate any significant delay beyond this. Accordingly there should be no knock-on financial implications.

8 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive with regard to its news release SE3061/2001 of 7 September 2001, what opportunities were made available to the public and other external parties to give views as part of the consultation on the role of the proposed Forth Estuary Transportation Authority.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The answer to question S1W-21569 lists the 52 organisations consulted on the Order establishing the Authority and explains that the documents were also made available on the Executive website and by request. This follows previous consultation on the policy pr…

8 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive with regard to its news release SE3061/2001 of 7 September 2001, which organisations were consulted on the role of the proposed Forth Estuary Transportation Authority and when the consultation period ended.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The 52 organisations listed were consulted. Full information on the consultation was placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 16212) and on the Executive website. Consultation closed on 30 November 2001.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=…

21 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the rail operating and infrastructure companies regarding the promotion of railway stations at Tyndrum, Crianlarich and Balloch as gateways to the proposed Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This is not a matter in which the Scottish Executive has any locus or direct powers to intervene. Any such discussions with the rail industry will be a matter for the National Park Authority, once that has been established.

21 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been commissioned into the likely impact which the creation of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will have on tourist visitor numbers to the area.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any research on the possible impact of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park on tourist visitor numbers.

21 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18999 by Allan Wilson on 17 December 2001, what research has been commissioned into the likely impact on traffic flows which the creation of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will have on (a) the A82 between Balloch and Crianlarich, (b)…

Answer · Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18999. The Scottish Executive is not aware of any research on the possible impact of the National Park on traffic flows.

20 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14451 by Mr Tom McCabe on 6 April 2001, on how many occasions since then it has asked MSPs to lodge parliamentary questions in order to enable it to make an announcement and whether it will provide a list of such questions, giving the date on which t…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20923.

14 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives that encourage people to stand for election to school boards it has supported in each of the last five years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: In 1997, 1999 and 2001 we produced and distributed some 700,000 election publicity leaflets to local authorities for circulation to parents of school pupils in Scotland in order to promote parental involvement in school board elections. These distributions co…

14 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) financial and (b) non-financial support it has provided in each of the last five years for the training of members of school boards.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not provide direct financial support for the training of school board members. Such training is generally supported from school board budgets provided by education authorities, or direct from education authorities' own budgets. <P>…

13 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7052 by Sarah Boyack on 19 June 2000, what the (a) net revenue expenditure on roads maintenance and (b) gross capital expenditure on the structural maintenance of roads has been in respect of each local authority in 2001-02.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The following table shows provisional figures provided by each local authority for the net revenue expenditure on roads and winter maintenance. However, although the Executive collects forecasts of capital expenditure on the structural maintenance of roads in…

13 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19962 by Allan Wilson on 11 December 2001, what bids for funding have been made for 2002-03 from organisations or communities in (a) Fife, (b) Perth and Kinross and (c) Angus under each of the three elements of the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund.

Answer · Allan Wilson: <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=283><TR><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"> </TD><TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP">RCF</TD><TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>RSSF</TD><TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>LCGS</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Fife</TD…

13 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20472 by Dr Elaine Murray on 11 December 2001, how much the severance payment made to Tessa Jackson following her departure as Director of the Scottish Arts Council was and whether ministerial approval was sought for the sum involved.

Answer · Elaine Murray: I have nothing further to add to my reply to question S1W-20472 on 11 December 2001 on this subject.