Mr Brian Monteith

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated for computer training funding under the Individual Learning Account scheme in the next five years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The budget for ILA Scotland has been confirmed to 2007-08 as part of the Spending Review 2004 process. The budget allocation is £19.3 million per year.</p> <p>It is not possible to confirm the level of funding allocated specifically to computer training cours…

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applicants for computer training funding it has budgeted for under the Individual Learning Account scheme in the next five years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Demand forecasting undertaken prior to ILA Scotland launch in December 2004 estimated a range of scenarios covering both the £200 and £100 offers. Given the nature of the target audience and the difficulties in encouraging participation in learning we will be…

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any age restrictions in respect of applicants for computer training funding under the Individual Learning Account scheme and, if so, what these restrictions will be.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Applicants have to be aged 18 years or over. There is no upper age restriction on applicants eligibility to apply for ILA Scotland funding.</p>

10 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report of the National Smoke Free Areas Implementation Group and accompanying guidelines in respect of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: It is not the intention to publish a formal report of the group’s work. The guidance on how to comply with the smoke-free legislation, which has been developed in consultation with the group, will be issued in the autumn.</p>

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of dealing with hoax calls to the (a) ambulance, (b) fire, (c) police and (d) coastguard service in each of the last five years, broken down by region.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.</p>

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency calls were made to the coastguard service in each of the last five years and how many such calls were found to be hoaxes.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the coastguard service. Her Majesty’s Coastguard is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.</p>

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls requiring deployment of an ambulance or paramedic were made in each of the last five years and how many such calls were found to be hoaxes, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is provided in the following tables.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan=2> <p>NHS Board Area</p> </td> <td colspan=2> <p align=center>2000-01</p> </td> <td colspan=2> <p align=c…

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls were made to the fire service in each of the last five years and how many such calls were found to be hoaxes, broken down by fire brigade area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The information is not available in the form requested. Statistics are collected by HM Fire Services Inspectorate relating to the number of incidents attended by the Scottish fire and rescue services including malicious false alarms and are set out in the fol…

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls were made to the police in each of the last five years and how many such calls were found to be hoaxes, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.</p>

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has paid for hotel rooms and associated expenses in respect of EU-related visits in each year since 1997 and how many officials attended such visits in each year.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information is not heldby the Scottish Executive in the format requested.</p>

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the highest price paid for a hotel room used by Executive officials visiting Brussels has been since 1997.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isnot held centrally by the Scottish Executive.</p>

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost of a hotel room used by Executive officials visiting Brussels was in 2004-05.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information is not heldby the Scottish Executive in the format requested. Scottish Executive officialsstaying overnight in Brussels are set a single financial limit to cover bed,breakfast and all meals in a 24 hour period. In the period from April 2004 to…

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which 20 roads have had the highest number of (a) accidents and (b) fatalities in each of the last five years.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the Stats 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which one or more people were injured; they do not cover damage only acc…

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many road deaths, other than those on motorways or trunk roads, have occurred in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The information requested ispublished annually in <i>Road Accidents Scotland</i>, copies of which areavailable in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. The figures for each year from1999 to 2003 (inclusive) are given in Table 36 of <i>Road Accidents Scotland2003…

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much has been spent on maintaining the landscaped areas of the Scottish Parliament complex.

Answer · John Scott: Approximately £12,000 exc. VAT has been spent on grounds maintenance since practical completion. This includes watering, grass cutting, weeding, feeding and litter picking.</p>

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the monthly cost is of cleaning all the windows of the Scottish Parliament building.

Answer · John Scott: The total cost for window cleaning from 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2005 was £35304.64. This is equivalent to a monthly window cleaning cost of £2942.05.</p>

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has investigated the costs involved in installing air-conditioning throughout the Scottish Parliament building.

Answer · John Scott: The SPCB has not investigated the cost of installing air conditioning throughout the building. Holyrood has been designed as a low energy, environmentally friendly building. Air conditioning would compromise the energy efficiency of the building.</p>

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in which part of the Scottish Parliament building air-conditioning is used.

Answer · John Scott: Air conditioning is installed in the following areas:</p><p>Debating chamber</p><p>Committee rooms</p><p>Public hall</p><p>Garden lobby</p><p>IT server rooms</p><p>Broadcasting server and control rooms</p><p>Security control and incident rooms</p><p>Ground fl…

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many electric fans have been (a) requested by and (b) distributed to parliamentary and MSPs’ staff in the last 12 months.

Answer · John Scott: Since arrival at Holyrood, Helpdesk records show that 88 requests have been made for fans.</p><p>Twenty-three fans have been issued in the last 12 months, the majority in the latter half of June and July 2005.</p>

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the highest room temperature recorded in Tower 1, Tower 2, Tower 3, Tower 4, Queensberry House, 58-60 Canongate and the Canongate Building has been in the last 12 months.

Answer · John Scott: The following temperatures are the highest recorded within the specified area, but do not cover all rooms within the area:</p><p>Tower 1 – 25 degrees Celsius between 17 Aug 04 and 3 Aug 05.</p><p>Tower 2 – 25.9 degrees Celsius between 19 Aug 04 and 3 Aug 05.<…

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the highest temperature recorded in a (a) MSP’s and (b) media tower office has been in the last 12 months.

Answer · John Scott: The highest temperature recorded within a representative number of MSP offices over the last 12 months is 26.5 degrees Celsius.</p>The highest temperature recorded in a sample of rooms in the media tower between 23 Oct 04 and 3 Aug 05 is 27.05 degrees Celsius…

13 Jul 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the average temperature has been in the (a) Scottish Parliament building, (b) MSP block and (c) media tower in each of the last 12 months.

Answer · John Scott: <p>(a) It is not currently possible to determine the average temperature for the whole building based on the information logged to date for individual areas.</p><p>(b) The average temperature recorded in a representative number of MSP rooms over the last year…

29 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when any change to the rules regarding qualifications required by, or disqualifications limiting, those who can stand as candidates in local government elections, such as local authority employees, will be introduced.

Answer · George Lyon: The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 made a number of changes to the rules governing who can stand for election as a councillor. Section 7 lifts the requirement for council employees to resign upon nomination as a candidate but replaces it with a requirem…

20 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be allocated to each of the pilot cities in the Safe City Centres Initiative in the remaining years in which the scheme will operate.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Safe City Centres Initiative is a three year pilot programme which started in 2003-04 and concludes in the current financial year 2005-06.</p> <p>I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17461 on 12 July 2005. All answers to written parliamentary …

20 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how muchfunding has been allocated to each of the pilot cities in the Safe City Centres Initiativein each year since the commencement of the scheme.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Safe City Centres Initiative is a three year pilot programme which started in 2003-04 and concludes in the current financial year 2005-06. The following table details the amounts allocated by the Executive to each of the pilot areas over the three year pe…

20 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many business crimes were committed in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Dundee, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Glasgow and (e) Perth in (i) each year since and (ii) the five years prior to the commencement of theSafe City Centres Initiative.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics collected centrally do not distinguish crimes against businesses. Research into business crime across Scotland was undertaken and published in 1999 (<i>Counting the Cost – Crime Against Business in Scotland</i>. Bib. number 3925)…

20 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many business crimes were committed in Stirling in (a) each year since and (b) the five years prior to the commencement of theSafe City Centres Initiative.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics collected centrally do not distinguish crimes against businesses. Research into business crime across Scotland was undertaken and published in 1999 (<i>Counting the Cost – Crime Against Business in Scotland</i>. Bib. number 3925)…

20 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it evaluates the success of the Safe City Centres Initiative in its trial areas.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has commissioned Reid Howie Associates to undertake an evaluation of theSafe City Centres Initiative which will be completed in November 2006. The evaluationwill consider the impact of the initiative in the seven areas, including the pe…

20 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it definesbusiness crime in relation to the Safe City Centres Initiative.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics collected centrally do not distinguish crimes against businesses. The Executive’s definition of “business crime” is “all crime and disorder committed by or against business and this includes retail crime”. This mirrors the defini…

17 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority has spent on post-16 care for people with learning disabilities and how much of this was spent on people with autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1997.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Information on local authorityspend on services for people with autistic spectrum disorders is not detailed separatelyfrom spend on services for people with learning disabilities. Spend on communitycare services for adults aged 18 to 64 with learning disabili…