Bruce Crawford

13 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Royal Sun Alliance Group since 1999.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government records show one meeting took place with Scottish Executive officials and Royal and Sun Alliance on 14 July 2006. Details of all ministerial engagements are published in arrears on the Scottish Government website and can be accessed using…

16 Apr 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has provided to the Stirling area over the last four years to promote and deliver events connected with the Year of Homecoming and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, and how much it will provide in 2013-14.

25 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many apprenticeships have been created in the Stirling constituency in each of the last three years.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the chief executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you with the information requested.

21 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in how many cases of death or injury resulting from an alcohol-related road traffic accident the driver had a blood alcohol content of between 50 and 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood in each of the last three years.

Answer · Keith Brown: This data is not currently collected by the Scottish Government. Estimates of the number of lives that could be saved by reducing the drink drive limit were published in the Scottish Government’s Reducing the Drink Driving Limit in Scotland consultation docu…

12 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work Scottish Water has carried out in cooperation with communities to develop water turbines.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Water has had informal discussions with a number of community councils, including West Linton and Kinlochbervie, regarding the potential of developing hydro schemes near villages. None of these has been developed to date due to the schemes not being …

4 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made by NHS boards in developing local improvement plans to help deliver Quality Improvement Scotland standards for dealing with neurological diseases.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with a neurological condition is able to access the care and support they need. The National Neurological Advisory Group (NNAG), has been established with Scottish Government funding to support i…

1 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many private residential housing developments have been designated as contaminated under the Environment Act 1995 in each year since 1999.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Local authorities have the responsibility for identifying any land in their areas that meets the criteria of being contaminated land. Currently, contaminated land information of this kind is not held centrally. In the light of this, I will discuss the possibi…

28 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the transition from the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target to Green Deal.

21 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with farmers' representatives regarding the impact of high costs of fuel and animal feed on the farming sector.

14 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what capital allocation has been made to Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority as part of the 2013-14 shovel-ready construction and maintenance projects.

19 Nov 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding the reform of the common agricultural policy.

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that planning authorities improve their performance in terms of the speed of consideration of planning applications.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government is committed to a high performing planning service that contributes to sustainable economic growth. In March, I announced the publication of the Planning Performance Framework, drawn up by Heads of Planning Scotland and the Scottish Go…

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will place a statutory duty on local authorities to promote sustainable economic development.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities are empowered to promote economic development, under the power to advance well being (Part Three of The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 – Power to Advance Well Being) which is a discretionary power enabling local authorities to do anyt…

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what power it has to ensure that the promotion of sustainable economic development is a priority in all of the work that local authorities undertake.

Answer · John Swinney: Councils are autonomous bodies whose powers are set out in statute and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government. It is up to each local authority how it prioritises its activities. Responsibility for local economic development and local regenerati…

6 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much support for CBI Scotland it has proposed in its 2013-14 draft budget and what the expected outcome from this expenditure will be.

6 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much support it has given to CBI Scotland in each year since 1999 and will give in 2012-13.

5 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding waiting times for IVF treatment.    

1 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how funding in the 2013-14 draft budget will be allocated to (a) rural development and (b) rural paths.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s spending plans include investment in a range of measures across the 2013-14 draft budget which will support rural development. Empowering communities is an important theme of both the Spending Review 2011 and the draft budget. The Ru…

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it makes regarding the skills-base in communities that have received support from the Climate Challenge Fund and whether they need to outsource functions.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Insight into the skills base in CCF communities is obtained through the CCF Community Action and Support Programme (CASP). The CASP programme is open to any Scottish community tackling climate change. The agenda is developed in close cooperation with commun…

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what independent analysis is carried out on the effectiveness of the administration of Climate Challenge Fund awards and whether it matches the needs of communities.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The administration of the Climate Challenge Fund was scrutinized by Scottish Government’s Internal Audit Division in 2010 and a follow up report was undertaken in 2011. The follow up report concluded that all recommended actions, including moving to a formal …

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the impact of the Climate Change Fund on households and the environment that they operate in and what action it takes to deal with any barriers that are identified.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: When a community project comes to the end of their Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) award, the project is required to submit a final report with accompanying data collection sheet before a final claim is processed. Information collated has evolved since the fund …

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what independent research has been carried out on activities taking place in communities that have received awards from the Climate Challenge Fund.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: An independent review of the Climate Challenge Fund undertaken by Brook Lyndhurst and Ecometrica was published in June 2011. The aim of this review was to identify the impact of projects and the factors that were key to a project’s success. The review also lo…

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any funding that has previously been provided to private householders in order to assist them with cleaning up contaminated land.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09872 on 22 October 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what grant funding is available to help private householders clean up contaminated land.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Local authorities have the responsibility to inspect land for contamination and to secure remediation where there is a significant risk to human health. The former Contaminated Land Grant has been subsumed into annual Scottish Government grants to local autho…

24 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that construction companies headquartered in Scotland are provided with the best possible opportunities of being successful in bidding for public sector contracts.

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many contracts have been issued by each of the Scottish Futures Trust's hub programmes, broken down by (a) type of contract and (b) value.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: In relation to hub, the Scottish Futures Trust does not issue contracts for construction work. Of the four hubCos already established, the following contracts for the construction of new health, social care and schools facilities have already been signed and …

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can set conditions regarding wage rates when negotiating with contractors.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Contractors are required to comply with their statutory obligations relating to employment. Public bodies cannot require contractors to pay their employees a wage set higher than the National Minimum Wage as a condition of contract performance.

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what changes to building regulations will be introduced in 2013 and what discussions it (a) has had and (b) plans with the construction industry about these.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Changes to the building regulations in 2013 will not be known before forthcoming public consultations are held, closed and analysed. Topics that are currently under consideration for change are - sustainability labelling for schools, carbon monoxide detection…

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance regarding E.coli 0157 it gives to organisers of agricultural shows.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA), in conjunction with the Scottish Government Directorate for Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities, produces general guidance for organisers of agricultural shows “Showpack 2012: Guidance for Agricu…

6 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the requirements of human rights legislation are being met with regard to the non-attendance of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) at public local inquiries in respect of wind farm applications where SNH have objected to the application.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Decontaminationof brownfield sites is supported by our strategic objectives for a greener,wealthier and fairer Scotland and especially our commitment to workwith local authorities to achieve more sustainable places where people canenjoy quality living. £18.2 …