Parliamentary questions

Bruce Crawford

999 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

14 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the public health network referred to by the Minister for Health and Community Care in a letter to me of 8 January 2007; what the network’s objectives are, and how its work is monitored.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Public Health Networks(ScotPHNs) remit is to facilitate joint working between all organisations involvedin health improvement and health services by providing a means of communicationand through specific projects in areas of national importance.<…

14 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who the members are of the public health network referred to by the Minister for Health and Community Care in a letter to me of 8 January 2007 and on what basis each member was selected.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Public Health Networks(ScotPHNs) remit is to facilitate joint working between all organisations involvedin health improvement and health services by providing a means of communication,through specific projects in areas of national importance, and…

22 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31737 by Mr Tom McCabe on 22 February 2007, to what occasion or occasions the reference in the draft paper, EU Business: Reviews of Engagement with Europe and of EU Office, to “unfortunate examples are where there is no seat for the Minister in the c…

Answer · Tom McCabe: It is not our policy tocomment on leaked documents.</p>

12 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31369 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 February 2007, why the answer related only to 2006 when no timescale was specified in the question.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requestedfor the period before 2006 is not recorded.</p>

12 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-31369 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 February 2007 and in light of the reference in the draft paper, EU Business: Reviews of Engagement with Europe and of EU Office, to “unfortunate examples are where there is no seat for the Minister in the council room duri…

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requestedfor the period before 2006 is not recorded.</p>

7 Feb 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to ensure that more affordable rented homes are made available in mid Scotland and Fife.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: We have substantially increasedour funding to support affordable housing investment across Scotland. Themid Scotland and Fife area is benefiting from this with Communities Scotlandplanning to invest around £32 million in the current year. This is a 34% increa…

25 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will release the ministerial paper of July 2005 by the then head of its European Office which considered how the political and administrative resources of the Executive could be put to best effect in relation to the European Union.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does notintend to release this paper as it contains confidential policy advice toministers.</p>

24 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions Scottish ministers attending European Council meetings have had to listen to proceedings from the “salle d’écoute” and have not been seated in the council meeting room and on which occasions this has occurred.

Answer · Tom McCabe: In the interest of good governanceand transparency, I include a literal translation of “salle d’ecoute” to aid understandingfor members of the public. “Salle d’ecoute” means “listening room”.</p><p>In 2006 Scottish ministers attendedten European Union Council…

24 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the final version of the leaked document produced by the head of its European Office, referred to in an article in The Herald on 22 January 2007, to be completed and when it will make that document public.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The document is intended tobe finalised later this year. May I refer the member to the answer to questionS2W-31325 on 5 February 2007, when I said that no decision has been taken onwhether to publish the reports at that stage. It is not our normal policy topu…

24 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions Scottish ministers have attended meetings of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe since the Executive joined in 2002.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The then Deputy First Minister,Jim Wallace MSP, attended the General Assembly of the CPMR in Ioannina, Greece inSeptember 2002. In September 2004, the then Deputy Minister for Finance, PublicServices and Parliamentary Business, Tavish Scott MSP, attended the …

24 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions it has participated in European Commission impact assessments in each year since 2003, broken down by subject area.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Responding to this question involvesconsiderable background investigation. This information is currently being gatheredand I will write to you when it is available. A copy of the information will beplaced in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. nu…

24 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions it has submitted a response directly to a European Commission consultation in each year since 2003 and to which consultations it responded.

7 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support schemes are available to help build or modernise village halls and what level of funding is available from, and who the contact is for, each scheme.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no financialsupport mechanism targeted specifically at village hall building or refurbishment.The Rural Development Small Awards scheme, designed to promote social developmenton a small scale, has a maximum funding level of £5,000. The conta…

30 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals charged with (a) rape, (b) drug offences, (c) housebreaking, (d) theft of motor vehicles, and (e) criminal damage have absconded when on bail in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information held centrallyon persons convicted for bail absconding does not identify the type of charge forwhich they were on bail.</p>

30 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been given bail when charged with criminal damage in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Bail Orders Granted in Scotland forFire-Raising, Vandalism, etc<sup>1,2</sup>, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2005-06</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=633> <thead> <tr> …

30 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been given bail when charged with theft of motor vehicles in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Bail Orders Granted in Scotland forTheft of Motor Vehicle<sup>1,2</sup>, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2005-06</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=618> <thead> <tr> <td w…

30 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been given bail when charged with housebreaking offences in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Bail Orders Granted in Scotland forHousebreaking<sup>1,2</sup>, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2005-06</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=618> <thead> <tr> <td nowrap val…

30 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been given bail when charged with drug offences in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Bail Orders Granted in Scotland forDrug Offences<sup>1,2</sup>, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2005-06</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=618> <thead> <tr> <td width=160 …

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals charged with rape have been granted bail in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Bail Orders Granted whereMain Offence was Rape<sup>1</sup>, 1999-2000 to 2005-06</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td valign=top> <p align=center>Police Force Ar…

6 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in which areas of policy or legislation it requires to seek the approval of, or consult, the Privy Council.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Executive seeks the approvalof the Privy Council only when submitting draft Orders in Council for making byHer Majesty the Queen. Acts of the Scottish Parliament normally provide for subordinatelegislation to be made by Order In Council where it would be …

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has agreed with the Institute for System Level Integration in order to meet the Executive’s objectives.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does notdirectly fund the Institute for System Level Integration and, therefore, has notset it any targets.</p>

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided to the Institute for System Level Integration since it was founded, broken down by financial year.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: In general, public sector fundingfor the Institute for System Level Integration comes from Scottish Enterprise andis an operational matter for them. In financial year 2000-01, the Scottish Executiveprovided the ISLI with a one-off grant of £40,000 to fund six…

31 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what strategic initiatives will be deployed to help reinvigorate the electronic sector in Fife, following the closure of Lexmark in 2005 and the announcement by Solectron that it intends to close its operations in Dunfermline.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Electronics sector fallswithin the recently announced Priority Industries for Scottish Enterprise. A largenumber of the electronics companies in Fife receive dedicated account managementsupport from Scottish Enterprise Fife for marketing and strategy deve…

31 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will provide to workers at Solectron in Dunfermline to find new employment.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive’s PartnershipAction for Continuing Employment (PACE) framework will provide those affected bySolectron’s decision with support, advice and guidance on a wide range of retrainingand upskilling opportunities to help them access alternativ…