Parliamentary questions

Chris Ballance

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

22 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the planned special protection area for the protection of certain bird species in Muirkirk and North Lowther Upland, proposed by Scottish Natural Heritage, has been classified by the Executive and proposed for integration into the European system of special protected areas and, if…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I met the Association of Scotland's Colleges (ASC) and the Principals' Forum on 13 December 2007 and explained the proposals for the taskforce at that meeting. I also expect to discuss the work of the taskforce with ASC at the next Further and Higher Educati…

7 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in what specific ways the arts have been placed at the centre of the work of each of its departments.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The significant contributionof arts and culture in delivering ministerial objectives across the Scottish Executiveis evidenced by key Executive strategies such as People and Place: RegenerationPolicy Statement, the National Planning Framework for Scotland and…

7 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the strategy for the Scots language promised in Scotland’s Culture: Scottish Executive Response on the Cultural Review will be published.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: In the Partnership Agreementof 2003, and as also referred to in the above policy document, Scottish ministersgave the commitment to publish a national languages strategy which will celebrateand promote the rich diversity of languages currently spoken in Scotl…

28 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact on school population is estimated to be per 100 houses of new housing developments.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The relationship between newhousing developments and school populations is best assessed locally and will belikely to vary according to the nature and location of the developments.

28 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure will be for assessing bids for coastal and marine national park status and what the projected timescale is for assessments.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The report on the responses tothe Executive’s consultation on Scotland’s first Coastal and Marine National Parkwas published on 1 March 2007.The report shows strong support,in principle, for a coastal and marine national Park to be established in Scotl…

28 Feb 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out an audit of library buildings to assess whether there is adequate library provision in appropriate, well-sited buildings.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Local authorities have a statutoryduty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons residentin their area. The adequacy of library buildings is therefore a matter for localauthorities as part of their estates management programme.</p…

31 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will accept any regional transport strategy which plans to increase road traffic growth.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive issuedguidance on the preparation of regional transport strategies. Each regional transportstrategy is expected to take account of the three strategic outcomes of the NationalTransport Strategy: improving journey times and connections; …

31 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it requires regional transport partnerships to produce transport strategies which work towards road traffic stabilisation.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The National TransportStrategy (NTS) retained the traffic stabilisation target. A more sophisticatedapproach will be taken to tackling traffic growth by focusing on meaningfuloutcomes in a number of areas, including emissions, congestion, and how manypeople a…

26 Jan 2007 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what payment, in cash or in kind, has been made, or is expected to be made, to the Scottish Parliament by Microsoft since May 2003 and what the purpose of any such payment was.

Answer · George Reid: The SPCB has received nopayment from Microsoft in cash or kind. The SPCB expects to recover fromMicrosoft all the main costs associated with hosting this event, such as broadcasting,catering, security etc. The final accounts are still being prepared. The SPCB…

17 Jan 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bookings Executive staff have made with accommodation providers accredited under the Green Tourism Business Scheme and what percentage this represents of total accommodation bookings made by the Executive since the announcement of the scheme on 24 August 2006.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive’s hotel bookingsare normally made through the Expotel agency. Since last June, Expotel has promotedGreen Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS)-registered establishments in Scotland as afirst choice to ministers and officials where they offer comparable…

10 Jan 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the promised review of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 will take place.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Ministers are committed to reviewingthe 2003 Land Reform Act during 2007.

8 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29736 by Patricia Ferguson on 14 November 2006, what total costs have been incurred so far on establishing Creative Scotland and disbanding the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen and what the estimated future costs are, itemising any budget li…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Costs so far have been £24,353,which was the cost of placing adverts in a number of newspapers and journals invitingapplications for the post of chair of the joint board of the Scottish Arts Counciland Scottish Screen.No other costs have so far beeninc…

4 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what input and involvement the voluntary arts sector has in the Cultural Planning and Entitlements Working Group.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I recognise the important contributionthe voluntary arts sector makes to Scotland’s cultural provision. The sector is a valuable resourcefor local authorities in their delivery of cultural planning and entitlements.The Executive set up its CulturalPlan…

27 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to the public purse was of establishing visitscotland.com and what the annual cost has been since its establishment.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Visitscotland.com was establishedin 2002 as a Public Private Partnership joint venture company with funding of £7.5million. The only public sector investment was £1.875 million from VisitScotland,which gave VisitScotland a 25% stake in the company. This was i…

27 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the 100-year closure order placed on some of the evidence presented to Lord Cullen’s inquiry into the shootings at Dunblane Primary School is lawful and, if it is satisfied, whether it will cite the specific statute invoked to allow that order to be made lawfu…

Answer · Elish Angiolini: I refer the member to the answer to question S1W-34924 on 18 March 2003 and in particular to paragraphs four to nine of thatanswer. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be f…

20 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29356 by Nicol Stephen on 14 November 2006, who, if anyone, owns the electromagnetic spectrum in Scotland, as distinct from who manages it.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Executive’s understandingis that there is no defined ownership of the electromagnetic spectrum. However,regulation of telecommunications is a reserved matter and, as indicated previously,UK spectrum is managed by OFCOM, who have been empowered through UK …

15 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what restrictions are placed on the activities of visitscotland.com.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The visitscotland.com websiteis run by eTourism Ltd, a commercial private limited company which was set up asa Public Private Partnership (PPP) in 2002 and which trades as visitscotland.com.eTourism Ltd was granted a 10-yearconcession to operate and de…

9 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Creative Scotland will be sited in Edinburgh.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: No decision has been taken onthe location of Creative Scotland. Options for its location are being consideredat present, and we expect to make an announcement next year. Officials are workingclosely with the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen in the ea…

9 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected cost is of the creation of Creative Scotland and from where this cost will be met.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I do not anticipate any costsinvolved in the establishment of Creative Scotland that will require specific fundingin addition to the general administrative costs of the Scottish Arts Council andScottish Screen, its antecedent bodies. Work on this project with…

9 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what requirements are placed on regional transport partnerships to consult stakeholders and regarding in what manner and when such consultation should be carried out.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Provision is made within theTransport (Scotland) Act 2005, requiring a transport partnership to consultwith its constituent councils or council, each health board which falls wholly orpartly within its region and other people as the partnership thinks fit, be…

9 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many carer’s assessments were made last year per head of population in (a) the Scottish Borders and (b) Dumfries and Galloway and how these figures compare with the national average.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not heldcentrally. The Scottish Executive collected sample information on the number ofassessments (including carers’ assessments) conducted in 2005-06. That data is not,however, sufficiently robust to enable the comparisons sought in the …

8 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the need for geriatric rehabilitation services.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: It is a matter for NHSboards to assess the healthcare needs for its area and plan the delivery of servicesaccordingly. However, Delivering for Health made a commitment to develop a RehabilitationFramework to support services for older people, people with long…

8 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on wards for the care of elderly people of the targets for delayed discharge that apply to other areas or departments.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We have set challenging new targetsin order to free up valuable hospital beds. We will monitor the impact of thesechanges on wards on a quarterly basis.

8 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets for delayed discharge apply to community hospitals.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29677 on 22 November 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…

8 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets for delayed discharge apply to geriatric patients and units for the care of elderly people.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The new targets apply to allpatients delayed unnecessarily for more than six weeks in any hospital setting.Additionally, no patient should be delayed at all in short-stay beds by April 2008.

3 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be made available to fund NHS Carer Information Strategies or, if this information is not yet available, when the level of funding will be announced.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is consideringthe resource implications of improving carer support, in preparation for next year’sspending review. However, there is clear evidence that supporting carers realisessignificant and immediate savings in other areas. The Executive th…

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the celebrations of the birth of Scottish civil engineer, Thomas Telford, should be supported in his birthplace and whether it will support the Telford anniversary group committee in Eskdale and, if so, in what way.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Throughout history, there havebeen a great many notable Scots who have made an outstanding contribution to thiscountry and to the world. The various anniversaries have typically been marked bylocal communities themselves. While the importance of many of these…

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28788 by Ms Patricia Ferguson on 11 October 2006, how many of the celebrations of the birth of the Scottish civil engineer, Thomas Telford, that the Executive is part funding, will take place in his birthplace, Westerkirk, Langholm.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The anniversary of the birthof Thomas Telford will be marked next year in the Highlands aspart of The Highland Promise, the cultural pledge to young people across the Highlands.This activity will form an important part of the programme of events for Scotland’…

30 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether the electromagnetic spectrum in Scotland belongs to anyone and, if so, to whom it belongs.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The electromagneticspectrum comprises a wide range of frequencies. Under the Wireless Telegraphy Act1949 as amended, installation and use of equipment that operates in that portionof the electromagnetic spectrum consisting of frequencies of up to 3,000GHz mus…

25 Oct 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the role of Scottish Enterprise in relation to the Scottish Small Towns Report 2007-13, produced by COSLA and the South of Scotland Alliance.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive continues tobe committed to the interests of small towns across Scotland.Alongsideits partners, including local authorities, Communities Scotland and the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise has an important role to play inhel…