Parliamentary questions

Chris Ballance

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

20 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local television and radio digital services would count as public service broadcasters under the proposed Culture Bill and would thereby be able to access the Public Service Publisher fund.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: No. Broadcasting is a reservedmatter and is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

20 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities will be promoted as potential licensees of local digital television and radio services within the proposed Culture Bill and what the reasons are for the position on the matter.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24448 on 12 April. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.sear…

20 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that local authorities should be able to hold broadcasting licences under the terms of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Broadcasting is a reserved matter.However, a Scottish local authority’s provision of information about its activitiesis a devolved matter.The Scottish Executive is workingwith the Department for Culture Media and Sport to bring Scottish local authoriti…

13 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it hopes to be able to exempt people with cystic fibrosis from prescription charges as a result of the current consultation on prescription charges.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24094 on 23 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to compensate for the loss of Leader Plus European funding in the south of Scotland after 2007.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Leader+(Scotland) Programmecurrently operates as a Community Initiative under the European Structural Fundsand will continue to run through to June 2008 although has to be fully committedby 31 December 2006, project activity completed by 31 December 2007 …

8 Mar 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give local authorities guidance on the permitted development status of domestic micro-renewable installation.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Executive will shortly publisha Planning Advice Note on micro-renewables which will provide advice on existingplanning controls. A review of permitted development rights is also underway which,among other things, will consider permitteddevelopment rights …

1 Mar 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the public and private expenditure invested in Tartan Week and its activities and what mechanism is being used to analyse the return on this investment.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive budget for Tartan Week in 2006 is £660,000. This is made up of £560,000 in support for events around Tartan Week in New York and Washington DC and £100,000 on marketing. This expenditure is allocated from the Finance and Central Service…

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to ensure that Scottish Enterprise promotes strategies designed specifically for the needs of rural areas.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23635 on 4 May 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.se…

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action Scottish Enterprise will take to promote rural areas if its focus moves to promoting metropolitan areas.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Our economic development strategiesrecognise cities as the drivers of wider metropolitan regions and the complementaryroles of cities and their surrounding areas. They also recognise the particularopportunities and needs of our rural areas.Scottish Ent…

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any funds, or other resources, available to help local communities establish the ownership of unclaimed land in their locality.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:There are no specific funds forthis purpose.

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid from the Rural Public Passenger Transport Grants scheme in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area; how many applications for funding have been rejected in the same timescale, and what the total value was of these applications.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Grants paid under the Rural PublicPassenger Transport Grant scheme in the last five years are shown in the followingtable. Grants are paid to local authorities only and are allocated directly to theauthority. Grant applications are not required to be made, th…

27 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the development and construction of tidal barrages to help meet its renewable energy targets.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Executive supports the developmentof a range of technologies to meet our renewable energy targets. One example ofthis is our investment in the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, to providetesting facilities for wave and tidal technologies and thereb…

3 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been given to each local authority in the South of Scotland region to support recycling and waste minimisation.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The following table provides details of how much funding has been awarded to each local authority in the South of Scotland to support recycling, waste prevention and diversion of waste from landfill through the Strategic Waste Fund. <table border=1 cells…

18 Jan 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will have any input into the contribution of the UK Government to the Council of Europe inquiry into allegations of secret detention and flights and, if so, what that input will be.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Scotland is represented on the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe by the UK Government. The Scottish Executive is happy to cooperate with the UK Government in the preparation of responses to such enquiries.

11 Jan 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth will not have an adverse affect on the conservation status of European Protected Species in the area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Consideration of the implicationsfor nature conservation arising from the proposal for ship to ship transfer in theFirth of Forth has not yet been completed.The Maritime and Coastguard Agency(MCA) will shortly be co-ordinating a publicconsultation to a…

5 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide current details of ambulance response times to emergency call-outs in Dumfries and Galloway and what measures are being taken by NHS 24 to ensure that patients in remote locations receive a timeous and trained paramedical or medical response.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The following table shows the ambulance service’s response times to emergency calls in Dumfries and Galloway between 1 April 2005 and 30 November 2005. It shows the responses to Category A (life-threatening) calls and Category B (serious but not life threaten…

5 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide comparative details of emergency admission rates to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary before and after the introduction of NHS 24.

Answer · Andy Kerr: NHS 24 integrated with NHS Dumfries and Galloway on 18 November 2003. The table shows information on emergency admissions for the years ending 31 October 2000-04.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> NHS Boa…

3 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision has been taken on funding the SNIFFER research into the potential health impacts of putting sewage sludge on non-agricultural land, as proposed by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I understand that SNIFFER’s UKresearch programme prioritisation meeting on 27 September placed the project on“Environmental impact of using sewage sludge on forestry and for restoration ofderelict land” as first priority for the 2006-07 programme. The provisi…

2 Nov 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful planning applications for large-scale supermarket developments there have been since 1999 and how many small-scale local economic outlets have closed in the same period.

Answer · Johann Lamont: In the five years from 1999 to 2003, 67 planning approvals were given for the erection or extension of large-scale supermarkets in Scotland. No comparable information is available concerning the closure of small-scale outlets.

26 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in setting up a co-operative development agency for Scotland, particularly in respect of co-operatively owned renewables, and by what date it expects the agency to be in existence and staffed.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive decided to establish the Co-operative Development Agency (CDA) as a subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise, with a Scotland wide remit. Renewables is an area of potential activity for the CDA, which has been identified in the Executive’s pol…

19 Oct 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that SEPA has sufficient powers and resources to ensure the safe and legal disposal of sewage sludge to land.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Yes.

26 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19182 by Tavish Scott on 21 September 2005, whether it will publish the comments which it sent to Dumfries and Galloway Council on the report into the introduction of a local passenger service on the West Coast Main Line and, if so, whether it will d…

Answer · Tavish Scott: A copy of the Scottish Executive’s response to Dumfries and Galloway Council will be sent to the member separately and will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37720).

15 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional support Scottish Borders Council receives as a result of the number of rural primary schools in its area and, if small rural schools are closed, whether that level of support will be reduced accordingly.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Scottish Borders Council receives additional support of £1.164 million in 2005-06 as a result of a redistribution of the Primary School Teaching Staff Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) allocation which is based on the 11.2% of Scottish Borders’ pupils who are edu…

15 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of educating a primary schoolchild in (a) Scotland and (b) the Scottish Borders local authority area.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The information requested is available in Table 2.2 of the Scottish Executive Statistics Publication Expenditure on School Education in Scotland, 2005 which is available at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00389…

12 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following the presentation of the feasibility study into the reopening of small stations on the west coast main line.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive responded to Dumfries and Galloway Council with comments on the report into the introduction of a local passenger service on the West Coast Main Line on 30 June 2005.

7 Sep 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to local authorities in respect of considering possible conflicts of interest when appointing consultants to assist in assessing planning applications.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: None. It isa matter for each council to ensure that the provisions of planning legislationhave been implemented properly and with due propriety.

23 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the value was of bookings taken by visitscotland.com for tourist providers in Dumfries and Galloway and what percentage of total Scottish bookings taken this represented in the (a) first eighteen months of visitscotland.com's operation and (b) most recent six months for which figures…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The value of bookings made through visitscotland.com for tourist providers in the Dumfries and Galloway area in the first eighteen months of its operation was £88,000. This business represented 2% of all bookings made through visitscotland.com. during this pe…

8 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what conditions have been placed on the £1.6 million grant to Amazon.co.uk to establish a fulfilment centre in Gourock.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Amazon.co.uk accepted anoffer of £1.655 million in regional selective assistance (RSA) in May 2004towards a project involving the establishment of a fulfilment centre atGourock. This figure is the maximum that will be paid if Amazon meets theconditions that h…

17 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of figures contained in the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning departments section of Consolidated Resource Accounts for the Year ended 31 March 2004 to show what percentage of the departments budget was spent on (a) its grant to Highlands and …

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive Consolidated Resource Accounts for the Year to 31 March 2004 are publicly available and can be found by accessing: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/finance/cra04-00.asp">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/finance/cra…

18 May 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce interim targets for road transport reduction or stabilisation.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Executive is seriously considering interim targets. We will consider this issue during the development of the National Transport Strategy. The strategy is due to be finalised in the first half of 2006.