Colin Campbell

12 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which buildings were awarded grants by Historic Scotland that were conditional on match-funding by a local authority in each year since 1998-99.

Answer · Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland, to reply. His response is as follows.<P>Under the powers available to Scottish ministers to make grants available for the repair of historic buildings and buildings within outstanding conservati…

3 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make any records and outcomes of investigations into allegations of racism since 1999 publicly available.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28855 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/sear…

3 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that any records and outcomes of investigations into allegations of racism are transparent and in the public domain.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does not hold a central record of allegations of racism against organisations and individuals within Scotland.<P>Bodies such as the Commission for Racial Equality, the police or offices of procurators fiscal can provide details of the n…

3 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made to date with the Crown Office in producing a Race Equality Scheme under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 by the 30 November 2002 deadline.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Officials from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are liaising with other departments within the Scottish Executive to ensure that Scottish ministers meet their statutory obligations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, which includes th…

3 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to lift reporting restrictions on disciplinary hearings concerning justices of the peace.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I assume this is a reference to the investigative tribunals held under section 9 of the Bail, Judicial Appointments etc (Scotland) Act 2000. The Justice of the Peace (Tribunal) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 require these tribunals to sit in private for reasons …

2 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27834 by Iain Gray on 19 August 2002, what the precise criteria are by which it will judge whether Scotland's broadband technology has reached Her Majesty's Government's general target of having "the most extensive and competitive broadband market in…

Answer · Iain Gray: Her Majesty's Government, working with the Broadband Stakeholder Group, has developed criteria to define competitiveness and extensiveness in line with the broadband target. In summary, competitiveness is defined as a composite measure of price, market regula…

2 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether and, if so, how, it plans to consult the Parliament and its committees on the draft opinion on More Democracy, Transparency and Efficiency in the European Union which the First Minister presented to the meeting of the Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance o…

Answer · Peter Peacock: The final draft of the First Minister's opinion was passed to the European Committee directly it was finalised on Tuesday 3 September. It will be discussed by the Constitutional Affairs and European Governance Commission of the Committee of the Regions on Fri…

29 Aug 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to emulate the joint government/BT ACT NOW project to bring ADSL to 12 exchanges in Cornwall and, if so, what exchanges in Scotland would be identified first for such a project.

Answer · Iain Gray: Highlands and Islands Enterprise have looked with interest at the Cornwall project and are discussing it with the telecoms industry. They are also supporting BT's trial of community broadband through mini-ADSL.<P>However, ADSL is not the only solution for pro…

22 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its target deadline is for the provision of asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology (ADSL) throughout Scotland.

Answer · Iain Gray: ADSL deployment will be a matter for the commercial providers.<P>The UK Government has set a general target on broadband which is to &quot;have the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005&quot; and the Scottish Executive's broadband …

22 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in order to extend the provision of asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology.

Answer · Iain Gray: Asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology deployment is a commercial decision for the providers, usually related to demand. The Scottish programme under the UK Broadband fund addresses the need to stimulate demand through the development of a number of …

22 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17355 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 1 October 2001, what information it has on which areas and exchanges have now been equipped with broadband asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology and which (a) area and (b) exchange (i) has and (ii) has not bee…

Answer · Iain Gray: At the moment, the following 67 Exchanges across Scotland have been ADSL enabled:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=330><TR><TD WIDTH="49%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Aberdeen Balgownie</TD><TD WIDTH="51%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Aberdeen Denburn</TD></TR><TR><TD W…

17 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26780, whether the turnover of staff in the Inverclyde Social Inclusion Partnership is below or above the national average for such organisations.

Answer · Hugh Henry: No information on staff turnover within Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) is currently held within either Communities Scotland or the Scottish Executive. Given the complexity of different support arrangements in SIPs across Scotland it would be difficult t…

17 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26780 by Hugh Henry on 11 July 2002, whether it has assessed the impact of high staff turnover on the Inverclyde Social Inclusion Partnership.

Answer · Hugh Henry: No formal assessment of the impact of staff turnover on Inverclyde Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) has been carried out by either the Scottish Executive or Communities Scotland, who now manage the SIP programme.<P>Following concerns expressed by partners o…

17 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26780 by Hugh Henry on 11 July 2002, how many vacancies there were at 30 June 2002 in the Inverclyde Social Inclusion Partnership.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The number of vacancies in the support team for Inverclyde Regeneration Partnership at 30 June 2002 was seven.

3 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26361 by Ms Margaret Curran on 10 June 2002, how much was set aside by each local authority for improvement and repair grants in each financial year since April 1996 in (a) cash and (b) real terms.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested for the years 1996-97 to 2000-01 has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 22487). Figures are not yet available for financial year 2001-02.

19 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have disabled access and which do not, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally.<P>The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that all children in Scotland can achieve their full educational potential. The Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act…

18 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary headteachers have had a grievance made against them by a member of staff, and how many of these grievances (i) failed, (ii) were upheld, (iii) led to disciplinary proceedings, detailing the outcome of these proceedings, and (iv) resulted in headteach…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally.

14 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the work and performance of the Inverclyde Regeneration Partnership.

Answer · Hugh Henry: As with all Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs), appraisal of the work and performance of Inverclyde SIP is carried out as per the SIP Monitoring Framework issued by the Scottish Executive in 1999.<P>All SIPs are required as part of their terms and condition…

14 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff have left the Inverclyde Regeneration Partnership since January 2002 and what proportion of the total staff this represents.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Four members of the Inverclyde support team staff have resigned since January 2002. The total agreed staff establishment for Inverclyde Social Inclusion Partnership is 10.

14 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what obligation there is on the Inverclyde Regeneration Partnership to provide it with performance monitoring data; if such data is being received by it timeously, when the last data was received and, if it has not received any such data, what action it has taken, or plans to take, to ac…

Answer · Hugh Henry: As with all social inclusion partnerships (SIPs), appraisal of the work and performance of Inverclyde SIP is carried out as per the SIP Monitoring Framework issued by the Scottish Executive in 1999. <P>All SIPs are required as part of their terms and conditio…

30 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25829 by Mr Jim Wallace on 28 May 2002, which police authorities have indicated formally, since 1999, that additional funding for extra officers would be beneficial to their communities.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Issues linked to funding are on the agendas of most of the formal meetings that take place involving the Scottish Executive and Police Authority Conveners. The most recent written representation in connection with additional funding from an individual authori…

23 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most effective tools and sanctions currently available are to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Answer · Margaret Curran: There are a range of tools and sanctions available to tackle anti-social behaviour ranging from mediation to the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and eviction. It is relevant bodies such as landlords, local authorities and the police, to determine, in the …

23 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of the Housing Benefit (Withholding of Payment) Bill would be on (a) homelessness and (b) rent arrears.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Our understanding is that the UK Government has given a commitment to work with Frank Field to improve the drafting of this bill and we are liasing closely with the UK Government. When a revised version of the bill is available, we will consider its implicati…

23 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a reduction in anti-social behaviour would be a consequence of the withdrawal of state benefits from an individual.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive's view is that this would depend on the particular circumstances involved.

16 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to promote the competition launched by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in conjunction with The Independent, to select three young people between the ages of 18 and 25 to take part in the European Youth Convention on the Future of Europe in Brussels from 9 to 14 July 200…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has asked YouthLink to publicise this competition and they have already done so through an electronic mailshot to their members and the Community Education Managers of all local authorities. <P>Details of the competition have been place…

10 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which police authorities have approached it for additional funding for uniformed or support personnel.

Answer · Jim Wallace: All police authorities have indicated at some point, either formally or informally, that additional funding for extra officers would be beneficial to their communities.<P>Since April 2000, additional special grant of £8.1 million per year has been allocated t…

10 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated to each local authority to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does not make specific budget allocations to local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour. Relevant costs might be allocated to local authority general expenditure and attract revenue support grant or, in the case of local authorit…

22 Apr 2002 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to recruit additional police personnel.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Chief Constables are responsible for the recruitment of police personnel. Police officer numbers in Scotland are at record levels. The Scottish Executive is committed to maintaining high police numbers and has provided an extra £24 million over the last three…

17 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the question S1O-4777 by Iain Gray on 7 March 2002, when the figures for anti-social behaviour orders for the period 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2001 will become available; whether instructions to gather this information have been issued and, if not, when such…

Answer · Iain Gray: The Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland is commissioned by the Scottish Executive to undertake an annual exercise to determine the use being made of evictions for anti-social behaviour and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders. The 2000 survey was published in …

10 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to my question S1W-24790 lodged on 5 April 2002 in regard to the establishment of a convention on the future of Europe similar to that established by Catalonia, whether it is aware of the announcement on 8 April 2002 by Ministers of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy Fir…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24790 on 3 May 2002.