Parliamentary questions

Colin Campbell

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

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to progress independent advocacy programmes in the current year.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health required NHS boards, working with their planning partners, to prepare and implement plans for ensuring independent advocacy is available to all who need it. The Department's Advocacy Facilitator will continue to support boards and t…

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS boards have fro'en funds available for independent advocacy programmes in the current financial year and, if so, which NHS boards have taken such action.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Based on the information contained within NHS boards' advocacy plans, investment in independent advocacy will have increased from £2,722,026 per annum in March 2001 to £4,327,212 per annum in March 2004. This is an increased investment of £1,605,186 per annum…

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the progress of independent advocacy programmes in NHS boards.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I announced funding for the establishment of an Advocacy Safeguards Agency when I attended the Advocacy 2000's conference in February. This new agency will have a key role in ensuring compliance with the commitment in Our National Health that integrate…

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether supply under care and repair programmes is meeting demand for (a) care and repair and (b) aids and adaptations and how it monitors supply and demand under such programmes.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Work carried out by Care and Repair projects reflects locally identified needs. Care and Repair is one way in which local needs in respect of equipment and adaptations may be met. It is for local authorities to assess needs in their area and decide how demand…

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any local authorities that utilise elements of their care and repair programme budgets for aids and adaptations.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Work carried out by Care and Repair projects reflects locally identified needs. In many instances this will include equipment and adaptations. However, information on the number of equipment and adaptations carried out by Care and Repair projects is not held …

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether funds allocated to local authorities for the care and repair programme in privately-owned homes are ring-fenced.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive provides up to 50% of the revenue costs required to administer Care and Repair and these resources must be used for this purpose. The remaining costs in relation to Care and Repair are met by local authorities, these are not ring-fenced.

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to engage with the Parliament and its European Committee and Rural Development Committee on the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I will send copies of key documents to the convenors of the European and Rural Development Committees as these become publicly available and will place copies in the Parliament's Reference Centre. I will also be happy to consider requests for further informat…

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on fishing 'onal management committees with delegated powers and on the European Commission's proposals for regional advisory committees; what consultation it has had with EU member states on these matters and what information it has on whether any of these states adv…

Answer · Ross Finnie: The UK supports the principle of regional advisory committees, comprising of fishing industry representatives, scientists and other stakeholders. Careful consideration would need to be given to the means by which this can best be done, including the powers av…

5 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a convention comprising of representatives to consider the social, political, religious and economic implications in Scotland of the future role and direction of the European Union, similar to the one established in Catalonia, and to set up a website to prov…

Answer · Jim Wallace: There are no plans to establish such a convention. The Executive recognises that the debate on the future of the European Union is of great importance to the people of Scotland and it has already participated in a number of events focusing on this issue. We w…

26 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why Ferguson Shipbuilders in Port Glasgow was not included in the Clyde Shipyards Task Force.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I set up the Clyde Shipyards Task Force at short notice following BAE SYSTEMS' announcement in July 2001 of 1,000 redundancies. Given the need to report back within a short timescale, the remit of the task force focussed solely on the upper Clyde and did not …

26 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans exist to replace existing large Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency vessels in the near future and when a decision will be made on this issue.

Answer · Ross Finnie: A contract has already been awarded by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency to replace its oldest Offshore Patrol Vessel Westra in June 2003. Thereafter, the agency will consider the replacement programme for its other vessels.

20 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-23479 and S1W-22767 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 March 2002 regarding the confidentiality of discussions between it and Her Majesty's Government, how it plans to advance transparency in relation to such matters.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24247.

20 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-23479 and S1W-22767 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 March 2002, how it intends to encourage contributions from the Parliament's European Committee and the Parliament in advance of Her Majesty's Government contributing to meetings of the EU Council of Min…

Answer · Jim Wallace: We have undertaken to work with the European Committee to develop improved arrangements for the provision of information regarding the Executive's contacts with the UK Government on EU issues, while respecting the need for confidentiality where this applies. …

12 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons were for transferring responsibility for research grants from the Students Awards Agency for Scotland to the Arts and Humanities Research Board.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive agreed to this transfer following an indication from Universities Scotland that, having consulted with its membership on this issue, it had received a positive response. In all other fields of study, comparable postgraduate awards for S…

12 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the transfer of post-graduate research student awards from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland to the Arts and Humanities Research Board, whether funding for post-graduate students in Scotland was ring-fenced at no less than the level it was before the transfer of respo…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has agreed with the Arts and Humanities Research Board that it should aim to spend no less than £1.6 million on Scottish domiciled students. While this funding will not be formally ring fenced, we are conf…

12 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which body took the decision to transfer responsibility for awarding post-graduate research grants from the Students Awards Agency for Scotland to the Arts and Humanities Research Board and when that decision was taken.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The decision to transfer responsibility for the administration of the Scottish Studentship Scheme from the Students Awards Agency for Scotland to the Arts and Humanities Research Board was a matter for the Scottish Executive and was announced on 16 November 2…

27 Feb 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the effectiveness of legislation designed to control anti-social tenants and how many anti-social behaviour orders have been served nationally to date.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive commissions the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland to undertake an annual exercise to determine the use being made of evictions for anti-social behaviour and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). The total number of ASBOs grante…

26 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, commercial companies operating in the countryside should seek agreement with the owner or manager of land over which their commercial activities are planned to take place before carrying out such activities.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Section 9 (2)(a) of the bill excludes commercial activities from access rights created under the bill. Commercial businesses currently access private land only with the express or implied consent of the owner. When the legislation comes into force ther…

26 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the right of access as conferred by Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill should also apply at night and, if so, whether it has taken account of how this will impact on the lives of those who live and work in isolated situations.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill provides rights of responsible access to land and inland water for recreation and passage. A person will be presumed to be exercising access rights responsibly if they do not interfere unreasonably with the rig…

26 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities currently have a support programme for the victims of anti-social behaviour and which have members of staff dedicated to that programme.

Answer · Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23524.

26 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities currently have an anti-social tenant policy in place and which have a dedicated officer who liaises with all necessary agencies regarding such tenants.

Answer · Iain Gray: This information is not held centrally but the Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator appointed by COSLA, with funding from the Scottish Executive, is currently undertaking an audit of anti-social policy and practice in Scottish local authorities.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is conducted of the spending of funds allocated for the support of pupils with behavioural difficulties and whether it will list any local authorities who have either wrongly allocated all or part of these funds to capital expenditure projects which were planned before the…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Funds allocated by the Scottish Executive under specific grants to local authorities, which would include amounts allocated for the provision of support directed towards pupils with behavioural difficulties, carry certain conditions which are specified at the…

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are applied under its Central Heating Installation Programme as to the (a) maximum and (b) minimum number of radiators that can be installed in a house or a flat; what constraints or prohibitions there are as to the rooms in which the radiators can be installed, and whether …

Answer · Iain Gray: The rules for the installation of a central heating system under the Central Heating Installation Programme, are the same throughout Scotland. Landlords in the social rented sector apply similar arrangements. A central heating system is installed to provide h…

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22767 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 February 2002, why naming the elected representatives who briefed the UK delegation to the EU Health Council meeting in Brussels on 15 November 2001 is confidential.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: All details of discussions between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive are confidential, in terms of exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information. This exemption covers information whose disclosure would harm…