Parliamentary questions

Colin Campbell

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

6 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to guarantee the provision of bus services in Renfrewshire.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I understand that Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) have been working closely with the bus industry and the Traffic Commissioner to ensure that bus services affected when DART Buses went out of business are replaced, either on a commercial basis or with t…

6 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures exist to guarantee the provision of public transport services when bus companies go into liquidation.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Local public transport authorities are required to secure the provision of public passenger transport services which are not provided on a commercial basis. Where a bus operator goes out of business at short notice local public transport authorities will ende…

6 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is currently making to BAE SYSTEMS plc in opposition to the transfer of the Nimrod programme from Prestwick to Chadderton, Greater Manchester.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19722 on 7 January 2002.

6 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs will be lost in Ayrshire as a result of the transfer of the BAE SYSTEMS plc Nimrod programme from Prestwick to Chadderton, Greater Manchester.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: This remains to be determined by the company. I understand that the transfer of the Nimrod programme may not have any net impact on jobs in Ayrshire since it will allow Prestwick to concentrate on increased work for Airbus and Boeing.

6 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to BAE SYSTEMS plc concerning the transfer of the Nimrod programme from Prestwick to Chadderton, Greater Manchester.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is in dialogue with the company on a number of issues, of which this is one.

18 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the estimated #250 million cost of the M74 Northern Extension will be paid directly to Her Majesty's Treasury under the provisions of the Aggregate Tax and from what source this money will be found.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Aggregate Tax will be paid as appropriate at the time of the construction of the road. We would expect the contractor responsible for constructing the M74 Northern Extension to design and construct it in a way that minimises the amount of Aggregate Tax due th…

11 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the waiting times for a tonsillectomy were at the (a) Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley and (b) Vale of Leven Hospital, at 30 September 2001 or the most recent date for which figures are available.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Provisional figures for the year ending 30 June 2001 show that the median waiting times for tonsillectomies at Vale of Leven Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital were 162 days and 59 days respectively.Waiting times for routine tonsillectomy operations…

11 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of armed service personnel children in primary and secondary schools are currently recognised as having special educational needs.

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

11 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary and secondary pupils are currently recognised as having special educational needs.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is provided in the following table.Number of Pupils in Schools in Scotland with Special Educational Needs <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="36%" VALIGN="TOP" ROWSPAN=2 HEIGHT=19></TD><TD WIDTH="…

3 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18216 by Iain Gray on 1 October 2001, whether any of the emergency exercises involving nuclear accidents related to nuclear waste travelling by road or rail and, if so, when and where they took place.

Answer · Iain Gray: There was a multi-agency table-top exercise on 14 June 2000 at the Scottish Police College which postulated an accident involving a train carrying nuclear waste.

3 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17849 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 1 October 2001, whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty's Government to establish why figures on defence research contract expenditure in Scotland are not available.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Defence Research contract expenditure in Scotland is not available because the Ministry of Defence's Defence Analytical Services Agency does not calculate the breakdown of research and development (R&D) spending on a regional basis. Due to the increasingl…

3 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any discussions it has had with the Ministry of Defence on the long-term future of Glencorse Barracks.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: No. Discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government are conducted on a confidential basis.

27 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17702 by Rhona Brankin on 19 September 2001, whether it will name the groups and individuals consulted on the matter of formal decision-making powers for fisheries regional management committees.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I have had numerous such discussions and consultations. Normally this subject would be discussed as part of a wider agenda. Records are not held that would enable a precise response to the question.

27 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18058 by Iain Gray on 25 September 2001, whether it has any plans to record biographical information for all prisoners.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:Yes, the SPS records essential biographical information on prisoners including date of birth, address, next of kin name, …

27 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18001 by Iain Gray on 25 September 2001, whether it will detail the purpose and nature of each exercise and the numbers of civilians and/or service personnel involved.

Answer · Iain Gray: All nuclear exercises postulate either a threat or actual release of radiation, not that this is deemed likely to occur, but because it provides the best test of procedures amongst the widest range of participants. Large numbers of civilian and service person…

26 Sep 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that all answers to parliamentary questions and letters from MSPs are detailed, informed and transparent and that the minimum constraints on providing information are imposed.

Answer · Tom McCabe: In answering parliamentary questions and letters from MSPs, ministers have regard to the Scottish Ministerial Code, which provides that ministers should be as open as possible with the Parliament, and to the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive…

24 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children identified as having Waardenburg Syndrome have a Record of Needs, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not available centrally. A minority of children with Waardenburg's Syndrome have serious hearing problems, and they would be treated in the same way as children who have hearing loss from other causes. Apart from hearing loss, children wit…

21 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of Waardenburg syndrome have been identified in each health board area in each of the last five years, specifying the ages at which cases have been identified.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information is not available centrally.

19 Sep 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of Waardenburg Syndrome have been identified in each of the last five years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information is not available centrally.

18 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were waiting to have a tonsillectomy at (a) Vale of Leven Hospital and (b) Royal Alexandra Hospital as at 31 August 2001.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on the number of patients waiting for in-patient and day case tonsillectomy treatment is not available centrally. Information on the number of patients waiting for in-patient and day case treatment is collected at specialty level only.<P ALIGN="JU…

18 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for a tonsillectomy at (a) Vale of Leven Hospital and (b) Royal Alexandra Hospital in the period 1 January 2001 to 31 August 2001.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Provisional figures for the year ending 31 March 2001 show that the median waiting times for tonsillectomies at Vale of Leven Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital were 161 days and 55 days respectively.Waiting times for routine tonsill…

17 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to question S1W-18001 lodged on 7 September 2001, what the greatest scale of nuclear emergency is in preparation for which drills have been carried out; what the nature of the supposed emergency was in this case, and what the outcome of the drill was.

Answer · Iain Gray: There is a comprehensive programme of exercises undertaken by MOD and civil agencies which are intended to test a range of scenarios. The largest scale exercise in Scotland in recent years took place at Faslane in November 1997. This involved over 7,500 parti…

17 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14840 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 18 April 2001, how long it will be before details of meetings with the Defence Diversification Agency can be made publicly available.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government are conducted on a confidential basis. No set deadline can be given for the release of any information arising from such confidential discussions. Under the Scottish Executive's Code of Pract…

12 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government on the number of ex-service personnel who are rough sleepers and what the outcome of any such representations was.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17163 on 17 August 2001.

12 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the current prison population is ex-service personnel.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The Scottish Prison Service does not hold such information.

12 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether information held on prisoners includes details of their previous and existing employment.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Not routinely on admission but for long-term prisoners this information is usually collected through our Sentence Management as…

12 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of treatment of Gulf War veterans was to the NHS in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) to date in 2001-02.

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not available centrally.

11 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics are held within the NHS on the incidence of leukaemia amongst patients who served in the Gulf War.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: No statistics are held within the NHS on the incidence of leukaemia amongst patients who served in the Gulf War.

7 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates since 1999 local authorities and emergency services have carried out nuclear emergency drills in co-operation with UK agencies and where any such drills were carried out.

Answer · Iain Gray: The following is a list of nuclear exercises since 1999 in which the emergency services, local authorities and other UK agencies have participated.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=463><TR><TD WIDTH="22%" VALIGN="TOP"><…

7 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted on the implications for devolved matters of any proposals to permit trains carrying radioactive waste to travel at more than 45 mph.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: There have been no such consultations.