Parliamentary questions
Mr David Davidson
1,095 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will commit, as part of its plans to improve health, to supporting community aerobic exercise provision, such as swimming pools.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is committed to improving health. One way of doing this is to increase levels of participation in physical activity and plans are currently at an advanced stage to establish a national Physical Activity Task Force which aims to recommen…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will play in the appointment of a chief executive of visitscotland.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15448.
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government regarding the implications for its policies and for public services in Scotland of any proposed changes to the Barnett formula.
Answer · Angus MacKay: The present Government has no plans to change the Barnett formula, therefore the Scottish Executive has had no discussions with the UK Government in this respect.
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given to councils regarding underused assets in the preparation for resource accounting and budgeting.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Advice regarding the treatment of assets for resource accounting and budgeting purposes is contained in the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its target is for the level of swimming facilities which should be provided by local authorities per 15,000 persons.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Local authorities are responsible for the provision of leisure and recreation facilities, including swimming pools, in their area and the Scottish Executive does not set targets for facility provision.
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether crime which is reported to the police is recorded in a consistent way across all police forces and how it monitors the consistency of such recording.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Continuing efforts are made to ensure that police forces record crime in as consistent a way as possible through circulation of guidance in the <I>Criminal Statistics Handbook</I>. The guidance is discussed with police representatives through the Scottish Cri…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how long it has given Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust to balance its deficit and what extra resources it will make available to address any increasing demands on the trust.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Grampian Health Board received an additional 5.5% allocation in 2001-02 and it is forecast to receive an increase of 6.5% in 2002-03 and 7.4% in 2003-04; uplifts which considerably exceed inflation.<P>The health board will consider how these additional funds …
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the central Scotland traffic model has not been applied to the proposal for an Aberdeen bypass until now, how much it will cost to apply the model to this proposal and how much of this cost it will meet.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The area covered by the Central Scotland Transport Model has been extended gradually and since 1997 has covered from Dundee to Ayrshire. It is now intended to extend the area to Aberdeen and its environs. The extension of the model is a major exercise. The mo…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority has been allocated to cover the costs of implementing the McCrone recommendations in each year from 2001-02 to 2003-04.
Answer · Angus MacKay: The funding allocations to local authorities, agreed with CoSLA, to cover the costs of implementing the McCrone recommendations in 2001-02 to 2003-04 are shown in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=609><TR><TD WIDTH="34%" VALI…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many airline operators it has met in the last year to discuss the provision of budget air between Scotland and countries outside the UK.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has met a number of airlines and had discussions with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Scottish Airports Ltd and Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd about the promotion of more direct air services serving Scotla…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce a deafness test within 48 hours of birth for all babies.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive welcomes the advice of the UK National Screening Committee on Neonatal Hearing Screening. The Executive has received a comprehensive review of the implications of a phased screening programme from the National Co-ordinator of the Scotti…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what health screening tests are routinely conducted on pre-school children.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The National Pre-School Screening Programme is carried out on the advice of the Children's Sub-Group of the National Screening Committee and currently screens for visual and hearing problems as well as some congenital conditions such as phenylketonuria, conge…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given to public housing agencies with regard to protection for tenants from carbon monoxide.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer to the answers given to questions S1W-15523 and S1W-15524. The Health and Safety Executive publish several leaflets on gas safety, including carbon monoxide risks. One of these leaflets is aimed at landlords to advise them that gas safety law requires…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take to complement the Scottish Gas carbon monoxide awareness campaign.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive welcomed the campaign, part of which was the dissemination of information to health professionals and the public. On 15 February, the Chief Medical Officer wrote to all NHS Trusts, health boards and Directors of Public Health to draw attention t…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given to caravan users with regard to carbon monoxide leaks from appliances.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is a reserved matter. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is responsible for gas safety in Great Britain, has published several leaflets on gas safety, including carbon monoxide risks and the need to have appliances regularly serviced by CORGI r…
1 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what screening tests are offered to pregnant women.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has issued guidance to NHSScotland recommending antenatal screening for syphilis, hepatitis B and Down's Syndrome and neural tube defects. In addition, the <I>Framework for Maternity Services</I> suggests that screening for fetal abnorm…
29 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles have been converted to date for liquid petroleum gas fuel use in the ambulance service.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Ambulance Service has looked at the possibility of such a fuel conversion for their fleet of vehicles and decided that it is not feasible.
29 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority vehicles have been converted to date for liquid petroleum gas fuel use.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Since 1996 the Powershift grant scheme in Scotland has assisted the purchase or conversion of 133 local authority vehicles to run on either liquid petroleum gas or compressed natural gas. The Executive does not hold statistics on vehicle conversions or p…
29 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles have been converted to date for liquid petroleum gas fuel use in the police force.
Answer · Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.
29 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles have been converted to date for liquid petroleum gas fuel use in the health service.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The information is not available centrally in the detail requested.
29 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles in its fleet have the ability to use liquid petroleum gas fuel.
Answer · Angus MacKay: There are 83 cars within the Scottish Executive vehicle fleet which can operate on either liquid petroleum gas or unleaded petrol. In addition, the Scottish Executive has two electric cars for use on short journeys in the Edinburgh area.
29 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many items of business regulation it intends to repeal in the coming financial year as a result of the "regulatory MOT" announced by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning on 15 February 2001.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The introduction of the Review Regulatory Impact Assessment (Review RIA), or "regulatory MOT", represents a significant step forward in securing for Scottish businesses the most effective regulatory environment. The Review RIA will ensure all regula…
27 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why local authorities in Scotland collected an average of 88.3% of council tax in 1999-2000 compared with an average in England of 96.1%, as set out in the Audit Scotland Performance Indicators Report, Comparing the Performance of Scottish Councils, and what action it proposes to take to …
Answer · Peter Peacock: Research commissioned for the joint Scottish Executive and CoSLA <I>It Pays to Pay</I> report on council tax collection identified a range of factors which influence the collection rates in Scotland compared with England, including legislative differences. Fo…
2 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it proposes to take to improve road safety on the A90 north of Ellon.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has a number of proposed improvement schemes within the current three-year programme for the A90 trunk road north of Ellon at an estimated cost of £1,615,000.<P>The estimated scheme costs are as follows: </FONT><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING…
1 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6385 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 11 May 2000, whether the working group on the administration of medicines in schools has completed its work; if so, what its findings were and, if not, when its report is expected.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The purpose of the working group was to prepare good practice guidance on the administration of medicines in schools. Draft guidance was issued to interested parties including education authorities, health boards, Trusts and voluntary organisations. I have pl…
31 Jan 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address any financial difficulties in the higher education sector.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: At almost £660 million, planned funding for 2001-02 is some 8% (5.6% in real terms) above this year's allocation and our spending plans for higher education. This is a significant investment and demonstrates our commitment to building a learning nation and ou…
31 Jan 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish universities had a financial deficit in 1999-2000; how many are currently in deficit, and how many are expected to have a deficit in 2001-02.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: In 1999-2000, nine higher education institutions recorded an operating deficit, six of which recorded a historical cost deficit. Finalised accounts are not available for 2000-01 and 2001-02.
31 Jan 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it attaches to the provision of leisure and sporting activities by local authorities in areas of established rural deprivation.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The provision of such activities is a matter for each local authority to consider but the Executive recognises the significant contribution that sport has to make to various aspects of Scottish life.<P>Detailed targets for taking forward the ambitions of spor…
18 Jan 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will establish a central body to help the voluntary sector make the best use of criminal record checks on volunteers.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Part V of the Police Act 1997 makes provision for criminal record checks to be carried out at the request of individuals. The first stage of implementation of Part V is planned for the summer. We are, therefore, aiming to have the central body established bef…
18 Jan 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was, for each of the last three years, of dealing with criminal record checks for those who work in the voluntary sector.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Under arrangements first introduced in 1989, criminal record checks for employment-related purposes are available mainly to employers in the statutory sector who are appointing people to positions which would give them substantial access to children in health…