Parliamentary questions
David Mundell
955 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the South of Scotland University Working Group to report and whether its report will be made public.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The working group completed its consideration in May of this year. I expect to receive the report of the group's conclusions and recommendations shortly and will place a copy before the Parliament thereafter.
11 Jul 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total number of forms is that can be issued by it, or any of the agencies or non-departmental public bodies for which it is responsible, for completion by an external party.
Answer · Angus MacKay: The information requested on the number of forms issued by the Executive, agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally. However, the Executive is committed to reducing the burden placed on providers of information. The following are examp…
22 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to grant licences for shooting game in Dumfries and Galloway in 2001-02 and, if so, what conditions will apply.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The shooting of game within Dumfries and Galloway will not be subject to any extra licensing system as a result of Foot and Mouth Disease. Shooting within the Infected Area is restricted by Section 29 of the Foot and Mouth 1983 Order.<P>Elsewhere, shooting is…
20 Jun 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the reports of the inquiries into the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I wrote to the Convenor of the Rural Development Committee on 16 July to make the Committee aware of the publication of the first of the official GB Inquiries into foot-and-mouth disease and explaining that the Scottish Executive would respond collectively to…
20 Jun 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what decision it has reached on which first-round funding bids to improve school buildings have been successful.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: These bids are under consideration and we shall announce our decisions shortly.
6 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what response it has made to the comments by Thus and Cable & Wireless on its broadband strategy, as outlined in Business AM on 5 June 2001.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: We have had a series of meetings with individual telecommunications companies including Thus and Cable & Wireless to inform the development of our broadband strategy. We have found the meetings useful and will give companies feedback shortly on our next s…
6 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for providing the necessary telecommunications infrastructure to enable broadband Internet access across Scotland.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is committed to universal access to the web by 2005. We are also committed to affordable and pervasive broadband connections and expect to set out a strategy for achieving this later in the summer.
6 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of providing the necessary telecommunications infrastructure to enable broadband Internet access across Scotland.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is developing a strategy for stimulating wider provision of higher bandwidth services. We are focusing on the impact that could be made by aggregating public sector demand. It is too early to estimate associated procurement costs.
6 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what options it is considering to facilitate the rollout of the necessary telecommunications infrastructure to enable broadband Internet access across Scotland.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is examining different approaches to aggregating public sector procurements with the objective of extending availability of broadband services. Our thinking has been informed by extensive discussions with telcos, examination of experien…
30 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had on the safety for human consumption of milk produced in areas infected with foot-and-mouth disease.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive discussed the concerns that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had about the possibility of dioxins released from pyres being present in milk from some 60 dairy farms within 2 km of these pyres in the Infected Area. The FSA felt that it wa…
23 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what right of appeal to the Scottish Ministers exists for homeowners who wish to fell trees which are protected by tree preservation orders.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Current planning legislation makes provision in each Tree Preservation Order for a right of appeal to Scottish Ministers against refusals or conditional consents issued by planning authorities in respect of applications to fell trees affected by a Tree Preser…
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the article entitled "Scottish cull for cash illegal" in The Sunday Telegraph on 13 May 2001.
Answer · Ross Finnie: We have implemented a strict disease control strategy which has involved culling where necessary to contain the spread of the disease. Culling has been carried out for disease control purposes only and for no other reason.
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims for compensation have been upheld by each water authority since 1997 and what the reason for the decision was in each case.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15840.
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims for compensation each water authority has received since 1997.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15840.
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much compensation has been paid out by each water authority since 1997.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The following tables set out, by authority, the compensation payments made by the three water authorities, as far as the information is available. The water authorities pay compensation when levels of service fall below expected standards. Customer service st…
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15180 by Ross Finnie on 19 April 2001, whether it will name the 160 farms in Dumfries and Galloway on which stock has been slaughtered because they had been classified as having dangerous contacts with farms which were infected or suspected to be inf…
Answer · Ross Finnie: I do not intend to publish the names of farms classified as "dangerous contacts" in order to respect the privacy and confidentiality of the farms concerned.
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-15179 and S1W-15270 by Ross Finnie on 19 April 2001 and 8 May 2001 respectively, why it will not publish a list of the premises which have had stock slaughtered on the basis that they were contiguous with infected premises and whether it will now n…
Answer · Ross Finnie: In the interests of disease control, the details of infected premises and the 3km rings extending around them have been published. There is no disease control justification to publish the names of contiguous premises and, in order to respect the privacy and c…
16 May 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the #5 million funding from Scottish Enterprise to Dumfries and Galloway announced on 10 May 2001 to assist with economic restructuring will be used to provide interest-free loans for local businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and what conditions w…
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise announced earlier this week additional funding for a number of new initiatives to assist businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the Dumfries and Galloway area. This includes interest free loans for local businesses. …
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of people and businesses which purchase goods online.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are charged with promoting e-business. Both agencies have developed a range of initiatives that encourage businesses to, amongst other things, purchase and sell goods online. A network of ICT Local Supp…
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has carried out or intends to carry out to assess the impact of the European Distance Selling Directive on Scottish businesses, and what the results of any such studies carried out to date were.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has not carried out any studies on the impact of the Distance Selling Directive on Scottish businesses and has no plans to carry out any such study.
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the availability of dental services in rural areas, in particular, in Dumfries and Galloway.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Problems of access to NHS dentistry within all areas of Scotland, including remote and rural areas, are being kept under review by the Executive on a continuous basis, and is one of the areas being looked at by the Implementation Support Group for the Action …
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking or plans to take to improve awareness in rural areas, in particular, in Dumfries and Galloway, of the importance of dental health.
Answer · Susan Deacon: All areas in Scotland have structured programmes of oral health education. In Dumfries and Galloway this programme is co-ordinated through the Health Promotion Department. Annually these services contact pre-school, nursery and primary school children. In add…
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking or plans to take to improve the provision of dental services in rural areas, in particular, in Dumfries and Galloway.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Steps taken include:<DIR><DIR><P>Scottish Dental Access Initiative grants to encourage practitioners to set up or expand NHS practices in areas of unmet patient demand or high oral health need, including rural areas;<P>approval of salaried dentist posts in ar…
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued or intends to issue on the maximum number of patients a dentist may have.
Answer · Susan Deacon: No guidelines have been issued and there are no plans to issue any.
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued or plans to issue on the maximum distances which patients should be required to travel to receive dental treatment.
Answer · Susan Deacon: No guidelines have been issued and there are no plans to issue any.
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the adult population in the Dumfries and Galloway Health Board area is registered with an NHS dentist.
Answer · Susan Deacon: For the year ending March 2000, 45% of adults in the Dumfries and Galloway area were registered with an NHS dentist.
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent NHS dentists there currently are per head of population, broken down by health board area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15768.
14 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent NHS dentists there currently are, broken down by health board area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In answer to questions S1W-15768 and S1W-15769, the number of NHS dentists at June 2000, by health board area and per 100,000 population, is shown in the following table. The table should be read in conjunction with the notes below.<P>Number of NHS dentists a…
11 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures have been put in place to prevent its departmental websites from disseminating information that could be of advantage to the governing parties in the forthcoming General Election and whether it will publish any such procedures.
Answer · Henry McLeish: Guidance has been issued to all Scottish Executive staff on their role and conduct during the UK General Election campaign. The guidance emphasises that civil servants should not undertake any activity which could call into question their political impartiali…
2 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions over the last five years the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has sought prosecution of the water authorities and how many prosecutions were successful.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The information requested is not held centrally. This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The agency publishes details of successful prosecutions on its website:<P>(<A HREF="http://www.sepa.org.uk/envdata/prosecutions/">http://www.sepa…