Parliamentary questions

Dennis Canavan

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

4 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis has been made of the benefits to the Scottish economy arising from public holidays and events associated with public holidays.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive hasnot undertaken any specific analysis of the benefits to the Scottish economyarising from public holidays and events associated with public holidays.

4 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated increase is in leisure spend by members of the public on a public holiday compared with a working day.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive doesnot have any data relating to the level of leisure spend by members of thepublic on a public holiday compared with a working day and is therefore unableto make an estimate.

4 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are of granting an additional day's holiday per year to (a) its, (b) NHS and (c) local authority employees.

Answer · Tavish Scott: We estimate that the cost ofan additional day’s holiday for Scottish Executive staff would be about £0.64 million,about £16.5 million for NHS staff and about £24.5 million for local authoritystaff.

4 Feb 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the estimated cost is to it of granting a St Andrew's Day holiday to its employees.

Answer · Duncan McNeil: When setting terms and conditions of service for parliamentary staff in April 2002, the SPCB decided to move one of the existing public holidays from September to the Friday closest to St Andrew’s Day. This was for two reasons: firstly, to avoid any disruptio…

21 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received the "first impressions" review report from Councillor Eric Milligan about standards of welcome and customer service for visitors arriving in Scotland and, if so, whether the report will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Councillor Milligan submitted his report on 31 January. We are considering our response and will publish both in the last week of March.

18 Jan 2005 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what its role was in the making of "The Gathering Place".

Answer · Robert Brown: As Sir David Steel told members on 9 June 1999, there was an agreement which pre-dated the Parliament and the SPCB’s existence, that access be provided to Wark Clements Productions, who had been commissioned by the BBC to produce a documentary. The agreement …

11 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-4557 by Nicol Stephen on 16 December 2004 regarding the Scottish Transport Group Pension funds, how much of the £250,000 set aside has now been paid out in late claims; how long it intends to retain the remainder of the set aside sum, and whethe…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A total of £9,000 has been paid from the £250,000 set aside as at 17 January 2004.It will be retained for as long as is reasonable to allow valid claims to be met.We will monitor the situation on a continuing basis before reaching a conclusion a…

11 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has now been paid out in ex gratia payments to the former members of the Scottish Transport Group Pension funds.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A total of £125.65 million has been paid as at 17 January 2004.

5 Jan 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure adequate standards of heating in homes.

Answer · Johann Lamont: We are working to ensure adequate heating in homes through a variety of measures, including the central heating programme, the warm deal and the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. The Executive has also recently consulted on proposals to extend the Tolerable …

5 Jan 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Scottish Water regarding water charges.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Charges for 2005-06 are a matter for Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner and were announced by the Commissioner on 22 December 2004.

15 Dec 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered community amateur sports clubs are receiving relief from business rates.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally. The Executive has secured a voluntary agreement with local authorities to grant at least 80% discretionary relief to registered CASCs effective from 1 April 2004.

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take action to improve safety standards for young athletes in response to representations forwarded to the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from Mr Morrison Love.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The responsibility for drawing up and implementing the appropriate health and safety regulations for participants in organised events lies with the national governing body for the sport. In this case, the incident referred to in the representations made are a…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Home Secretary in respect of the health and welfare implications for any baby whose mother is held in Dungavel House immigration removal centre.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Policy and operational matters in relation to Dungavel are a matter for the Home Office. This includes matters relating to the provision of education services, other facilities for children, social work services and health.When any child, including an …

10 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations it has received regarding ownership of, and access to, freshwater fishing.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive regularly receives and considers representations about ownership of, and access to, freshwater fishing.

25 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-5036 and S2W-6363 by Nicol Stephen on 5 February and 9 March 2004 respectively, how much has now been paid out in ex gratia payments to (a) former members and (b) dependants of former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes and how …

Answer · Tavish Scott: To date the figures are as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> </td> <td> Paid </td> <td> Not Yet Claimed </td> <td> Approx. Amount…

25 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to retain any monies from the Scottish Transport Group Pension Funds Surplus allocated for ex gratia payments after any proposed deadline date for submission of claims and, if so, (a) how much will be retained, (b) how long it will be retained and (c) what will become o…

Answer · Tavish Scott: While we are anxious to bring this matter to a conclusion we remain concerned to protect, as far as is reasonable, the position of those, perhaps abroad, who have not yet claimed. £250,000 will therefore be retained to cover later justified claims. This sum w…

25 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6361 by Nicol Stephen on 9 March 2004, whether a deadline date has now been set for the submission of claims for ex gratia payments to former members and dependants of former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes and, if so, what th…

28 Sep 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to improve access to freshwater fishing.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We are working with other stakeholders through the Scottish Freshwater Fisheries Forum to address a number of issues, including access.

28 Sep 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the number of registered community amateur sports clubs.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: A letter was issued in May by the Scottish Sports Association to the ScottishAssociation of Local Sports Councils, sports governing bodies and local sports councils outlining the benefits of registering as a community amateur sports club with the Inland Reven…

17 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects work to be (a) started and (b) completed on the new access and egress roads for the M876 at Bellsdyke, Larbert.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The programme for the proposed slip roads on the M876 at Larbert will depend on the outcome of the Public Local Inquiry which is planned for later this year. Subject to a successful outcome, construction work could start during 2005-06 with a construction per…

16 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police forces have been trained in the use of baton rounds.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: All Scottish police forces have Authorised Firearms Officers specially trained in the use of baton guns and rounds.

16 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police forces have access to baton rounds.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: All Scottish police forces have access to baton rounds for use as a less lethal option in firearms operations.

16 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how often baton rounds have been utilised in Scotland; in what circumstances they were utilised, and by which police forces.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Whilst baton rounds may be deployed by Scottish police forces as part of conventional firearms operations, to date no Scottish police force has had occasion to discharge baton rounds.

23 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct Scottish Water not to lease out the fishing rights on Loch Katrine, Loch Arklet and Glen Finglas reservoir to a private company.

Answer · Ross Finnie: No. This is an operational matter for Scottish Water.

23 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has carried out on the future ownership or lease of the fishing rights on (a) Loch Katrine, (b) Loch Arklet and (c) Glen Finglas reservoir.

Answer · Ross Finnie: None. This is a matter for ScottishWater.

1 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated for consultation and research as part of its campaign to promote Scotland's international image and how this funding will be broken down.

Answer · Andy Kerr: An overall budget of £4 million has been allocated for 2004-05. This is a long term initiative and no fixed proportion of the budget has been allocated to research and consultation.

30 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7673 by Mr Andy Kerr on 17 May 2004, whether it will give a breakdown of the #310,000 allocated for branding Scotland overseas.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The breakdown of the £310,00 spent on research and consultation on Scotland’s international image by the four companies employed by the Scottish Executive is as follows:Barkers Advertising £88,000; Union Advertising £102,190; TNS System 3/NFO £68,960; …

17 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the Scottish Football Museum to ensure that public funding for the museum has been spent on the purposes for which it was approved.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Football Association Museum Trust is a Scottish charity. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is therefore the body responsible for inquiries into allegations of misconduct or mismanagement in the museum’s operation and is making i…

17 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding has been awarded to the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park is not funded by the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Football Museum Trust was awarded an European Regional Development Fund grant of £2,097,100 as a contribution towards the work in building and outfitting the Sc…

7 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to ensure that horse racing is included in its tourism strategy.

Answer · Frank McAveety: There are indications that horseracing is becoming increasingly popular with visitors to Scotland, andaccordingly, VisitScotland is working with Scottish Racing to explore opportunitiesand develop plans to build on this popularity. In addition, the tourism te…