Des McNulty

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the proposed dismissals of Irish seafarers by Irish Ferries, part of the Irish Continental Group, what other factors besides costs will be considered when evaluating bids for the contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides lifeline ferry services and what measures will be put in p…

Answer · Tavish Scott: Potential operators and their proposals will be heavily scrutinised. The first stage of that process, the pre-qualification stage, considers their ability to provide the service. This involves looking at their financial standing, standards of ability and tech…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of proposed dismissals of Irish seafarers by Irish Ferries, part of the Irish Continental Group, what additional safeguards will be put in place during the pre-qualification process for the contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides lifeline ferry services in order for the Executive…

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive is committed to protecting the interests of the workforce of Caledonian MacBrayne and the communities it serves.</p> <p>In line with the relevant regulations (the Public Service Contracts Regulations), prospective bidders at the pre-qua…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assets seized from drug dealing have been redistributed to the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Prior to 2004-05 funding from the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was distributed to the Glasgow NHS Board to support addiction services for the homeless and to set up the Scottish Network of Families Affected by Drugs (SNAFAD). In 2004-5 funds were used to suppor…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has undertaken, or plans to undertake, to tackle drug misuse in the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area, showing how much money has been allocated in each area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Significant Executive mainstream funding goes to East and West Dunbartonshire local authority areas but we cannot disaggregate specific expenditure on drug related activities. There are various ring-fenced funding streams but most of these are not allocated o…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how sportscotland and the Lottery Sports Fund have improved sports opportunities for young people in the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: <b>Sport</b>scotland operate a number of programmes in taking forward the current Lottery Fund Strategy <i>Raising Our Game: <b>sport</b>scotland Lottery Fund Strategy 2003-2007</i>, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numb…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which New Community Schools projects are situated in the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Answer · Peter Peacock: All authorities receive fundingto support the integrated community school approach. All schools in East and West Dunbartonshire are now involved in delivering integrated children’s services within theirneighbourhoods. This will involve a range of multi-agency…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time students from the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area have received bursaries to support them at university in each year since 2003.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table reports thenumber of full-time students from (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshirewho have received financial awards/bursaries to support them at higher educationinstitutions over the period in question:</p><p>Full-time Stude…

1 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from low-income backgrounds from the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area have had their university fees waived in each year since 2003.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Since 2000 all Scottish domiciled students attending Scottish universities have had their fees paid. The number of students from low income backgrounds from (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire who have had their university fees paid over the p…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of recipients of access bursaries have been domiciled in the (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area since the bursaries were introduced.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table highlights the percentage of young students’ bursary (YSB) recipients who were domiciled in (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire since academic year 2001-02 (when the bursaries were introduced):</p><table border=1 cellspacin…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area have found employment through the New Deal.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Four thousand, four hundredand fifty people in West Dunbartonshire and1,780 people in East Dunbartonshire have found employment through New Deal for Youngpeople, New Deal 25+, New Deal 50+ and New Deal for Lone Parents. Figures for NewDeal for Disabled People…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of each local authority's budget was spent on local road maintenance in the last year for which figures are available.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The figures provided in the table below were notified by councils in their latest Provisional Outturn Budget Estimates (POBE) return for 2005-06.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=right>&nbsp;</p></td> …

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the additional capital and revenue funding allocated to East Dunbartonshire Council in February 2002 for local roads has been spent on local roads maintenance.

Answer · Tavish Scott: East Dunbartonshire Council were allocated an additional £338,000 in February 2002. All of this funding was put towards maintenance of local roads and bridges.</p> <p>This funding was part of the £20 million given to local authorities across Scotland to help …

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the additional (a) £70 million capital and (b) £60 million revenue funding allocated to local authorities in February 2002 for local roads was allocated to East Dunbartonshire Council.

Answer · Tavish Scott: An additional £70 million of general capital consent was allocated to local authorities as part of Spending Review 2000, of which East Dunbartonshire’s additional allocation was £1.189 million, bringing their total un-hypothecated consent under section 94, Lo…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the additional (a) £70 million capital and (b) £60 million revenue funding allocated to local authorities in February 2002 for local roads was allocated to West Dunbartonshire Council.

Answer · Tavish Scott: An additional £70 million of general capital consent was allocated to local authorities as part of Spending Review 2000, of which West Dunbartonshire’s additional allocation was £987,000, bringing their total, un-hypothecated consent under Section 94, Local G…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives local authorities on how they should tackle local roads classified as being in amber or red condition, as defined in Scottish Transport Statistics.

Answer · Tavish Scott: As a result of Spending Review2004, from next year local authorities will be able to spend an additional £60 millionper annum on improving the condition of Scotland’s local roads. The Executive agreed to the need for thisextra commitment and it will be up to …

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of roads, by distance, in (a) Scotland and (b) the west of Scotland is classified as (i) motorways and (ii) A class, (iii) B class and (iv) C class roads.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The information requested is given in table number 5.2 of Scottish Transport Statistics 2005 edition, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37306).</p>

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure better monitoring, transparency and accountability by local authorities in respect of local roads maintenance.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive put inplace Best Value arrangements which require continuous improvement in the dischargeof local authority functions, including better monitoring, transparency and accountability.These arrangements are subject to a rolling programme of…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was paid in compensation by each local authority in the last year as a result of claims by motorists for accidents or damage to vehicles caused by the structural condition of the road.

Answer · Tavish Scott: This is a matter for individual local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.</p>

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to local authorities to maintain local roads adequately.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Funding for roads is provided primarily through the local government finance settlement. The local roads maintenance provision for Scotland in 2005-06 totalled some £260 million.</p> <p>The roads provision for 2006-07 and 2007-08 is £360 million per annum. Th…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what success it has had in achieving reductions in the levels of vandalism and graffiti in (a) Scotland and (b) the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartonshire local authority area since 1999 and what targets it set for such reductions in this period.

Answer · Hugh Henry: There are no national targetsfor reducing vandalism and graffiti. From 2005, community planning partnershipsare required to prepare anti-social behaviour outcome agreements, based on theiranti-social behaviour strategies, which should identify key antisocial …

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what success it has had in achieving reductions in the levels of violent crime related to drug use in (a) Scotland and (b) the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1999 and what targets it has set for such reductions in this period.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to question S2W-21155 answered on 12 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what policies to tackle youth crime in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area it (i) has implemented and (ii) is planning to implement and what associated investment is needed to implement such policies.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to ensure the delivery of a range of programmes to tackle and reduce offending amongst young people. Information on the services being delivered in East and West Dunbartonshire can be found on Scotland’…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what grants were awarded for the provision of mobile CCTV cameras in crime and vandalism hotspots in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each of the last eight years.

Answer · Hugh Henry: No bids for funding for mobile CCTV cameras were received from the West Dunbartonshire or East Dunbartonshire local authority areas under the CCTV Challenge Competition which ran from 1996-97 to 2001-02.</p>

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children have had access to quality care and early learning before entering school in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1996.

Answer · Robert Brown: We cannot provide figures of the percentage of children in school who have had quality care and early learning before entering school, but we can provide estimates of the percentage of three, four and five-year-olds who are registered for pre-school education…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of older people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area have been living on low incomes in each year since 1996.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available.</p> <p>The official source of low income data for Scotland is the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset available from 1994-95. This is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The sample size of the…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure the availability of affordable, good-quality housing for people on low incomes in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p> <p>Through its development programme, Communities Scotland aims to provide affordable, good quality housing for people on low incomes in both W…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the incidence of (a) underage drinking, (b) drinking by young adults and (c) drinking by children and what resources it has allocated for this purpose.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Reducing harmful drinking by children and young people is one of the key priorities of the <i>Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems</i> published in 2002. The plan sets out a range of actions in relation to school and community based education and the promotion…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the number of people from the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area who set up their own businesses.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is committedto encouraging and supporting more Scots to start-up in business. However, the provision of advice and support for businessstart-ups and growing businesses in East and West Dunbartonshire, is primarilyan operational matter f…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on drug-related activities has been in each year since 1998-99 in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area, broken down into expenditure on (i) crime, (ii) education, (iii) rehabilitation and (iv) treatment.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Executive mainstream fundinggoes to local authorities, NHS boards and police forces which cannot be disaggregatedinto specific expenditure on drug-related activities. There are various ring-fencedfunding streams but most of these are not allocated on a local …

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how children and young people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area will benefit from the 2014 Commonwealth Games if Glasgow's bid to host the Games is successful.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive believes children and young people across Scotland, including those in West and East Dunbartonshire, will benefit from a successful bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.</p> <p>A successful bid will place sport at the forefront of public…