Parliamentary questions

Des McNulty

1,840 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration the West of Scotland Water Authority gave to matters of demand management when it determined the si'e of the proposed new water treatment plant at Milngavie.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for West of Scotland Water (WoSW). The Chief Executive's response is as follows:The proposed new water treatment plant at Milngavie has been sized to meet expected demand over the foreseeable future. This has resulted in a 390 Ml/d demand …

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, given that the proposed Milngavie water treatment plant will have a storage capacity of over 350 tonnes of chemicals, including chlorine and alum, (a) what plans the West of Scotland Water Authority will put in place to ensure adequate security and (b) what plans the West of Scotland Wat…

Answer · Ross Finnie: Under the Security and Emergency Measures (Water and Sewerage Authorities) (Scotland) Direction 1998, water authorities are required to make, keep under review and revise plans to ensure the provision of essential water supplies and sewerage services. The exi…

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the West of Scotland Water Authority will nominate a specific member of staff to be responsible for liaising with local residents while the Environmental Statement is being exhibited by the authority and during construction of the proposed water treatment plant at Milngavie as pa…

Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for West of Scotland Water, and I have asked the Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows:The Environmental Statement is part of the planning process and in the first instance all correspondence on this matter should be addre…

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22092 by Ross Finnie on 4 February 2002, whether it will list the range of environmental, technical and financial criteria which were used to identify the best overall options for the Katrine Water Project.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for West of Scotland Water. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:Further to the answer given to question S1W-22092 on 4 December 2002, and as described in Chapter 2 and in Annex D of the Environmental Statement submitted with the p…

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what technical steps would be required to introduce a non-stop or very limited stop service between Glasgow and Edinburgh on the line via (a) Falkirk and (b) Shotts.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. This is an operational matter for Railtrack.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of stops presently made by trains operating between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk is consistent with the route's categorisation as an inter-city service.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The calling pattern on any railway route is a commercial matter for the train operating company within the context of its contracted Passenger Service Requirements.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how long the journey between Edinburgh and Glasgow would take using existing rolling stock if trains did not stop between Haymarket and Glasgow Queen Street stations and if the trains operated at their maximum permitted safe speeds.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. This is an operational matter for ScotRail.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dynamic loops there are on the rail line between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk and whether any additional loops would be required to permit significant improvements in the journey times through the introduction of non-stop or very limited stop trains on that route.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. This is an operational matter for Railtrack.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) timetabled and (b) average actual rail journey time between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh was in (i) 1961, (ii) 1971, (iii) 1981, (iv) 1991 and (v) 2001.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any evidence of homeless people being moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow by (a) City of Edinburgh Council or (b) the police and, if so, how many have been moved in each year since 1999 broken down by (a) and (b).

Answer · Iain Gray: A local authority may refer a homeless applicant to another authority if the applicant (a) has no local connection with the authority to whom he/she has applied, (b) has a local connection with the other authority and (c) will not be at risk of domestic viole…

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the existing arrangements which allow pensioners to travel up to 10 miles at concessionary rates even where this involves crossing local authority boundaries in the areas covered by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority will continue to apply after October 2002 when the n…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has reached agreement with COSLA and the local authorities to enhance existing concessionary travel schemes, from October 2002, so as to provide free local off-peak bus travel for elderly and disabled people. Eligible residents of the twelve aut…

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the existing arrangements for concessionary fares on rail, underground and ferry services in the areas covered by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority will continue to apply after October 2002 when the new concessionary scheme is due to be introduced.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has reached agreement with COSLA and the local authorities to enhance existing concessionary travel schemes from October 2002 so as to provide free local off-peak bus travel for elderly and disabled people. The Executive is encouraging local aut…

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions are taking place with local authorities and bus operators in the areas covered by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority regarding the introduction of free concessionary fares for pensioners on bus services from October 2002 and what progress is being made in such…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has met with COSLA and many individual authorities to discuss the introduction of free local off-peak bus travel from October 2002, and there is an agreement in place to do so on a voluntary basis by enhancing existing concessionary travel schem…

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of the recent consultation exercise carried out by the Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust into the siting of its proposed new secure care unit.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally as it is a matter for Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the makes and model numbers are of the nine types of digital hearing aid available to NHS patients and whether these are the most up-to-date models made by the relevant companies.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The 17 digital hearing aids, which will be available to NHSScotland on renewal of the central contract on 1 April, are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=277><TR><TD WIDTH="47%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P ALIGN…

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the equipment used by North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust to assess patients' requirements in terms of hearing aids is suitable for carrying out assessments for suitability for digital hearing aids.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: This information is not held centrally and should be obtained from North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the audiologists currently employed by the North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust have been trained in (a) the diagnosis of patients' suitability for digital hearing aids, and (b) the fitting of digital hearing aids.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22758 today.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many audiologists are currently employed by the North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The latest information available from ISD Scotland shows no medical staff employed by North Glasgow University Hospitals Trust in the specialty of audiological medicine as at 30 September 2000. This is a relatively recent addition to the specialty list and it…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many projects have been set up using European Structural Fund grants in (a) East Dunbartonshire and (b) West Dunbartonshire in each of the past four years.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The numbers of projects approved in 1999, 2000 and 2001 are shown in the following tables. There were no project application rounds for objective 2 in 2000 (the gap between the old and new programmes), and there is yet to be a round of decisions issued for ei…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to work with Her Majesty's Government and UK representatives in Brussels to ensure that West Dunbartonshire receives a level of European Structural Funding support that reflects the social and economic circumstances of the area.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive is already fully engaged with the UK Government in the development of the UK position in the debate on the future of European Structural Funds. We participated in significant events last year such as the Cohesion Forum in Brussels in Ma…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation with local residents will be undertaken by the relevant agencies prior to and during the project to extend the Milngavie to Larkhall railway line.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: A statutory consultation process was part of the parliamentary procedure that led to powers conferred on the British Railways Board in 1994 to construct works and purchase land in connection with the Larkhall-Milngavie rail link. In addition, this scheme was …

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve public transport links between Dunbartonshire and Glasgow.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is supporting improved public transport links between Glasgow and Dunbartonshire through the Baillieston-Faifley Quality Bus Corridor, working towards doubling the frequency of rail services between Milngavie and Glasgow as part of the …

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7259 by Susan Deacon on 22 June 2000, what further information can be provided concerning total and per capita health expenditure in the Greater Glasgow NHS board area over each of the last five years and whether such information can be disaggregated…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following table updates the information which was supplied in answer to question S1W-7259 on 22 June 2000. Information for Clydebank and Milngavie is not separately identified in the annual accounts but may be available from Greater Glasgow Health Board o…