Des McNulty

17 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospice beds were available to the NHS in each of the last 10 years and how many are currently available, broken down by health board area.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The total number of beds available to the NHS in voluntary hospices for adults in each of the last 10 years, and a breakdown of the current number of beds available in each health board area, are shown in Tables 1 and 2.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Table 1<P ALIGN="JUS…

17 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff were directly involved in the monitoring of social inclusion partnerships in each year since each partnership was established.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Two officials from Area Regeneration Division are directly involved in the monitoring of each Social Inclusion Partnership each year. In addition, they are supported by financial staff, administrative staff, senior managers and other professional staff.

29 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact will be on rail-related employment of the decision by Arjo Wiggins paper manufacturers to end its West Highland line rail contract.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I understand that no employees at Fort William have been made redundant as a result of the Arjo Wiggins decision. However, two ground staff and three drivers have been relocated.

29 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether measures are being taken to dissuade British Alcan from switching the transportation of aluminium by rail to road from Lochaber to Coatbridge.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Switching the transportation of aluminium to road was a commercial decision made by Freightliner.

29 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to encourage manufacturers in the Highlands to use rail for the transportation of goods.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive's Freight Facilities and Track Access Grant schemes are both targeted at encouraging manufacturers to transfer freight from road to rail which is a central plank of our freight transport policy.<P>In the Spending Review 2000 we announce…

29 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made by local authorities in developing authority-wide improvement plans for education.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Under the terms of the school improvement framework established in the Standards in Scotland's Schools Act 2000, local authorities must publish their improvement plans by December 2001.

9 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether New Deal participants are finding real and sustained employment.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The latest figures show that 29,000 young and adult unemployed people in Scotland have now left New Deal for sustained employment.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cancellations of passenger services there were on each ScotRail route in each quarter of each of the last two years, expressed as a percentage of the total services provided on each route.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15382.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cancellations of passenger services there were on each ScotRail route in each quarter of each of the last two years and what the reasons were for any such cancellations.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Operational issues such as service cancellations are a matter for ScotRail to address within a stringent performance regime operated by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). The Scottish Executive has no direct locus or powers to intervene. The SRA deposits a c…

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which ScotRail passenger services are regularly overcrowded and what measures are being taken to reduce this overcrowding.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Information from the RPC(S) suggests that the main problems concerning overcrowding during peak periods are on the following routes:<UL><FONT FACE="Arial"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><LI>Ayrshire (i.e. Ayr Ardrossan &amp; Largs) to Glasgow Central;</LI><P ALIGN="JUSTI…

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any limit is or will be applied on the number of passengers allowed to stand on any of the passenger services operated by ScotRail and, if so, how this is or will be enforced.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Under section 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, the provision and regulation of railway services, which includes railway safety, are reserved matters and as such are the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. ScotRail is req…

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to take forward the proposals contained in its report Women and Transport: Moving Forward and what the timetable is for implementing any such plans.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is pursuing a wide-ranging programme of action to help meet the diverse needs of women travellers across Scotland. The Executive in particular plans to publish later this year a checklist to identify and address these needs for the use …

16 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the future funding of Scottish Opera will be.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Scottish Opera has proved in recent years that it is capable of a standard of performance of international class. The productions of Das Rheingold at the Edinburgh Festival last year and of Madame Butterfly have been enthusiastically received by critics and p…

15 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what conclusions have been reached regarding the future of its Scotland Against Drugs campaign.

Answer · Iain Gray: SAD was launched in May 1996 as a cross-party campaign and re-focused in 1998. The current remit and funding of Scotland Against Drugs (SAD) ends on 31 March. The Executive has consulted party leaders and the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse.<FONT F…

12 Feb 2001 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to support entrepreneurs.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Executive recognises that we need to support our entrepreneurs. They are crucial to our economic success. We need to raise the rate of new firm formation in Scotland, enhance business survival and improve growth. We must become a country where starting up…

23 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of the tendering exercise for the maintenance of trunk roads.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Tenders for the competition for the four units were received by the Scottish Executive on 30 October and have subsequently been assessed. I can today announce the intention to award four new contracts worth £350 million over five years from 1 April 2001. Subj…

17 Jan 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to review Scotland's licensing laws.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In his statement on 7 December, the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care announced plans for a comprehensive review of Scotland's licensing laws (<I>Official Report,</I> 7 December 2000; Volume 9, C789).

21 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail its performance in replying to correspondence from MPs or MSPs.

Answer · Tom McCabe: In the quarter April to June 2000, 3,618 letters were received for ministerial reply, of which 41% received a reply within the target 17 working days. In the quarter July to September 2000 (which included the holiday period), 3,395 letters were received of wh…

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to simplify the paperwork that butchers are required to complete in connection with the butcher licensing scheme and to ensure a consistent interpretation of the legislative requirements by all local authorities.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that there are no steps at present to change the paperwork that butchers are required to complete in connection with the Butchers licensing Scheme.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guidance notes were issued by both the Food …

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is so far to local authorities of implementing the new butcher licensing scheme and how much revenue has been raised from the licensing fees, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the £100 fee is intended to cover the full cost of administrating each licence application including the collection of the fee itself, which accounts for a small proportion of the cost.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">T…

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many raw meat and butchery outlets have failed to either apply for a butcher licence or to satisfy the new butcher licensing scheme criteria (a) across Scotland and (b) within the area covered by the former Strathclyde Regional Council.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that raw meat only butchers do not require to be licensed, only those shops selling both raw unwrapped meat and ready to eat foods must be licensed.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1,186 licenses have been issued to those wh…

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the trading status is of a raw meat or butchery outlet which has either failed to apply for a butcher licence or failed to satisfy the new butcher licensing scheme criteria.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that raw meat only butchers do not require to be licensed, only those shops selling both raw unwrapped meat and ready to eat foods must be licensed. Licensing of premises is carried out by the local authority.<…

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether halal or kosher meat outlets are subject to the same licensing requirements as other raw meat and butchery outlets and whether they are included in the total number of raw meat and butchery outlets subject to the new business licensing scheme.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the same licensing conditions apply to halal and kosher meat outlets. All retailers engaged in the handling of unwrapped raw meat and its subsequent sale, together with ready to eat foods require to be lic…

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available to butcher licensing authorities on the number of raw meat and butchery outlets which are subject to the new licensing scheme.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that local authorities are responsible for issuing licenses to premises that qualify under the Regulations.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Food Businesses require to be licensed under the Food Premises (Registration) Regula…

13 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many environmental health certificates have been issued to raw meat and butchery outlets and what percentage this figure represents of the total number of outlets (a) across Scotland and (b) within the area covered by the former Strathclyde Regional Council.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that raw meat only butchers do not require to be licensed, only those shops selling both raw unwrapped meat and ready to eat foods must be licensed.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1,186 licenses have been issued. This repre…

29 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish Climate Change Programme will involve the population in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Climate Change Programme engages the population in many ways across a number of sectors. For example, a proportion of the revenue from the climate change levy will be used to strengthen the work of the Scottish Energy Efficiency Office to assist …

22 Nov 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to help promote social inclusion and partnership in Clydebank.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: Our Social Justice Annual Report sets out the action we are taking to promote social inclusion across all of Scotland, including Clydebank.

24 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the spending review as far as it applies to the waste element of the Minister for Transport and the Environment's portfolio.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: For years we have disposed of our waste in the cheapest way possible, dumping it in landfills. We must deal with it in a more sustainable way in future.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Last year I adopted a National Waste Strategy for Scotland. That strategy is now beginni…

30 Aug 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits will flow from the adoption by the European Commission of its proposals for Objective 3 funding.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The approval of the Objective 3 programme will make some £312 million of EU funding available in Scotland during 2000-06. These funds will be used to improve employment opportunities by co-financing vocational training and other actions to enhance the skills …

8 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of total transport expenditure on capital grants and loans in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02 was or will be spent in the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive area, specified in both monetary and percentage terms.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The only discrete transport allocations (capital grants and loans) are those made available from the Public Transport Fund and ongoing commitments from the previous Government's Transport Challenge Fund. The table below shows the total awards announced for th…