Parliamentary questions
Fergus Ewing
2,894 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to increasing the budgets of local authorities to enable them to meet their obligations to maintain roads, pavements, bridges, street lighting and all other matters relating to the transport infrastructure for which they are responsible.
Answer · Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28678 on 24 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…
26 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue any guidance or advice to local authorities in respect of ensuring that street lighting is maintained and that lights are not turned off or dimmed during hours of darkness.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The provision and maintenanceof street lighting is a matter for local authorities. Section 35 to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984states that a local roads authority shall provide and maintain lighting for roads,or proposed roads, which are, or will be, maintaina…
26 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the increased risks in respect of (a) road traffic accidents and (b) attacks on individuals if street lighting is turned off or dimmed during hours of darkness.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Such an assessment is a matterfor local authorities throughout Scotland, which have a duty under section 122 of the Road TrafficRegulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehiclesand other traffic, including pedestrians, on…
26 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funding package for local government is sufficient to ensure that street lighting is maintained and that lights are neither turned off nor dimmed during hours of darkness.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The Executive supportslocal authority core revenue expenditure through its block grant. In distributingthis block grant, the Executive provides support of approximately £365 million perannum through the roads maintenance, winter maintenance, road lighting and…
21 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the total hectarage of combined native woodland and riparian habitat on which Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme payments were made from April to July 2006 amounted to 397 hectares; whether the average payments in the period were nearly £10,000 for native woodland and nearly £16,000 …
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The total hectarage of nativewoodland and riparian habitat grant-aided under the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme(SFGS) between April and July 2006 amounted to 1,742 hectares of new planting and282 hectares of restocking. The average payments are given in the f…
21 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what total hectarage of combined native woodland and riparian habitat Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme payments were made from April to July 2006 and what the average payment was in the period for (a) native woodland and (b) riperian habitat.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: A full breakdown of grants approvedand paid under the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme (SFGS) detailing the individualschemes, locations, SFGS objectives and thegrant recipients is available on Forestry Commission Scotland’s website at <ahref="http://www.forest…
21 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme payments from April to July 2006, showing the total grant paid for (a) productive forest, (b) native woodland, (c) riparian habitat, (d) urban improvment and (e) farmed landscapes.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: A full breakdown of grants approvedand paid under the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme (SFGS) detailing the individualschemes, locations, SFGS objectives and the grant recipients is available on ForestryCommission Scotland’s website at <ahref="http://www.forest…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has met the senior management of Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: I referthe member to the answer to question S2W-28451on 6 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.se…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the senior management of Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Transport Scotland staffare Scottish Executive staff. The senior management of Transport Scotland meetsfrequently with other Scottish Executive colleagues. As well as ad hoc meetingsbetween officials, there is also Transport Scotland representation at a wider…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what performance targets it has set Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The Minister for Transport isresponsible for approving Transport Scotland’s annual business performance targets and measures aspart of the Transport Scotland<i> </i><em>Annual Business Plan. A copy of the Annual Business Plan is availableon Transport </em><em…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms it has in place to monitor the output and performance of Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Transport Scotland is anexecutive agency of the Scottish Executive, and as such, through its Chief Executive,is directly accountable to Scottish ministers.</p><p>Transport Scotland’s FrameworkDocument which was approved by the Minister for Transport is availa…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) Executive staff and (b) staff hours were involved in the delivery of functions now carried out by Transport Scotland in the year prior to its establishment.
Answer · Tavish Scott: There were 110 Scottish Executivestaff working for 178,860 hours on Transport Scotland functions in the year beforeit opened for business in January 2006. There are currently 287 permanent postswithin the agency. Staffing levels have increased because Transpo…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: I referthe member to the answer to question S2W-28446on 6 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.se…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what functions were transferred from its Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department to Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Transport Scotland startedwork as an executive agency in January 2006. The agency is responsible for helpingto deliver the Executive’s £3 billion capital road and rail investment programmeover the next decade, overseeing the safe and efficient running of Scot…
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of setting up Transport Scotland.
Answer · Tavish Scott: As part of the last spendingreview (SR04) settlement, funding was allocated to Transport Portfolio to take forwardour Partnership Commitment to bring forward proposals for a Strategic TransportAuthority, as an agency within the Executive directly accountable …
19 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what Transport Scotland’s projected running costs are in total and broken down into (a) accommodation, (b) salary and (c) other staff costs for (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The Transport Scotland BusinessPlan 2006-07, published on 19 April 2006, indicates in Annex E, the details of spending programmesfor 2006-07 and 2007-08 financial years.</p><p>Spending plans for future years2008-09 and 2009-10 will be determined at the next c…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the grants awarded from the additional top-up to the Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme of £6 million; for which forests these grants were awarded, giving the addresses of each area for which a grant was awarded, and which species were to be planted in …
Answer · Rhona Brankin: Forestry Commission Scotlandhas not yet determined a detailed breakdown of how the £6 million will be allocatedbut it will largely be used to fund current approved contracts and to support landownerswho are restocking as part of the long-term forest plans sys…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much modulated money has been (a) raised and (b) spent, also showing how it was spent, broken down by year since the inception of single farm payment modulation.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Single Farm Payment Scheme(SFPS) was introduced in 2005. The 2006 SFPS payments will not be made (and,therefore, modulated) before 1 December 2006.</p><p>The modulation receipts fromSFPS in 2005-2006 are based on EC compulsory modulation and additionalvol…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commit to match funding modulation under the single farm payment scheme.
Answer · Ross Finnie: All financial decisions relatingto the budget for the next Rural Development Programme are dependent on the arrangementsfor voluntary modulation and these are not yet known.</p>
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any analysis of the impact of a single farm payment modulation rate of 20%, as proposed by the UK Government.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28343 on 22 September 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will oppose the proposal by the UK Government to exercise the option of setting a 20% single farm payment modulation rate.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The UK Government has not proposeda 20% rate of voluntary modulation. This is the maximum rate permitted under thecurrent arrangements as set out in Regulation 1259/1999 which first introduced voluntarymodulation and the maximum rate that was agreed by all me…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the European Commission has yet determined whether there can be different single farm payment modulation rates within a member state.
Answer · Ross Finnie: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28341 on 22 September 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/w…
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scotland will be able to set its own single farm payment modulation rate within the Scottish Rural Development Plan.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The draft voluntary modulationregulation currently allows for only one rate of voluntary modulation permember state. This is a point being pursued with the European Commission and othermember states as negotiations progress.</p>
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there should be the capability for setting different single farm payment modulation rates within the United Kingdom.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Yes. Under existingarrangements, different rates of voluntary modulation can apply in each part of the UK. We want to continue with these arrangements, as do other parts of the UK.</p>
13 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision will be taken in respect of the single farm payment modulation rates to be applied from 2007.
Answer · Ross Finnie: A decision can only be takenonce the rules for voluntary modulation are agreed.</p>
4 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the publication of Choosing our Future: Scotland’s Sustainable Development Strategy in December 2005, which states that complex funding streams caused problems for those seeking to promote local environmental regeneration projects, when it will bring forward proposals to simpli…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We expect to bring forward proposalsto simplify the range and scope of funding streams for local environmental regenerationprojects by the end of this financial year and to implement new arrangements forfunding as soon as possible thereafter.</p>
4 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will replace the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme and, if so, on what date any new scheme will commence.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Community EnvironmentalRenewal Scheme was designed to assist communities in the vicinity of past or presentquarries subject to the Aggregates Levy (in the case of disused quarries providedthat they would have been subject to the levy had they been in oper…
30 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made to enable clinical dental technicians to have an opportunity to acquire the required qualification in the United Kingdom (UK) and whether the satellite course in the has been made available to such technicians in Scotland from August 2006, as indicated by the R…
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Work is continuing with NHSEducation for Scotland on establishing a course to start as early aspossible in 2007. This is to enable dental technicians to gain the clinicalskills they need to register with the General Dental Council in order to practiseas clini…
21 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of supervision of sex offenders has been, including the associated cost of police and council services and housing costs, in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Supervision of offenders isa function of local authorities. The information held centrally relates only tofunding allocations to authorities for the supervision of offenders in generaland not separately for the supervision of sex offenders.</p>
21 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether information is made public about individuals who have had sexual offences prevention orders granted against them and, if not, (a) how the public is made aware of any restrictions on the liberty of a sex offender and (b) whether the Executive will consider making such information p…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Sexual Offences PreventionOrders are intended to protect the public from the risk posed by sex offendersby placing restrictions on their behaviour. In order to manage that risk to thepublic it is essential that the police are able to monitor offenders. The mo…