Parliamentary questions
Fergus Ewing
2,894 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed funding and procurement arrangements are for completing the M74.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The project will be funded jointly by the Scottish Executive, Glasgow Council, South Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Councils, with 1.22% of the total cost being funded from other public and private sector funding. Subject to Scottish ministers’ decision followi…
4 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of the planned completion of the A78 three-town bypass in December 2004, the M77, Malletsheugh to Fenwick and the A876, Kincardine Eastern Link Road in March 2005, the A80 Auchenkilns Junction in September 2005 and the large proportion of early spending committed to …
Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-11170 on 1 November 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…
4 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the planned completion of the A78 three-town bypass in December 2004, the M77, Malletsheugh to Fenwick and the A876, Kincardine Eastern Link Road in March 2005, the A80 Auchenkilns Junction in September 2005 and the large proportion of early spending committed to land…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: No. We expect to spend more than £80 million in 2005-06 on road improvements across the network and in excess of£50 million on structural repairs. This is a reasonable workload for the road construction industry in Scotland.</p>
4 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9859 by Nicol Stephen on 17 September 2004, whether the table showing major trunk road works under way will be developed further to include additional columns showing (a) indicative cost bands, illustrating the relative size of each project, (b) the …
Answer · Nicol Stephen: he information with regard to costs is shown in the following table. These are estimated costs as at 1 September 2004, exclude VAT, and may be subject to change as schemes progress. The table, as published in response to S2W-9859, already shows the position w…
1 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the information on the performance of consultants suggested by the member for Argyll and Bute in the debate on health services on 30 September 2004 (Official Report c 10792).
Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no plans at present to provide information on the performance of consultants. However, the Health Department is about to embark on a stream of work on workforce productivity and this is one of the many issues that will be considered under that agend…
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why planning permission is necessary for the erection of shelters for horses in fields; why they are not exempt as agricultural buildings, and whether it will amend planning law to remove them from the scope of developments that require planning permission.
Answer · Johann Lamont: Whether a structure requires planning permission is a matter for the planning authority, who must decide whether what is being proposed is a development. The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 defines “development” as “the carrying out of building,…
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the transitional funding for fire service modernisation, announced on 28 September 2004, can be used in order to prevent the loss of 32 auxiliary units in the Highlands and Islands earmarked for possible closure and whether this is a matter for Highlands and Islands Fire Board.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The funding announced on 28 September 2004 is to assist Highland and Islands Fire Board with local fire station improvements and the upgrading of staff from volunteer to retained firefighter status. The provision of emergency fire cover, including the 32 unit…
29 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a proper application of the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Code was followed in the recruitment of “gifted amateurs”, as referred to by the Minister for Finance and Public Services (Official Report c 10409).
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Code is applied to all recruitment to permanent posts in the Scottish Executive.</p>
29 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Finance and Public Services was referring to specific civil servants when he used the phrase “gifted amateur” (Official Report c 10409) and, if so, to which civil servants he was referring.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Minister for Finance and Public Services was not referring to any specific civil servants when using the phrase “gifted amateur”. The minister was referring to the changes being introduced more generally to the civil service in Scotland, based on the less…
29 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that the water supply for the communities at Ardgour and Clovullin has been contaminated with cryptosporidium since the end of August 2004 and that there has been no potable supply of water since that date; what steps Scottish Water has taken, and is taking, to address…
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is aware that the Consultant in Public Health Medicine (CPHM) for Highland NHS Board has required Scottish Water to issue advice to its customers in Ardgour to boil their drinking water because of high levels of Cryptosporidium in the s…
29 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of its “Tsars”, has been in each year since appointment, broken down by “Tsar”, and what annual savings would be made if all “Tsars” were to be abolished.
Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-8056 answered on 21 July 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.scottish.p…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, following reports in The Herald on 17 September 2004, what its policy is in respect of the costs of landslide prevention and maintenance of land prone to landslide that is adjacent to adopted roads including trunk roads and, in particular, whether it will meet any costs incurred by lando…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Following the major landslips which occurred during August 2004, the Executive has commissioned a study to consider the whole impact of landslips on trunk roads in Scotland. Part of the study will review what mitigation measures might be possible and will als…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that money saved by local authorities from reducing the council tax discount on second homes will be spent on affordable housing.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is currently consulting with COSLA and Communities Scotland as to how local authorities’ actual spend on affordable housing should be monitored and compared, against the additional income generated from reducing the discount.</p>
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Communities Scotland’s policy in respect of affordable housing enables land in private ownership to be used for this purpose and, if not, what policy changes it will make.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Communities Scotland operates a number of grant schemes for affordable housing and in many cases housing investment is used to fund house cons…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether more use should have been made of publicly-owned land for the purpose of building more houses or enabling more houses to be built.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-10983 on 26 October 2004. 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/webap…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes have been built in each of the last five years on land owned by (a) it, (b) the Ministry of Defence, (c) Executive agencies, (d) non-departmental public bodies and (e) any other public body.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested is not held centrally. Records of previous owners are available through the Register of Sasines/Land Register, but…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Ministry of Defence about making land that it holds available for housing development.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-10983 on 26 October 2004. 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/webap…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in respect of making land owned by the state, including that owned by it, Her Majesty’s Government, the Crown Estate Commission, government departments and agencies, non-departmental public bodies and other public bodies, available for housing development.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In general, where public land is surplus to requirements, it can be sold on the open market in accordance with the public finance guidelines which would normally require it to be sold at market value. Local authorities can, however, seek consent to disposals …
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, within the relevant rules regarding sewerage for new homes, such sewerage may be provided by septic tanks; what relevant legislative provisions apply to the provision of sewerage for new homes by septic tank, and what its policy is on this matter.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I can confirm that sewerage for new homes can be provided by septic tanks provided the arrangement results in no deterioration in water quality, as specified in the Water Environment and Water Services Act 2003. Before granting planning permission for the bui…
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses are scheduled to be built on land owned by the Forestry Commission in each of the next five years.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) currently proposes to build one FCS house on the national forest estate, at Glencroe, near Ardgartan. </p><p>In addition, in December last year, ministers asked FCS to work with Communities Scotland and local housing trusts …
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses were built on land owned by the Forestry Commission in each of the last five years.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Forestry Commission Scotland built one house on the national forest estate in the past five years. This was in Dornoch in 2002. Forestry Commission Scotland does not hold records of houses built after national forest estate land has been sold.</p>
28 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what area of land in Scotland is owned by the Forestry Commission.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The area of land owned by Scottish ministers and managed by Forestry Commission Scotland extends to 656,200 hectares (as recorded in Forest Facts & Figures, 2004, published on 30 September 2004).</p>
21 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to provide bilingual signage on roads in Gaelic and English, in particular on the A9.<p>The member has provided the following Gaelic translation:<p> A dh’ fhaighneachd de Riaghaltas na h-Alba dh tha e a’ dol a dhhanamh gus soidhnichean-rathaid d`-ch`nana…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Bilingual signing has beenprovided on the A830, A887 and A87 (Skye and the mainland) as part of a commitmentgiven in June 2003 to sign a number of highland routes. A contract has justbeen awarded for the A835. Bilingualroad signs will be provided on the remai…
17 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the quality of civil service advice in respect of the Holyrood project given to the Minister for Finance and the First Minister in the Scottish Executive would have been impaired had it been made public at the time.
Answer · Margaret Curran: It is a long-standing convention of government that internal opinion, advice, recommendation and deliberation should not be disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. The advice to ministers referred to was provided on…
17 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce more openness into the advice given by civil servants to ministers and whether it will seek to amend the 30-year rule and, if so, whether advice should be published in a shorter period and what that period should be.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Once the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002 is fully implemented in January 2005, the 30-year rule will no longer apply. Each request for information will thereafter be considered on an individual basis and within the framework provided by the act.</p>
7 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology is used by the “cod association” when calculating figures in respect of catches of west of Scotland cod and nephrops and whether such figures fairly reflect the by-catch of cod in the west of Scotland nephrops fishery.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Figures demonstrating the level of association between West of Scotland cod and Nephrops are calculated by comparing landings data for the two species, by ICES statistical rectangle and by the proportion of cod and Nephrops landed per individual trip. This en…
1 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the use of single crewed ambulances deployed on the instructions of the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Where the Scottish Ambulance Service assesses that an area should be served by an accident and emergency unit, then a double crewed unit is what should be provided. There may be circumstances where, for example, a member of staff reports sick at short notice …
23 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what direct financial benefit will accrue to it from renewable energy developments.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Fees payable by developers under the section 36 consent procedures are paid into the Scottish Consolidated Fund. The level of such fees are set out in the Electricity (Application for Consent) Regulations 1990.</p>
23 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its policy in regard to the provision of substantive answers to written parliamentary questions is to provide complete and direct answers to the questions asked.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Questions are considered very carefully with the aim of providing substantive and indeed helpful answers to the points raised. To a large extent the relevance of the answer depends on the clarity of the question.</p>
23 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9569 by Mr Frank McAveety on 3 August 2004, what publicity was given to the fact that the decision regarding the restoration of Castle Tioram was taken by Historic Scotland (a) at the time the decision was made and (b) subsequently.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Scottish ministers' decisions on Scheduled Monument Consent applications are routinely delegated to Historic Scotland, an agency directly accountable to Scottish ministers. Historic Scotland receives around 200 such applications each year. It has not been the…