Hugh Henry

26 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for how long a home report will remain valid.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: There is no prescribed validity period of home reports in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and related regulations, which reflects current practice for surveys and valuations. The validity period for a home report will be an issue for the market to determine, …

26 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs are of the constituent parts of a home report.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have confirmed that the aspects of the home report which are carried out by a Chartered Surveyors will cost between £500-700 for an average property in average condition. The cost reflects the additional informatio…

26 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost to purchasers is of a house survey report.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: A scheme 2 Homebuyer''s Survey and Valuation, which is a more detailed condition survey and is akin to the survey provided within the Home Report Package, currently costs on average between £400 and £600. A Mortgage Valuation Report, which contains very littl…

26 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of a home report will be.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Costs will be determined by the market. In 2003, the Housing Improvement Task Force estimated the cost of a Single Survey at around £440 for an average Scottish house. The Regulatory Impact Assessment, published in December 2007, allowed for price inflation a…

26 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected cost of a home report was when the proposal was consulted on.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government does not prescribe a cost for the home report. In 2003, the Housing Improvement Task Force estimated the cost of a Single Survey at around £440 for an average Scottish house. The Regulatory Impact Assessment, published in December 2007…

4 Sep 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new schools have been commissioned for (a) primary and (b) secondary for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Local authorities are responsible for commissioning new school buildings, not the Scottish Government. It is authorities who decide on the detail of investment in individual schools from the £3 billion in capital allocated to them over the period of this spen…

27 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the number of instances since May 2007 where an MSP has failed to receive for more than nine months a response from a minister to a letter, broken down by minister.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11691 on 1 May 2008. 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.parliament.uk/…

9 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that 250 new and refurbished schools will be delivered in addition to the schools initiated by the previous administration but delivered between 2007 and 2011.

Answer · Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13981 on 17 June 2008. 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/w…

9 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether schools promised or commissioned by the previous administration will count towards its target of 250 new and refurbished schools by 2011.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The previous Scottish Executive did not hold a definitive list of proposed new or refurbished school buildings because local authorities are directly responsible for strategic and future school estate plans and for commissioning school building work.</p> <p …

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to provide financial assistance to support urban post offices.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13422 on 3 June 2008. 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…

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to provide financial assistance to support rural post offices.

Answer · John Swinney: Due to their reserved nature, postal services and post offices cannot be directly funded by Scottish ministers. Subject to state aid rules, it may be possible in certain circumstances to support the non-postal activities of sub-post offices, such as the retai…

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what issues have been identified as a result of the reduction in Scottish Ambulance Service’s emergency medical dispatch centres from eight to three.

Answer · Shona Robison: Operations Rooms or Emergency Medical Dispatch Centres (EMDCs) control the deployment of staff and vehicle resources to meet demand.</p> <p >In 2002, under the previous administration, the Scottish Ambulance Service approved the move from eight operations ro…

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls were received in each of the Scottish Ambulance Service’s three emergency medical dispatch centres in 2007-08.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested has been provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service and is set out in the following table.</p> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap valign=bottom > <p align=center >EMDC</p> </td> …

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls were received in each of the Scottish Ambulance Service’s eight emergency medical dispatch centres in the year prior to the reconfiguration of centres.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held by the Scottish Ambulance Service in the format  requested.</p> <p >However, as part of the Scottish Ambulance Service’s operations room review the average calls handled per day in 2000-01 by each of the eight emergency medical …

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the locations of the five emergency medical dispatch centres which were closed following the Scottish Ambulance Service’s Operations Room Review.

Answer · Shona Robison: The locations of the five emergency medical dispatch centres, which were closed under the previous administration following the Scottish Ambulance Service’s operations room review, were Ayr, Glasgow, Motherwell, Aberdeen and Dundee.</p>

22 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the locations of the Scottish Ambulance Service’s three emergency medical dispatch centres.

Answer · Shona Robison: The locations are:</p> <p >Edinburgh Emergency Call Despatch Centre</p> <p >111 Oxgangs Road North</p> <p >Edinburgh</p> <p >Inverness Emergency Call Despatch Centre</p> <p >Raigmore Gardens</p> <p >Inverness</p> <p >Paisley Emergency Call Despatch C…

30 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what commitment it has to advanced highers following its announcement on national qualifications.

Answer · Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-3189 on 8 May 2008. All answers to oral 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/business/offi…

29 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was available from seized assets in 2006-07.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The amount of money transferred to the Scottish Consolidated Fund via the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2006-07 was £4.412 million.</p>

28 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who is legally responsible for ensuring (a) payment and (b) collection of a nationally set local income tax from Scottish residents working in England whose pay and tax are administered in England.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12365 on 7 May 2008. 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 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether legal powers exist to force the collection of a nationally set local income tax from Scottish residents working in England whose pay and tax are administered in England.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to  question S3W-11722 on 23 April 2008. 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 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who will be responsible for collecting a nationally set local income tax from Scottish residents working in England whose pay and tax are administered in England.

Answer · John Swinney: The government''s proposals for a local income tax to replace the council tax are set out in the consultation document <i >A Fairer Local Tax for Scotland</i> as part of the on-going consultation exercise which closes on 18 July. The consultation will of cour…

25 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many forensic accountants are employed by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and how they have been funded.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: All staff costs are met from the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency''s annual grant. For both operational and security reasons it would not be appropriate to disclose specific details about the number of specialist posts in the agency.</p>

9 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency made a request for funding a forensic accountant through normal procedures.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11715 on 24 April 2008. 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/?weba…

9 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the post of forensic accountant for the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency was not funded on a manner similar to other posts in the agency.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I understand that following a bid for additional funding from the then Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, the previous administration increased the agency''s budget by £967,000 to help fund a number of additional posts, includ…

7 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many outstanding inquiries from MSPs have been awaiting a response for more than six months.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: Following a review of our central monitoring systems for ministerial correspondence, Freedom of Information requests and parliamentary questions, which capture the large majority, although not absolutely all enquiries received, I am not aware of any outstandi…

3 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it expects will be available from seized assets in 2008-09.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Money recovered via the Proceeds of Crime Act during 2007-08, and available to spend in 2008-09, will not be confirmed until the end of April. Once this figure is confirmed we will make a further announcement regarding our plans.</p>

3 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was available from seized assets in 2007-08.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: For 2007-08 the Scottish Government had £8.031 million available from the Proceeds of Crime Act.</p>

17 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish residents working and being paid in Berwick-upon-Tweed would be liable to pay a nationally set local income tax.

Answer · John Swinney: Our consultation paper, <i >A Fairer Local Tax for Scotland</i>, invites comments on the Scottish Government''s proposed definition of Scottish taxpayers. A Scottish taxpayer living in Scotland and working in England will no longer have to pay council tax, bu…

17 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will allocate sufficient funding in 2008-09 to ensure that there are no job losses in organisations that provide places for young people in secure units.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government and local authorities fund the secure estate through the purchasing of beds for young people sentenced to detention, remanded to secure and young people authorised for secure care through the children's hearing system. Funding for chil…

17 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any concerns about potential job losses in 2008-09 in the organisations that provide places for young people in secure units.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The operation of secure units is a matter for the local authorities and independent organisations who manage them. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely and imaginatively with providers and local authorities to ensure that this first class acc…