Parliamentary questions

Hugh O'Donnell

361 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

28 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what budget has been allocated to the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group; for what it has been specified; how it will be monitored, and by whom.

Answer · Shona Robison: In this financial year, a total of £250,000 has been allocated to NHS Lothian, in partnership with others, to address the challenge of existing waiting lists. This is a priority which I have identified and I will be monitoring progress. In addition, …

28 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group and who decided on that remit.

Answer · Shona Robison: The remit of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group is to: offer advice and leadership, consult and engage with stakeholders to implement the recommendations arising from the Scottish Governments Autism Strategy; identify and c…

28 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what criteria members of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group are selected and who (a) sets the criteria and (b) selects the membership.

Answer · Shona Robison: The original membership of the Public Health Institute Scotland (PHIS) Group which led the first world leading needs assessment of people on the autism spectrum evolved to become the national Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group. Members of the group we…

28 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) individuals and (b) organisations are represented on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the membership of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group is available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/adult-care-and-support/learning-disability/ASDRef.

23 Feb 2011 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the monetary value was of parliamentary equipment that has (a) disappeared, (b) been lost and (c) been stolen in each of the last three years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The following table contains the information requested on the monetary value of parliamentary equipment that has disappeared or been lost (both classified as loss) and stolen items (classified as theft) in each of the last three years. <table border=1…

17 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to the NHS has been of medication made up in pharmacies but not collected in each year since 2007.

Answer · Shona Robison: Prescription data available centrally relate to numbers and cost of items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. Data on items prescribed but not dispensed are not collected centrally.

10 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the geographical area defined as Scottish territorial waters is in relation to offshore wind farm construction.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The area defined as Scottish territorial waters extends out to 12 nautical miles from the coastal baseline. In addition, Scottish Ministers have the function of granting consents under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for offshore wind farms both in the…

9 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met members of the Scottish Section of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain and Ireland.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has not had any recent requests from the Scottish Section of the Showmen''s Guild of Great Britain and Ireland for a meeting. I last met with members of the Scottish section on 27 May 2009 and the First Minister hosted a reception for …

7 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Healthy Living Alliance.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Executive last met with the Scottish Healthy Living Centre Alliance (SHLCA) on 3 November 2010. The main item for discussion was a request from SHLCA for financial support from the Scottish Government.

2 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38849 by Michael Russell on 17 January 2011, how much funding has been set aside for the Literacy Action Plan.

Answer · Michael Russell: The delivery of the Literacy Action Plan will take place within existing policy frameworks, including the Early Years Framework, Curriculum for Excellence, and the Adult Literacies Strategic Guidance. Delivery will build on the resource and infrastructure alr…

2 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted research into the levels of extracurricular reading among school-age children and, if so, when this will be made available.

Answer · Michael Russell: Scotland''s results from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2009, which surveys 15 year olds, showed that approximately 57% of respondents read for enjoyment. Highlights from Scotland''s results are published at: http://www.scotland.g…

2 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted an impact evaluation of the Scottish Book Trust’s book gifting scheme and, if so, when this will be made available.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Book Trust plans a large scale evaluation of the Bookbug programme in March to April 2011. We look forward to discussing the outcome of this evaluation with them. The Scottish Book Trust must, of course, comply with the grant conditions …

2 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is allocating to the Scottish Book Trust’s book gifting scheme in 2011-12.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government places great value on what is achieved for children through the Scottish Book Trust''s Early Years Bookgifting programme and we will be providing aggregate funding of £1.05 million for 2011-12. This was announced by way of a News Relea…

2 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to develop the Scottish Book Trust’s book gifting scheme to include pupils in other years.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Our funding for the Scottish Book Trust is currently focused on the Early Years Bookgifting Programme which provides books for all our young children. We have no plans to extend this universal approach to pupils in other school years. We are aware, h…

31 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has given to the National Autistic Society in each year since 2007 and for what purpose.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has made the following payments to the National Autistic Society: 2008-09 - £20,599.02 2009-10 - £21,216.99 2010-11 - £21,768.63 These payments were made to the National Autistic Society, in relation…

26 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether youth groups and clubs requiring disclosure checks will have direct access to the electronic Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme system as stated on its website and what the reasons are for its position on this matter

Answer · Adam Ingram: When the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme goes live on 28 February 2011 all applications and disclosures will be on paper format only. Release 2 of the system is scheduled to be deployed in summer 2011. This will include the electronic interfa…

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place regarding the disposal of construction or refurbishment waste from Commonwealth Games venues.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has recently set targets for achieving a zero waste society, not just for household waste, but also for the construction and commercial sectors. Zero waste is about making the most of all the resources we use and the Glasgow 2014 Commo…

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance and regulations are in place for contractors engaged in public construction projects regarding the disposal and recycling of construction waste after construction is completed.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: All producers of waste, including construction companies, are required to comply with the duty of care set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This places a legal responsibility on them to ensure that they manage waste without harming …

19 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has given the Scottish Society for Autism in each year since 2007 and for what purpose.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has awarded the following funding to the Scottish Society for Autism: 1. Voluntary Sector Development Fund 2009-10: £22,270 2010-11: £35,000. 2. Section 9 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968…

17 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it considers extracurricular reading to have in the context of improving literacy among school-age children.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38849 on 25 January 2011. 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/Apps…

17 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to increase the levels of extracurricular reading among school-age children.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government recognises the important role of extracurricular reading in the literacy development of young people. Our Literacy Action Plan, launched in October, sets out our vision to raise standards of literacy for all, from the early years throu…

17 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how Scotland’s scoring for extracurricular reading in the latest OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, PISA 2009 Assessment Framework - Key Competencies in Reading, Mathematics and Science, compares with its results in previous PISA reports.

Answer · Michael Russell: There are a range of questions asked to pupils about extracurricular reading, with no one overall measure. The results of these are summarised on page 15 of the report PISA 2009, Highlights from Scotland''s Results available on the government website …

17 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how Scotland scored in the latest OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, PISA 2009 Assessment Framework - Key Competencies in Reading, Mathematics and Science, for extracurricular reading and how this compares with the scores of other participants.

11 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how much opencast coal has been produced in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is published by The Coal Authority and can found at: http://www.coal.gov.uk/publications/miningtechnology/index.cfm. </b

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29201 by Jim Mather on 2 December 2009, whether it will issue a Scottish energy key facts publication before the end of 2010.

Answer · Jim Mather: Energy in Scotland: A Compendium of Scottish Energy Statistics and Information will be published on the Scottish Government website before the end of 2010.

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who was employed by Disclosure Scotland to write the 136-page guidance to the new rules for the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme and what the cost was.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The guidance was written by Scottish Government officials, informed by a guidance advisory group made up of representatives from the statutory and voluntary sectors. A professional writer was employed for 12 months using the Scottish Government'…

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what costs have been incurred by Disclosure Scotland in preparing for the introduction of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Disclosure Scotland implementation costs, including IT costs, to end of September 2010 stand at £22,095,613. Ministers are committed to providing up to £53 million to cover the cost of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme. Current estimates pu…

7 Oct 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £111 million that has been reported as being saved by the Scottish Futures Trust has been or will be deployed.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust has identified £111 million of net future benefits as a result of work undertaken in 2009-10. These benefits are from a mixture of efficiency gains, additional investment and avoided costs.

24 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided funding to the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) in respect of equalities work undertaken outside of Scotland in the last three years and, if so, how much funding; in what circumstances, and when.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The annual grant paid by Scottish Ministers to the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) is to support all of their business areas, including the one dedicated to equality and diversity. The precise distribution of the grant is a matter for…

24 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36304 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 September 2010, whether it will provide the specific information requested in the question.