Parliamentary questions

Johann Lamont

1,407 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

20 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to monitor the level and nature of non-clinical complaints against (a) consultants within the NHS, (b) other doctors within the NHS, (c) nurses within the NHS and (d) other staff within the NHS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on written complaints received under the NHS complaints procedure, is published annually by Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency.The most recent publication NHS Complaints in Scotland 1998/99 …

20 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to review the current NHS complaints procedures.

Answer · Susan Deacon: A UK-wide evaluation of the NHS complaints procedure is currently being undertaken by an independent group of researchers commissioned by the Health Departments of the 4 countries. The evaluation commenced in January 1999 and the group will present their fina…

2 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to prevent those accused of sex offences personally cross-examining the victim in court.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Scottish Ministers have instructed that proposals are developed to prevent an accused person charged with a sex offence from cross-examining a victim personally and to strengthen provisions restricting cross-examination on sexual history. Ministers will immed…

22 Mar 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in tackling stalking.

Answer · Jim Wallace: On 23 March the Scottish Executive published a consultation paper inviting comments on current law and practice in relation to harassment and stalking. The consultation period ends on 9 June. Thereafter the Executive will report its findings and its recommend…

29 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the new road casualty reduction targets for the period to 2010 will be announced.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Considerable progress has been made in reducing the number of road casualties. In Scotland, fatal and serious casualties in 1998 were half the level of the early 1980s and all casualties had fallen by 17% during a period of substantial growth in road traffic.…

23 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to speed up the process of dealing with breaches of community service and probation orders.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive is aware of concerns about delays in dealing with alleged breaches of community service and probation orders in some areas of Scotland. It recognises the need to ensure speedy processing of such breaches in order to maintain public confidence in…

23 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the average length of time taken to process a breach of (a) a probation order and (b) a community service order through the Sheriff Court.

Answer · Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.

23 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many outstanding breaches of community service orders and probation orders are currently waiting to be dealt with by the courts.

Answer · Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.

23 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3539 by Iain Gray on 11 February 2000, whether it will publicise what percentage of the #43 million new monies made available for social work in 2000-01 was allocated to each local authority and the criteria under which the allocations were made.

Answer · Iain Gray: Each council's allocation and percentage share is shown in the following table. The allocations arise from the distribution formulae for individual social work services agreed with CoSLA. These are set out in the Grant-Aided Expenditure 2000-01 Green Book<…

23 Feb 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support Glasgow City Council in meeting the needs of its older citi'ens.

Answer · Iain Gray: The local government settlement for 2000-01 provides for the City of Glasgow Council to increase its revenue expenditure to around £1.1 billion. Older people in Glasgow will benefit from a significant proportion of these resources through a range of services.

19 Jan 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes to take forward its policy in the area of mental health.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Executive is addressing mental health on a broad front, including the development of services for those who need care and treatment; promoting mental wellbeing by improving life circumstances through our policies on social inclusion, education, employment…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support initiatives to increase the numbers of women who breastfeed their babies in Glasgow.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is committed to the promotion of breastfeeding throughout Scotland. We support and fund the Scottish Breastfeeding Group and the National Breastfeeding Advisor to help achieve the target of 50% of women breastfeeding their babies at six…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to support the development and maintenance of co-operative initiatives in Glasgow.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: In our efforts to strengthen the social economy in Glasgow and throughout Scotland we are encouraging Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to offer enhanced support and advice to co-operatives and other social and community based enterpris…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to monitor, and acknowledge in future funding, the support that Glasgow's Women's Aid groups and other organisations working with abused women in Glasgow provide to women from outwith Glasgow.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: Funding for local women's aid groups is the responsibility of local authorities. The Scottish Executive has no plans at present to disburse funds directly to local groups. The Scottish Executive recognises that individual circumstances, often for reasons of s…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is given to Glasgow to meet the extra policing and other costs generated by national events, such as international football games, which take place within the city.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The formula for determining the allocation of GAE for each police force is primarily based on policing strengths. The formula is presently being reviewed. However, the 2000-01 GAE settlement took into account a needs assessment by individual forces.

11 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the #43 million new monies made available to social work in Scotland for the year 2000-01 has been allocated to Glasgow and where this ranks Glasgow in the table of these new resources allocated to local authorities for social work spending across Scotland.

Answer · Iain Gray: Glasgow City Council has been allocated 4.35% of the additional £43 million which has been made available for social work in 2000-01. This is the sixth largest share.

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question number S1W-2664 by Mr Jack McConnell on 18 November 1999, what steps it is taking to ensure that public bodies are representative of Scottish society and that appointments include increased numbers of women and people from the black and ethnic minority c…

Answer · Jack McConnell: I recently announced that the Executive will embark on a wide-ranging consultation exercise early in the New Year which will invite views on the current public appointments system and on possible options for change.The consultation paper wi…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used in deciding appointments to public bodies.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The specific criteria for each vacancy will vary according to the nature of the body, the job description and the key skills required to fill that post.The procedures for filling public appointments are based on the Nolan principles of meri…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where it advertises appointments to public bodies and what the criteria are for deciding where to advertise.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Advertisements for vacancies to public bodies are placed in various publications depending on the nature of the body and the type of vacancy. In all cases establishing value for money for the taxpayer is a key criterion.For general appointm…

23 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S1W-346 by Susan Deacon on 12 July 1999, what are its current plans for the introduction of a ban on tobacco advertising.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The legal action in England by the tobacco industry has delayed meantime the introduction of a ban on tobacco advertising. It is clear that there are no substantive points of difference with the position in the rest of the United Kingdom. Given the cross-bord…

12 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it believes Scottish Enterprise should set to develop land to support the regeneration of areas of high unemployment and deprivation.

Answer · Henry McLeish: There are no national targets for the amount of land to be reclaimed for development in areas of high unemployment and deprivation. Relevant targets are instead set in terms of job creation outcomes. However Scottish Enterprise is currently developing a regen…

11 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of women appointments to public bodies.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive is committed to strengthening the current levels of women's representation on public bodies. The Scottish Executive has retained the targets set by the previous Scottish Office of increasing the proportion of women appointees from the 1…

10 Nov 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of women appointments to public bodies.

7 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals are being made to the European Commission for Objective 2 coverage in Scotland under the new round of European Structural Funds.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Scottish Executive Ministers and the UK Government have worked closely together to determine the areas to be proposed for Objective 2 eligibility. Discussions have been held with local authorities from the most affected areas of Scotland to ensure that their …

2 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on its plans to promote the involvement of parents in the education of their children.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Parental involvement in their children's education is crucial. We are investing £15 million over three years to fund more home-link teachers, teacher/parent contact time, family learning initiatives and parent support groups.

1 Sep 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on its plans to promote the involvement of parents in the education of their children.

16 Jun 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to outline the differences between the proposed census in Scotland and in the rest of the U.K and to explain why there are such differences.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The UK Government published its proposals for the 2001 Census of Population in a White Paper (Cm 4253) on 4 March 1999. Full details of the questions proposed for the different parts of the UK are contained in the White Paper, a copy of which is in the Scott…