Parliamentary questions
John Swinney
262 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many fatal accident inquiries have been held in each year since 1990.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The number of fatal accident inquiries held in each year since 1990 is shown in the following table.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Financial Year</p></td> <td> <p align=center>No. of Fatal…
14 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice and guidance has been provided to NHS Scotland in relation to public procurement contracts.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive does not provide specific advice to NHSScotland on public procurement contracts but gives advice and guidance on policy issues relating to public procurement contracts.</p> <p>NHS boards are responsible for their own procurement activit…
14 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice and guidance has been provided to (a) local authorities and (b) its departments or agencies in relation to public procurement contracts.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not provide specific advice on public procurement contracts but gives advice and guidance on policy issues relating to public procurement contracts.</p> <p>Local authorities, who are responsible for their own procurement activities…
9 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in which parts of its budget it plans to spend the £95 million for additional support needs, referred to by the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People on 3 November 2005 (Official Report c. 20273).
Answer · Robert Brown: The £95 million will be met from the Education and Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning budgets. The answer to question S2W-20527 on 21 November 2005 specifies how this money will be spent. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available o…
9 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a detailed breakdown of how it plans to spend the £95 million for additional support needs, referred to by the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People on 3 November 2005 (Official Report c. 20273).
Answer · Robert Brown: The following table gives a breakdown of the £95 million allocated for additional support needs. This money has been announced previously.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Funding</p></td> <td> <p align=c…
9 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the balance was of the Scottish Consolidated Fund, held at the office of the HM Paymaster General, at the end of each month since July 1999.
Answer · Robert Brown: When I advised that the Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, I can confirm that this includes the Work and Families Bill.</p>
9 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what balance of the Scottish Consolidated Fund was held in the office of HM Paymaster General at the end of each month since July 1999.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The full balance of the Scottish Consolidated Fund is held within HM Office of Paymaster General.</p> <p>The balance on the account at the end of each month is shown in the following table:</p><p>Scottish Consolidated Fund, Month End Balances July 1999 to Oct…
8 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money, not yet allocated to public expenditure programmes, is currently held by HM Treasury on behalf of the Executive.
Answer · Tom McCabe: £220 million that has not yet been allocated to portfolios or public expenditure programmes is currently held by HM Treasury on behalf of the Executive. This figure excludes the resources required to fund the announced reduction in business rates in 2006-07 a…
3 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how its plans to introduce a seller’s survey have been influenced by pilot projects undertaken on the proposal.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Single Survey is designed to improve the information available to potential purchasers on property condition, reduce wasted expenditure on multiple valuations and surveys and address artificially low upset prices. The pilot of the Single Survey in 2004-05…
3 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many legal firms are registered to provide legal aid services but do not do so.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Registration of firms to provide civil and/or children’s legal assistance was introduced on 1 July 2004. In the period to 31 July 2005, 54 of the 759 registered firms submitted no applications.</p> <p>Registration of firms to provide criminal legal assistance…
3 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many legal firms are registered to provide Legal Aid services.
Answer · Hugh Henry: A total of 759 firms were on the civil legal aid register and 637 on the criminal register as at 7 November 2005.</p>
28 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the small and medium-sized enterprises that have won public procurement contracts in Scotland in each year since 1999 were Scottish-based, expressed also as a percentage of total contracts awarded.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does nothold this information centrally and therefore could only provide this informationat disproportionate cost.</p>
26 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects work to commence on the upgrade of the Bankfoot junction on the A9.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Work to upgrade Bankfoot Junctionis programmed to start in spring 2007 subject to the successful completion of thenecessary statutory and land acquisition procedures.</p>
26 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when orders will be published to upgrade the Bankfoot junction on the A9.
Answer · Tavish Scott: It is expected that orders willbe published for the Bankfoot Junction Improvement towards the end of 2006.</p>
26 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in designing the junction improvements on the A9 at Bankfoot.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Substantial design work has beenundertaken on a number of possible junction layouts ranging from the constructionof the junction alone to the construction of the junction with an associated climbinglane with or without provision for future dualling. Extensive…
20 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many small and medium-sized enterprises won public procurement contracts in each year since 1999, expressed also as a percentage of total contracts awarded.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information centrally and therefore could only provide this information at disproportionate cost.</p>
12 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents there were where people were trapped and had to be released by the fire service in each of the last five years.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The number of road traffic accidents where people were released by the Scottish fire and rescue services in the last five years are given in the following table.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Year</p></td> …
12 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents there were where people were trapped and had to be released in each of the last five years.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
12 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents in each of the last five years involved fire.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
12 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents, attended by the fire service, there were in each of the last five years.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The numbers of road traffic accidents attended by the Scottish fire and rescue services in the last five years are given in the following table.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Year</p></td> <td> <p ali…
12 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents there were in each of the last five years.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The road traffic accident statistics which are held centrally relate only to “injury” road accidents (those in which one or more people are injured). This information is collected in the GB-wide “STATS 19” returns, which do not collect details of “damage onl…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what spending commitments it has made in each month since May 2003 broken down by month.
Answer · Tom McCabe: All of the Scottish Executive’sspending commitments are published as part of the annual budget process which isscrutinised by the Finance Committee and debated by Parliament.</p>
6 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to my letters of 13 September 2005 to the Permanent Secretary and the Minister for Justice.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Minister for Justice replied on 3 October 2005, following which the Permanent Secretary wrote on 10 October 2005.</p>
29 Jul 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the recent changes to Scottish ministers will have on its plans to support young carers.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive remains committedto implementing its Carers Strategy. Under that strategy a number of steps has beentaken to help improve the support available to young carers. The number of projectssupporting young carers has risen from 23 in 1999 to 52 in 200…
27 Jul 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of the out-of-hours healthcare service was in the year (a) prior to and (b) following GPs opting out of the service.
Answer · Andy Kerr: It is not possible to make a direct comparison between out-of-hours services prior to and after the implementation of the GP opt-out. This is because new out-of-hours services, although continuing to rely heavily on GPs, have been or are in the process of bei…
3 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what development work it has undertaken on improving the Kindallachan junction on the A9.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16697 on 10<sup> </sup>June 2005. 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.…
3 Jun 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it is planned to improve the Kindallachan junction on the A9.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The A9 Kindallachan junction improvement, which will provide a right turn facility, is programmed for construction in 2006. The scheme is currently being designed by BEAR Scotland Ltd.</p>
31 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial contribution will be required by NHS Tayside to facilitate delivery of healthcare services by the private sector at Stracathro Ambulatory Diagnostic Treatment Centre.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive will fully fund the pilot project, up to £15 million over the next three years, for delivery of health care services by the independent healthcare sector at Stracathro Ambulatory Diagnostic Treatment Centre. Should NHS Tayside, or other particip…
31 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what tendering procedures it is required to observe in relation to commissioning the private sector to deliver healthcare services at Stracathro Ambulatory Diagnostic Treatment Centre.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The final contract will be between Tayside NHS Board and the independent health care sector provider. The tendering process will therefore be led by NHS Tayside. Tendering procedures to be adhered to will be in accordance with NHS Tayside procurement policy a…
31 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to issue a tender specification for the provision of healthcare services by the private sector at Stracathro Ambulatory Diagnostic Treatment Centre.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The tender specification for the provision of healthcare services by the independent health care sector at Stracathro Ambulatory Diagnostic Treatment Centre will be issued by Tayside NHS Board. It is expected that this will be issued in the autumn.</p>