Parliamentary questions

John Home Robertson

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

7 Mar 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the value to the economy is of exports of electricity to other parts of the United Kingdom through the national grid, in both financial and employment terms.

Answer · Allan Wilson: In Scotland in 2002,the latest year for which data is available, 8.03 terawatt hours of electricitygenerated in Scotland was exported to other parts of the UK.According to Ofgem, the average wholesale price for electricity in 2002 was£15.20/MWh, on which basi…

22 Nov 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to assist the dental practice in Prestonpans to meet the growing demand for NHS dental checks and treatment of patients from East Lothian and elsewhere whose dentists refuse to work for the NHS.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Responsibility for the provisionof NHS dental services in Prestonpans rests with NHS Lothian. They are currentlyin discussion with the dental practice regarding possible expansion plans.

1 Nov 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will co-operate with the Battle of Prestonpans (1745) Heritage Trust to seek to safeguard the site of the battlefield and to promote awareness of its local and national significance.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive is taking stepsto promote awareness of battlefields in Scotland, and recognises Prestonpans as a site of national significance.We are committed to working in partnership with the voluntary sector, and are happyto talk to the Battle of Prestonpan…

24 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many needles were provided for drug users through needle exchange schemes, and how many were returned, in each local authority or NHS board area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The following table details thenumber of needles and syringes distributed and returned by NHS board for 2004-05as reported by alcohol and drug action teams.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=444> <thead> <tr> <td width=164 valign=top> …

11 May 2006 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will provide a notice explaining the history, significance and provenance of the Arniston Lintel stones from the original Scottish Parliament building which are now situated in the members’ lobby and whether it will ensure that the Parliament’s tour guides are a…

Answer · Duncan McNeil: The Arniston Stone iscurrently included and interpreted as part of the guided tours programme; informationis also available on the Parliament’s website. There are a number of pieces withinthe building, such as the Arniston Stone and the Visitor Information De…

10 May 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the implementation of the ban on smoking in enclosed public places.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Thanks to the very hard workof all involved, including local authorities, the Licensed Trade and individualbusinesses, implementation has been very smooth. Compliance with no-smoking in enclosedpublic places is very high. Local authorities are working with bu…

20 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits resulted from its participation in Tartan Week 2006.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Tartan Week is now the biggestsingle programme of events promoting Scotland overseas. The United States is our most important market forbusiness and tourism. The Executive’s participation in Tartan Week ties in withthe objectives laid out in our Internationa…

28 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding and staffing is provided from Executive sources, including the Forestry Commission and Scottish Enterprise, for the Confederation of Forest Industries (ConFor); what proportion of ConFor’s budget this represents, and whether it is satisfied that ConFor has the support or acti…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Scottish Enterprise hasa contract with ConFor for the provision of services to support the forest industries.The contract for 2005-06 was for £112,000 and covered services provided by ConFor’sco-ordinator for the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster, and its Pr…

9 Mar 2006 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has made any response to the report by Arup Structural Engineers that “proposals are being made for the bolt and socket to be removed and examined”, submitted seven days after the failure of this part of the roof structure in the debating chamber, and whether…

Answer · George Reid: I shall reply to the Memberas soon as possible.

8 Mar 2006 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether all costs arising from the collapse of the beam in the debating chamber roof, including the costs of alternative arrangements for Parliamentary business, will be the responsibility of the structural engineers or contractors who designed and constructed the roof.

Answer · George Reid: I refer the Member to myletter to all MSPs of 11 May 2006. A copy of the letter is available at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/nmCentre/news/news-06/pa06-046.htm">http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/nmCentre/news/news-06/pa06-046.htm</a>.

8 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants have been employed in its Rural Affairs Department in respect of Common Agricultural Policy subsidies to farmers; how many are required to administer the Single Farm Payments Scheme, and what savings are anticipated in (a) manpower and (b) cost.

Answer · Ross Finnie: CAP subsidies cover bothproduction-related and agri-environmental measures and together provide some£500 million of support to Scottish farmers each year. For the financial year2004-2005, the last full year for which statistics are available, 539.5full-time e…

11 Jan 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on increasing the threshold for claims that can be dealt with under the small-claims procedure.

Answer · Hugh Henry: We recognise that the case ismade for an increase in the jurisdiction limits. We are still trying to resolvecertain anomalies and difficulties in the different aspects so that we can bringproposals to Parliament as soon as possible.

26 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the board of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator to be proactive in overseeing the work of the new Scottish Charity Regulator.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Board of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), when it is established, will be responsible forsetting the strategic framework under which OSCR will operate and monitoring OSCR’sperformance. The operational work of OSCR will be undertaken by…

26 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for remunerating the chairs and members of public bodies, such as the board of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Chairs and members are remuneratedwhere a significant time commitment is required or where there is a need to ensurea more representational cross-section of people on the boards of Scottish publicbodies. Allowable expenses are reimbursed for all posts includi…

5 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned about the condition of the remains of the stonework at Yester Castle and what steps are being taken by Historic Scotland to ensure that the structure is kept in satisfactory repair.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is concerned about the condition of Yester Castle. Yester Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the responsibility for the management of the site rests with the owner. Historic Scotland has been working to ensure Yester Castle’s co…

5 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of the new roundabout on the former A1 road at East Linton; who took the decision to construct it, and how much it will cost.

Answer · Tavish Scott: East Lothian Council is responsible for the design and procurement of the roundabout. This £381,000 scheme is intended to improve access into East Linton following the change in traffic patterns brought about by the provision of the A1 Haddington to Dunbar Ex…

6 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on the proposal to build a 164 megawatt wind-powered generating system at Crystal Rig (Phase II), East Lothian and the Scottish Borders.

31 May 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what costs it has incurred in providing information in response to freedom of information requests.

Answer · Robert Brown: Since 1 January 2005 parliamentary staff have received 167 freedom of information requests which have taken 1,429.19 hours of staff time to complete. Using a £20 average hourly rate, we estimate that the SPCB has spent approximately £28,500 on handling…

31 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what signage will be provided to direct traffic from the A1 to the Concorde Experience at the Museum of Flight at East Fortune; what the cost to the museum will be, and when the signs will be erected.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Tourist signing already exists on the A1 trunk road to direct traffic to the Museum of Flight at East Fortune where Concorde is displayed. The Scottish Executive is not aware of any approach by the operator of the museum to request any changes to the existing…

4 May 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to promote cultural contacts and tourism from France based on the historic links between Scotland and France.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: France is very important to Scotland, not least as a major tourism market. As part of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale in 2004, the Executive delivered a very successful programme of cultural events linking Scotland and France. In order to build further …

13 Apr 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the New Deal has had on improving youth employment figures.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. According to Department for Work and Pensions data, since New Deal began 65,510 young people in Scotland have moved into jobs, of which 78 …

21 Mar 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps are being taken to prevent feral pigeons from nesting and roosting on the Holyrood building.

Answer · John Scott: A specialist survey in November 2004 established the current level of pigeon activity and identified actions to address problem areas. This looked at surrounding influences as well as those on site. The survey found that the pigeon population on site was not …

21 Mar 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has any plans to publish an illustrated hardback book about the Holyrood building for sale in the Parliament shop and elsewhere.

Answer · Andrew Welsh: A book about the Parliament building, written by Charles Jencks, has been published by Scala publishing. It is currently available from the Parliament shop. The Scottish Parliament Corporate Body will be considering later this year whether to publish a guideb…

9 Mar 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for major improvements to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The NationalGalleries of Scotland has been asked by the Scottish Executive to produce a comprehensive options appraisalfor the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This will inform the business case presentedto ministers.Plans for thePortrait Gallery wi…

4 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-3920 by Hugh Henry on 11 November 2004 regarding thresholds for the small claims procedure, when it intends to introduce amendments to these thresholds.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Our view has not changed thatthe case is made for increasing both the small claims limit and the privative limitof the Court of Session. We are continuing to consider all arguments and representationsas to the right levels.

4 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Forestry Commission's targets are for (a) replanting and (b) planting new trees for the current year; whether that target is being achieved, and what plans the Executive has to increase its budget for incentives to plant trees.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Forestry Commission Scotland does not set annual targets for private sector new planting. The average area of new planting in the last ten years, between 1995 and 2004, the most recent year for which we have figures, was just less than 10,000 hectares per …

2 Feb 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take any steps to assist local authorities and housing associations to acquire land for new affordable housing projects.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Over the next three years we are making £1.2 billion available to support affordable housing projects across Scotland. We expect that a further £500 million of private funding will be levered in as a result of our substantially increased investment. A sizeabl…

26 Jan 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations are being undertaken on a review of the right of tenants to buy houses belonging to local authorities and housing associations.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We have already consulted with interested parties on the structure of the report on the effect of the right to buy which requires to be presented to Parliament by September 2006. We will be engaging with stakeholders further during the preparation of the repo…

16 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the status is of the project which is underway to redevelop Parliament House in Edinburgh.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have agreed that the Scottish Court Service should suspend this project now in order to conduct a full options appraisal. Parliament House is an important historic building, and I remain committed to restoring it to a standard appropriate for the Supreme Co…

6 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the required timescale is for the finalisation of the local plans for East Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh and West Lothian and how that timescale can be reconciled with the new requirement for environmental impact assessments of these plans.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The recently approved Edinburgh and the Lothians Structure Plan requires these local plans to be finalised by the end of 2005. In producing the plans, the authorities will need to take account of a range of issues, including the recently introduced Strategic …