Mr Keith Harding

12 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost is of its current public meetings exercise involving the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister including the money allocated for market research, hiring facilities and publicity.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The total cost of a series of "Question Time" events will not be known until it is complete. So far, only one event has taken place, in Inverness. No further events in the series have yet been scheduled. To keep overall costs down, it is expected that these e…

14 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the cost of its Social Justice Annual Report 2000 including its publication, launch and distribution costs.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The publication, web conversion and distribution of the <I>Social Justice</I> <I>Annual Report 2000</I>, its summary and the technical companion cost £49,014. The launch cost £3133.

9 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money non-departmental public bodies are responsible for in the current financial year and were responsible for in each of the three previous years.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Financial information relating to Non-Departmental Public Bodies is contained in the annual Cabinet Office publication <I>Public Bodies</I>. Copies are available from the Cabinet Office website at <A HREF="http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/quango/index/pubs.ht…

7 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were for the publication, distribution and launch of its document Equality Strategy: Working Together for Equality.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The final costs of publication, distribution and launch of the <I>Equality</I> <I>Strategy</I> are likely to be around £22,000.

2 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs will consider visiting Bell Baxter High School in Cupar, Fife.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I am presently considering a programme of school visits and will take Bell Baxter High School into account in that process.

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8965 by Susan Deacon on 21 August 2000, whether additional funds are available to allow the immediate advertisement of the twelve new specialist posts in medical or clinical oncology or whether this recruitment will only take place following reductio…

Answer · Susan Deacon: NHS Management Executive Letter (2000) 24 issued on 28 April 2000, advised the NHS in Scotland of an increase in the Specialist Registrar (SpR) establishment in oncology. Five additional posts are to be allocated to medical oncology and seven extra posts to c…

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list by local authority the amount of uncollected non-domestic rates for each of the past five years.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Details of the sums billed by local authorities for non-domestic rates are not held centrally.

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce performance indicators for local authorities on the collection of non-domestic business rates, as is currently done for the collection of council tax.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive has no plans directly to introduce performance indicators for local authorities on the collection of non-domestic rates.

12 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of a "pressured area" in relation to the plans for exemption from the right to buy contained in its proposals for the Housing Bill.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: In the Consultation Paper <I>Better Homes for Scotland's Communities</I>, we explained that it was intended that local authorities would be able to designate pressured areas where there are particular difficulties in meeting the demand for socially rented hou…

22 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans, as part of its Modernising Government programme, to introduce a quality mark scheme for public bodies.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive is currently looking at the various quality awards in Scotland as part of our planned 21st Century Government programme.

20 Sep 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether voluntary organisations in Scotland will benefit from its newly announced spending plans.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: We value highly the contribution that the voluntary sector makes to policy development and service delivery. The budget for the voluntary sector's infrastructure, including the networks of Councils for Voluntary Service and Local Volunteer Development Agencie…

8 Sep 2000 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what the gross annual impact of the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds on the Scottish Parliament was in 1999-2000 and will be in 2000-01.

Answer · David Steel: There are two main Parliamentary Pension Schemes and they are affected differently by the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made arrangements to allow the staff of th…

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the gross annual impact of the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds was on its and the Scottish Office's running costs in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000 and what the estimated impact will be in 2000-01.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Staff employed by The Scottish Office and the Scottish Executive are eligible to be members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which is an unfunded scheme managed by the Cabinet Office. All participating employers are required to make paym…

5 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the gross annual impact was of the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds on (a) Scottish Tourist Board and each area tourist board, (b) the Scottish Prison Service and (c) Scottish Homes, in (i) 1997-98, (ii) 1998-99 and (iii) 1999-2000 and what is the estimat…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Staff of the Scottish Prison Service are civil servants and pensions are not paid from a funded scheme. I regret that information for the Scottish Tourist Board, Area Tourist Boards and Scottish Homes is not held centrally and could not be obtained in the tim…

18 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5713 by Mr Jack McConnell on 14 July 2000, what the gross annual impact of the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds on each local authority was in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and is expected to be in 2000-01.

Answer · Jack McConnell: We do not make such an assessment. Based on local authorities' own actuarial estimates, provision of £27 million for 1999-2000, £38.5 million for 2000-01 and £38.5 million for 2001-02 was made in the Comprehensive Spending Review for the abolition of ACT cred…

10 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take in light of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities report that #1 billion is needed to bring Scotland's roads network up to standard.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Minister for Finance and Local Government announced on 7 December that councils are to benefit from record levels of grant support over the next three years, including a 40% increase in capital allocations. These allocations include the extra £70 million …

10 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Cabinet sub-committee established to examine the recommendations of the Kerley Report to be in a position to inform the Parliament of the outcome of its deliberations.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The Ministerial Working Group will meet shortly to begin its consideration of the recommendations of the Kerley Report. At this stage it is not possible to give a firm date by which the working group will have reached its conclusions.

10 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage local authorities and other public bodies to utilise the services of Constructionline.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I refer you to the answer to question S1W-3771 which confirmed that the Scottish Executive is taking steps to encourage the public sector to use the Constructionline database when sourcing contractors and suppliers of professional services.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">…

4 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of the publication (design, photocopying, printing, Internet connection of text, distribution and costs of launch) of the Better Homes for Scotland's Communities report.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: £33,200.

4 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what were the total costs of the publication (design, photocopying, printing, Internet connection of text, distribution and cost of launch) of the Renewing Local Democracy Working Group report.

Answer · Frank McAveety: I refer Keith Harding to the answer I gave to question S1W-8350 on 12 July which dealt with publication costs. The launch was held in the Scottish Executive's Media Centre and the only cost involved was for tea, coffee and biscuits which was met centrally by …

31 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the current incidence of cancers and the associated need for treatment and palliative care, what the national manpower plan for medical and clinical oncologists is for the next ten years.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. As noted in my reply to S1W-3216 (also from Mr Harding), workforce planning is an integral part of the planning cycle for the NHS in Scotland. To provide continuity of care for patients, spe…

31 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when a conclusion will be reached on whether there is an increased national requirement for radiotherapy equipment and staffing, given the current incidence of cancers and level of access to radiotherapy treatment.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. The Scottish Executive, in conjunction with the Scottish Cancer Group, has worked in close collaboration with the NHS to develop a coherent programme of linear accelerator refurbishment and r…

6 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the consultation document Better Homes for Scotland's Communities have been published, and whether it will list those individuals and organisations to which it has been distributed.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Copies of <I>Better Homes for Scotland's Communities</I>, published on 5 July 2000, have been sent to all MSPs, Scottish MPs and MEPs, to all Scottish local authorities and registered housing associations, and to relevant Whitehall departments. Copies have al…

6 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the report of the Renewing Local Democracy Working Group have been published, and whether it will list those individuals and organisations to which it has been distributed.

Answer · Frank McAveety: 4,000 copies of the report of Renewing Local Democracy Working Group were published. The report is also on the Internet and has had over 800 visits, it can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library2/doc16/rldw-00.asp">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/…

5 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provision of support and funding of counselling services for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse is a matter for health boards; if so, which health boards currently provide such support and funding; what the level of funding was for each health board in the last year for…

Answer · Iain Gray: Under <I>The Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland</I> published in 1997, it is for health boards and NHS Trusts to plan and deliver an appropriate level of provision for the treatment and rehabilitation of people with psychological disorders based…

4 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to improve the protection of birds of prey in Scotland given the findings of the report of the UK raptor working group.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I have asked Scottish Natural Heritage to consult interested organisations and provide formal advice to me on the recommendations in the UK Raptor Working Group by spring 2001. The Scottish Executive will give careful consideration to SNH's advice before resp…

4 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking as part of its forestry strategy to protect biodiversity and, in particular, to halt the decline in the capercaillie population due to deaths on deer fencing and disturbance of lek sites, in part as a result of forestry operations.

Answer · John Home Robertson: We are currently developing our Scottish Forestry Strategy. This will reaffirm our commitment to the UK Biodiversity Action Plans, including the Species Action Plan for capercaillie.<P>The Forestry Commission, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Deer Commission fo…

30 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Children and Education will now visit Bell Baxter High School in Cupar, in view of the HMI Report on the conditions of the Westport buildings.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The responsibility for the condition of the buildings at Bell Baxter High School lies with Fife Council. I am aware of concerns about the accommodation at the Westport site. However, Fife Council have reinstated to their capital programme the proposal to cons…

28 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish local authorities undertake regular cycles of road maintenance on the roads in their area and, if so, whether this cycle of maintenance complies with either the highway maintenance code of good practice or the Society of Chief Officers for Transportation in Scotland's sta…

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not hold the information requested.

14 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what budget it has set aside to cover the costs of its Renewing Local Democracy Working Group and how much has been spent to date.

Answer · Frank McAveety: As indicated in the reply to question S1W-7333, the budget for costs of the Renewing Local Democracy Working Group is £30,100. £2,482.86 has been spent to date and the remainder of the budget is allocated to meeting the costs of producing and distributing the…