Parliamentary questions

Mr Keith Harding

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

28 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it paid to Geoff Peart Consulting for analysing the responses to its consultation paper, Review of Strategic Planning, and the subsequent preparation and publication of Review of Strategic Planning Consultation Paper: Analysis of Responses, published on 27 February 2002.

Answer · Iain Gray: Geoff Peart Consulting was paid £7,315 for analysing the responses and for preparing a report of the analysis. The cost of publishing the full report, an executive summary and a summary of the research findings on 27 February was £4,192.

27 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to publish, print and distribute the Homelessness Task Force's final report Helping Homeless People - An Action Plan for Prevention and Effective Response.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Homelessness Task Force's final report, and its companion document, Research for the Homelessness Task Force: A summary, cost £964 to publish, £6,716 to print and approximately £1,000 to distribute. These costs relate to the publishing and printing…

27 Feb 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Social Justice last met representatives of Fife Council and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Iain Gray: I last met representatives of Fife Council on 29 January when, along with representatives of the other councils neighbouring Edinburgh, we discussed the Cities Review.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to change the discretionary powers available to councils in respect of council tax discounts for holiday homes.

Answer · Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23476.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to undertake a revaluation of properties with a view to reassessing council tax bands.

Answer · Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23476.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the number of council tax bands.

Answer · Peter Peacock: This matter falls within the remit of the current inquiry by the Local Government Committee into local government finance. We will give careful consideration to any recommendation the committee makes about it.

20 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been given to the Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund in each of the past five years, who its trustees are and what political affiliations they have.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund (UVAF) is a trust that provides grants to assist voluntary projects in Scotland. The following tables detail Scottish Executive funding to UVAF in each of the past five years. The Executive provides grant-in-aid to the fun…

20 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering making the promotion of home safety a statutory requirement for local authorities.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has no plans to make the promotion of home safety a statutory requirement for local authorities.

20 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of printing, publishing and distributing its Appointments to Non-Departmental Public Bodies in Scotland of February 2002.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The total cost of printing, publishing and distributing the Annual Report on Appointments to Non-Departmental Public Bodies in Scotland was £2,900. The report is published in accordance with the recommendations of the First Report of the Committee on S…

13 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which councillors of Clackmannanshire, Fife, Perth and Kinross and Stirling Councils have been appointed to remunerative positions on health boards, enterprise companies and other similar centrally-funded bodies in each of the last three years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is as follows:Clackmannanshire Council<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP">Name</TD><TD WIDTH="35%" VALIGN="TOP">Public Body</TD><TD WIDTH="25%" VALIGN="TOP">Period of Appoi…

13 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SE0324/02 of 12 February 2002, what budget has been set aside for each of the next three years in order to cover the cost of the Older People's Consultative Forum.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The costs of the Older People's Consultative Forum comprise secretariat and travel costs. They are being met from within existing running costs.

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of Communities Scotland's Quality News are issued each year and what the total annual cost is of printing, publication and distribution.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows: Communities Scotland's Quality News is issued twice a year. The combined print run for the last two issues was 9,500 copies. The total cost f…

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any guidance it issues to local authorities concerning the awarding of grants to outside bodies and organisations.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive expects local authorities to have regard to the Code of Guidance on Funding External Bodies and Following the Public Pound issued jointly by the Accounts Commission for Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The Exec…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided any financial or other assistance to the Third Age Group, based in Fife, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Third Age Group received a grant of £15,000 in 1995-96, £15,000 in 1996-97 and £7,500 in 1997-98 from the Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund.The Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund is a trust that provides grants to assist voluntary action projects in Scotl…

25 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of printing, publishing and distributing its Scottish Economic Report: January 2002.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The total cost of printing, publishing and distributing the Scottish Economic Report, January 2002, is estimated at £11,730.

21 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides financial support, through Grant Aided Expenditure or other mechanisms, towards the provision of local authority run animal centres; if so, which local authorities currently receive any such support and how much each of these local authorities receive.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Revenue grant provided to local authorities is largely unhypothecated and is available for councils to spend on the whole range of council services. No funding is set aside specifically for local authority run animal centres.

18 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to complete the sale of local authority houses within the national target time of 26 weeks.

Answer · Iain Gray: Although ministers expect that council house sales should take no longer than six months to complete, there is no statutory time limit within which sales must be completed. Local authorities are encouraged to complete sales within six months through the in…

18 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to reduce local authority housing rent arrears.

Answer · Margaret Curran: In June 2000 the Accounts Commission and Scottish Homes published a report on Managing Rent Arrears, which recommended actions that should be taken by local authorities and registered social landlords to improve their management of rent arrears. In add…

17 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it issues any guidance to local authorities concerning payment of councillors' allowances and expenses in advance.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Local authorities are required to set up and administer schemes for payment of allowances to council members. There is general guidance on the payment of allowances but no specific guidance has been issued on the payment of allowances and expenses in advance.

16 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of publication, printing and distribution of its January 2002 report A survey of local authority provision for arts and culture, including fees paid to consultants Bonnar Keenlyside.

Answer · Elaine Murray: The full costs of the publication were £16,182.

16 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of every individual allocation of money it has made to Fife Council in this financial year and for what purpose each such allocation was made.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Details can be found in the document Allocations of Central Government Grant to Local Authorities 2001-02, a copy of which is held in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 19464).

16 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to local authorities to support and develop their arts and cultural activities.

Answer · Elaine Murray: The Executive continues to provide unprecedented levels of investment to local government. The allocation of these funds to different activities is, of course, a matter for the individual authorities. However, the Scottish Arts Council has a range of programm…

16 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) Fife Council and (b) Clackmannanshire Council have spent on arts and cultural services, expressed in monetary and per capita terms, in each of the last four years.

Answer · Elaine Murray: Figures for arts and culture are not identified separately in reports to the Executive. The figures reported for the sport, arts and culture sector are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=612><TR><TD WIDTH="19%" VA…

11 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to prevent job losses in Glenrothes.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Tackling unemployment in any area remains a high priority for the Scottish Executive and the enterprise networks.Scottish Enterprise Fife is focusing on the direction and priorities set out in the Executive's A Smart, Successful Scotland. This sets …

11 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently employed in its Improving Regulation in Scotland unit and what its budget is for (a) 2001-02 and (b) 2002-03.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit is currently staffed by the equivalent of 2.5 full-time staff with additional support being given where necessary. The running costs of the unit are contained within those of the Enterprise and Industry Division and c…

11 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance, financial or otherwise, it provides to Planning Aid for Scotland.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does not provide any financial or other assistance to Planning Aid for Scotland.The Executive's consultation paper on Getting Involved in Planning highlights the need to consider with local authorities and the profession, ways…

8 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what options were available to the Parliament in respect of supporting MSPs and staff with childcare costs, prior to the decision to introduce a vouchers scheme and engage an external organisation to provide this service.

Answer · David Steel: The SPCB considered a number of options to support MSPs and staff with childcare costs before deciding to introduce a childcare voucher scheme. These were:the provision of an on-site nursery in the Parliament's interim accommodation;the creation of a ne…

8 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what remuneration or fee will be received by Family Matters annually in respect of providing the new childcare voucher scheme and any other services for MSPs and staff.

Answer · David Steel: Information about contract fees is commercially sensitive and, as such, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) cannot disclose this information. To do so could cause significant damage both to the legitimate commercial interests of our supplier, and…

8 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer whether Family Matters was selected as the provider of the new childcare voucher scheme for MSPs and staff by open competition and, if so, which other providers were considered.

Answer · David Steel: Three companies were invited to tender for this contract. The two other providers were Busy Bees and Accor Corporate Services.

18 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of printing, publishing and distributing its document Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 1999-2000.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The total costs of printing, publishing and distributing the Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 1999-2000 report are estimated at £6,200.