Parliamentary questions

Kenneth Gibson

2,008 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

10 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to consult on its proposals to abolish the council tax.

Answer · John Swinney: I will publish a consultation document on this issue later today. Copies will be available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 44281) and can be viewed at the abolition of council tax consultation website <a href="http://www.scotland.…

6 Mar 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Energy Action Scotland regarding its review of the fuel poverty reduction programmes.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and myself will meet this afternoon with Energy Action Scotland and a number of other stakeholders to discuss their view of the current fuel poverty situation and the best way of ensuring stakeholder participatio…

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the the SIGN guidelines for Parkinson’s disease will incorporate treatments such as continuous dopamine stimulation and deep brain stimulation in complex and advanced stage Parkinson’s disease treatments.

Answer · Shona Robison: The SIGN Guideline remit is the diagnosis and pharmaceutical management of Parkinson''s disease. SIGN will therefore not be considering deep brain stimulation for inclusion. As a neurosurgical intervention, it falls outwith the remit for the guideline. <…

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average it takes each NHS board to assess patients under the exceptional circumstances route.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Assessments regarding exceptional circumstances are determined by the clinical circumstances in each case and for this reason there is no prescribed deadline for completion of an assessment. Information regarding the time taken to consider individual cases is…

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients suffered from idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The exact number of people diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson''s disease in Scotland is not available centrally. An estimate, based on the numbers consulting a member of their practice team for the conditions in practices participating in Practice T…

21 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses in the Cunninghame North parliamentary constituency will benefit from the recently announced reduction in business rates.

Answer · John Swinney: Information on small businessesin the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which maybe eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available for thelocal authori…

5 Dec 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup or the 2016 European Football Championship.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The decision on whetherto bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup or the 2016 European Football Championshipis ultimately a matter for the Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Associationto take following consultation with the Scottish Government.

22 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many babies were born at gestation of (a) 28 weeks or less and (b) 37 weeks or less and how many of these survived in each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

Answer · Shona Robison: The informationavailable is shown in table 1.Table1: Number of Babies born at Gestations of 28 Weeks or Less and 37 Weeks or Lessand How Many of these Babies Survived; Scotland, 1999 - 2005<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=577> <the…

31 Oct 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to further enhance the provision of nursery education.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We are committed toincreasing nursery entitlement for three and four-year-olds by 50% and to provideaccess to a teacher for every child in pre-school, starting in deprived communities.Initial steps towards achieving these commitments were announced by the Cab…

26 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that all teachers are able to access higher salaries, in light of the cost of the Chartered Teacher Scheme and the length of time required to gain Chartered Teacher status.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Chartered Teacherproject is open to all teachers at the top of the main grade salary scale who havemaintained a CPD Portfolio. There are two routes available to teachers: the programmeroute (a twelve module masters degree), and the accreditation route (in…

24 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the appointment of members to the reconstituted Committee on Radioactive Waste Management.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I am pleased to announcethe appointment of the reconstituted Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM).While we would not look to CoRWM to provideadvice to the Scottish Government on deep geological disposal, we will still be actively engaging …

24 Oct 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to decentralise decision-making to local communities.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Governmentis committed to doing more to empower individuals and communities to have more controlover their own lives and more choice in how their needs are met. To this end, weare holding a series of meetings with a range of stakeholders who have…

2 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the impact on Scotland of the 2012 London Olympics.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The ScottishGovernment is keen to ensure that all major sporting events, including the 2012games, can provide an opportunity to increase sports participation in Scotland and inspire people to become involved in sport inmany ways. We are confident that top Sco…

28 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what educational basis open plan and semi-open plan classes are considered beneficial or of greater benefit than traditional classrooms.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Local authoritiesare responsible for ensuring that the schools in their area, whatever thedesign, are capable of providing an appropriate environment for effectivelearning and teaching. Consideration of the educational merits of open plan, orsemi-open plan, c…

28 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what decisions it has reached on designating new areas for the creation of crofts outside the crofting counties.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Governmentexpect to consult later this year on a proposal to extend crofting tenure inScotland to the island of Arran and the remaining parts of the Highlands andIslands Enterprise area not currently within the Crofting Counties.The propos…

27 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how and when it will report on the work of the Housing Supply Task Force.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The purpose of theHousing Supply Task Force is to promote action and to make a practical differenceto the delivery of housing across Scotland. The taskforce will be challenging those with responsibility for delivery and pressing forchange where this is hamper…

12 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money, including housing association grant, was paid to registered social landlords under the Scottish Homes approved development programme in each year from 1989-90 to 1995-96.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:Grants paid to registered social landlords, through ScottishHomes approved development programme from 1989-90 to 1995-96 were as follows:<…

3 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were prosecuted for stealing one or more dogs in each of the last three years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requestedcannot be identified separately from other thefts in the data held centrally.

3 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs were reported stolen in each of the last three years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The recordedcrime statistics do not identify details of individual crimes, such as thenature of items which have been stolen, however police forces may be able tosupply this information if contacted directly.