Kenneth Gibson

25 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of young people aged 18 and under smoked in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Trend data are not available for smoking among young people aged 18 and under. The nearest available information are from a survey carried out by National Centre for Social Research and the National Foundation for Education Research. These data show the perce…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people resident in Scotland have flown on package holidays from airports outside Scotland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Estimates based on interviews with about 0.2% of travellers, as part of the International Passenger Survey, have been provided by the Office for National Statistics. <P>Visits abroad by Scottish residents on a package holiday which were made by flying from an…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has referred any company to the Director General of Fair Trading in respect of the application of excessive flight supplements for passengers travelling on package holidays from Scottish airports.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has not made any references to the Office of Fair Trading regarding supplements on charter flights from Scottish airports.

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the five main causes of death were for (a) males and (b) females aged 35 years and under in each year from 1991 to 2001.

Answer · Richard Simpson: All deaths in Scotland are coded according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) which is promulgated by the World Health Organisation. As with all classifications, the ICD tends to group minor categories and split up larger categories. Any ch…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has established any pilot projects to assist in the preparation for the possible introduction of the euro.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Details of the UK Government's euro preparations work was set out in the <I>Fifth Report on Euro Preparations</I>, published in November 2001. The Scottish Executive has not established any pilot projects as part of that work. The government will continue to …

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was last represented on the joint central/local government working group set up by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to consider the possible introduction of the euro and what progress affecting Scotland has been made by the group.

Answer · Andy Kerr: COSLA represents Scottish interests on the group.

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to prepare its departments for the possible introduction of the euro.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive took the first steps in 1999 to prepare its departments for the possibility of the UK adopting the euro. Finance staff visited key contacts within the Scottish Executive, in the NHS in Scotland, and in a selection of non-deparmental pub…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, for each local authority, what percentage of the authority's bills from contractors and suppliers were paid at least 30 days from the due date for payment in the last year for which figures are available.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The information requested is given in table 5 of the Accounts Commission report, <I>Performance Indicators 2000/2001: Benefits, Finance and Corporate Issues</I>, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 18782).

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many exclusions there have been from (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive's annual survey regarding the number of primary and secondary pupils excluded from local authority schools in Scotland commenced in 1998. The figures for the three years documented are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of capital receipts from the disposal of housing assets was set aside by local authorities to repay debts in each of the financial years from 1997-98 to 2001-02, expressed in real terms and broken down by local authority.

Answer · Iain Gray: The amount of capital receipts from the disposal of housing assets set aside by local authorities to repay debt in the years 1997-98 to 2001-02 are set out, in both actual and real terms, in the following tables. <P>Amounts received as result of housing capit…

20 Mar 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken to secure continued manufacturing at the Rolls Royce plant in Hillington, Glasgow.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Along with officials at the Executive and Scottish Development International, I have been in regular close contact with Rolls Royce over a number of months. We are working hard to ensure that this important company continues to develop its manufacturing prese…

19 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made, or plans to make, to Her Majesty's Government on Scotland being given full fiscal autonomy.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has not, and does not, plan to make representation to the UK Government on this matter.

6 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the Plotnikoff and Woolfson Report Implementation Group are; when the implementation group has met; when it next expects to meet in the current year, and when it expects to complete its work.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Plotnikoff and Woolfson Report was commissioned to assist the Lord Advocate's Working Group on Child Witness Support. The membership of the Child Witness Support Implementation Group, which is taking forward the working group's recommendations, comprises …

20 Feb 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to implement the Plotnikoff and Woolfson report An Evaluation of Child Witness Support.

Answer · Richard Simpson: Plotnikoff and Woolfson's report informed the deliberations of the Lord Advocate's Working Group on Child Witness Support. It also helped to shape the 43 individual recommendations made in the working group's report, published in 1999. These recommendations a…

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government in regard to the establishment of an enterprise 'one on land near or adjacent to the M74 northern extension.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22879.

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government in regard to the establishment of an enterprise 'one for Glasgow.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Executive has no plans for the establishment of further Enterprise Zones.

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates to be the cost to (a) local authorities and (b) the NHS of the recent severe weather damage.

Answer · Andy Kerr: No local authority has submitted information on increased costs to the Executive. No information about additional costs has been received by the Executive from NHS trusts.

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that derelict and vacant land reclamation in sites near or adjacent to the M74 northern extension is carried out simultaneously with the construction of the road.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is working with the local authorities and Scottish Enterprise to ensure that they are aware of the opportunities that the M74 will create for the regeneration and reclamation of the land along the road corridor.

7 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fully fund the cost of bus travel for pensioners and those with special needs travelling off peak from October 2002.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has reached agreement with COSLA and the local authorities on a funding package to meet the cost of enhancing existing concessionary travel schemes to provide free local off-peak bus travel from October 2002.

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to support and fund the extension of partnerships such as the Challenging Offending through Support and Intervention Project, developed jointly by North Lanarkshire Council Social Work Department and Barnardos, to other local authority areas.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive is investing £23.5 million over the four years to 2004 to support the development across Scotland of programmes such as CHOSI for persistent offenders. Our Action Programme to reduce youth crime, published in January 2002, states that we will pr…

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government about the implementation of the proposed Community Investment Tax Credit and what the outcome of any such discussions has been.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the proposed Community Investment Tax Credit. In his Pre-Budget Report in November 2001 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the tax credit will…

4 Feb 2002 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assistance the Scottish Executive will provide to local authorities in order to assist in repairing damage caused by the recent severe weather conditions.

Answer · Jack McConnell: We will consider triggering the Bellwin scheme if local authorities can establish that they have incurred exceptional costs. We have had no requests to trigger the scheme in relation to the recent gales.

24 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used in selecting 4 March 2002 as the date for the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The selection of the ballot date is a matter for Glasgow City Council.

23 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the growth rate in jobs was in Glasgow in each year from 1996 to 2001 and what it is expected to be in each year until 2006.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Data from the ONS's Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Employment Survey shows that the growth rate for jobs in Glasgow City for each year is:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=134><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZ…

23 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to stimulate net capital expenditure in Glasgow's manufacturing sector.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: In financial years 1996-2001 we made offers of Regional Selective Assistance amounting to £137,882,650 towards projects involving capital expenditure of £822,335,910 in the Glasgow Travel to Work Area.

23 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the installation of condensing boilers has not been specified in the terms of its Central Heating Installation Programme.

Answer · Iain Gray: The specification for the Central Heating Installation Programme does not prevent the installation of condensing boilers. The specifications were set in terms of performance levels and not on the basis of make or form of heating.

9 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Communities budget was in real terms in 2000-01; what the Social Justice budget is in real terms in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04; which of its divisions have moved from the ministerial portfolio of the former Minister for Communities and the present Minister for Social Justice si…

Answer · Iain Gray: The table sets out the Communities budget for 2000-01 and Social Justice budgets for 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 in real terms.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=366><TR><TD WIDTH="28%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">B…

9 Jan 2002 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what steps it is taking to reduce the incidence of chlamydia among young people.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: One component of the £3 million Healthy Respect national health demonstration project seeks to increase awareness of chlamydia among young people and to pilot accessible chlamydia testing opportunities in a range of non-medical settings. Its short-term aim is…

13 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has with Glasgow City Council about planned teacher redundancies.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. We have had no discussions with Glasgow City Council on this issue.

13 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list capital and revenue allocations to each social inclusion partnership area in real terms for each year since the partnerships were established to 2002-03 and how much of the expenditure allocated to each partnership has been spent in each of these years to date.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Allocations and expenditure for 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 (allocations only), for the 48 Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIP), are shown in the tables, all expressed in 2000-01 real terms. From 2001-02 there is no capital/revenue split. Table 1<T…