Parliamentary questions

Kenneth Gibson

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

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of "pensioner" for the purposes of entitlement under its central heating installation programme.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: A pensioner is a person who is aged 60 or over.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how pensioners on low income will fund the installation of central heating in their home should the installation cost be higher than the #2,500 available under its central heating installation programme.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The grant for the heating system will cover the main living areas in the home; being the living room, the hall, the bathroom and the main bedroom(s). There will be no additional charge for this work if it exceeds £2,500, but a pensioner may pay to extend the …

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average cost of installing a central heating system is and what proportion of pensioners do not currently have a central heating system.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: We estimate that the package on offer can be installed at an average cost of £2,500 per dwelling. It will be for the managing agent, the local authorities and housing associations to ensure that this is achieved for their respective sectors. We estimate that …

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12618 by Jackie Baillie on 1 February 2001, how many pensioners in Glasgow will benefit from the central heating and insulation programme between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2002, broken down by tenure.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The information is not available at this time, but the numbers will depend upon the approaches taken by Glasgow City Council in respect of council stock and the Managing Agent in respect of stock in the private sector.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13129 by Jackie Baillie on 12 March 2001, whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority area of the 8,000 pensioner households in the private rented sector that it anticipates will benefit from its central heating installation programme.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: A breakdown of this information by local authority area is not available.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) council tenants, (b) owner-occupiers and (c) private tenants will receive new central heating systems in each year of the operation of its central heating installation programme, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The information is not available in the form requested. Allocations of resources have been made for 2001-02, and allocations for future years will be made at the appropriate time, taking account of progress towards the target.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to develop the recycling market.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17123 on 21 August 2001.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the targets for recycling set out by The Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) have not yet been met and when implementation of this directive will be achieved through the national waste strategy.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The relevant data on the recovery and recycling of packaging waste are incomplete as some businesses have yet to submit data or are in the process of reviewing their previous estimates. It is therefore too early to say whether the United Kingdom has achieved …

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that private sewage discharges comply with the provisions of the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Without a consent from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, private sewage discharges, like any other discharge of "poisonous, noxious or polluting matter", would in all but exceptional cases - such as, in an emergency, to avoid danger to lif…

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that nitrogen dioxide levels fall below an annual mean of 40 micrograms per cubic metre in towns and cities.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Environment Act 1995 requires local authorities to carry out a review and assessment of air quality within their areas and take action where air quality objectives are unlikely to be met within a set timescale. These requirements are set out in more detai…

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to reverse the anticipated population decline over the course of this century.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive does not operate any specific policies to influence the overall size or age structure of the population. Long-term planning aims to be sufficiently flexible to cope with change in these. However, our Framework for Economic Developmen…

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the Chancellor of the Exchequer is consulted on, or otherwise involved in, policy issues.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Scottish Ministers work closely and constructively with their counterparts in the UK Government and, to that end, have regular discussions with United Kingdom Ministers on a wide range of subjects.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it reconciles the figure of 70,000 children lifted out of poverty given by the First Minister on 1 February 2001 in the debate on Working together for Scotland: A Programme for Government (Official Report, col.807) with the statement in the latest Household Below Average Income Survey…

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The First Minister's remarks on children in poverty referred to the change in the estimated number of children living in low income households between 1996-97 and 1998-99, a more detailed explanation of which was given in answer to question S1W-13002. The dro…

25 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, or plans to take, in the light of the report by the Aberlour Child Care Trust, the University of York, Extern, Children's Promise and The Children's Society, Missing Out - Young Runaways in Scotland.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: In addition to the information which I gave in my answer to question S1W-15504 in May 2001, I am pleased to announce that we recently awarded funding of just under £100,000 over three years to Aberlour Child Care Trust's project "Running - Other Choices&…

25 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications under the Scottish Community Investment Fund have been made to date and how much funding has been (a) raised since the fund was launched, (b) allocated to projects and (c) spent on projects.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: We announced plans for a loan fund in November 1999. A small development team was established with three members of staff seconded from the Bank of Scotland and Scottish Enterprise to take work forward. The team have recently successfully concluded negotiatio…

25 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its Social Economy Review and whether its publication has been delayed.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: Scoping work for a review of the social economy is under way. The review itself will commence soon and I expect to publish a report by the end of the year.

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning's statement in Scotland on Sunday on 1 July 2001 that "Soon all Scotland's pensioners will have the right to a central heating system to tackle hypothermia" and whether it will confirm by what date all pensioners w…

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The statement by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning refers to the Executive's Central Heating Programme. The principal benefits are that it will help to improve the health of the elderly and lower the incidence of cold-related illnesses. There …

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what evidence the statement "This autumn a poor Scottish student will have #1000 more to live on than a new student in 1979" by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning in Scotland on Sunday on 1 July 2001 is based.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: A young Scottish student starting a full-time course in Scotland from this month will have access to a total maintenance package of grant and loan worth £4,315, where their family income is £15,000 or below. Up to £2,000 of this support will be payable as bur…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001, why there has been a net reduction of #26 million in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 Transport budgets and what impact this will have on the delivery of transport priorities.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The adjustments to the transport programme, which are to fund other Executive priorities, are set out in the following table. The SPT adjustment will bring provision in line with payments due under the franchise and is not expected to affect operations and se…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001, why there has been a net reduction of #30 million in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 Enterprise and Lifelong Learning budgets and what impact this will have on the delivery of the Enterprise an…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The net reduction of £30m in the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning budgets occurs within the spending plans for the Students Awards Agency for Scotland and amounts to £10m in each of the 3 years 2001-02 to 2003-04.This reduction will have no…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001, why there has been a net reduction of #35 million in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 Social Justice budgets, and what impact this will have on the delivery of social justice priorities.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16746.

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10148 by Jackie Baillie on 15 November 2000, whether there has been any change in the funding arrangements for the central heating initiative and what progress there has been in discussions with Scottish Gas, Scottish Power, Scottish Hydro-electric a…

Answer · Jackie Baillie: A further £5 million is being put into the Central Heating Programme this year so that councils considering transfer to community ownership can install central heating systems on the same timescale as the other local authoriti…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the use of the timber preservative chromated copper arsenic in children's playgrounds.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Enforcement of health and safety provisions for playgrounds is a reserved matter.The issue of chromated copper arsenate will be considered by the European Union in the autumn of this year and the Executive will consider any resulting advice or recommendati…

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are known to have been injured by air guns in each of the last three years.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is given in Table 9, page 15 of the Statistical Bulletin "Recorded Crimes & Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 1999" published by the Scottish Executive in September 2000, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Refe…

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it proposes to set a target date for the implementation of development funding transfers in relation to the new executive agency for housing.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive is currently working with local authorities and Scottish Homes to agree arrangements for the transfer of development funding to local authorities. We do not intend to set a target date for transfer.

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the money made available for improving services for older people, as announced in the ministerial statement by Susan Deacon on 5 October 2000, was new money.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: On 5 October the Minister announced that an additional £25 million per annum had been set aside to provide free nursing care and that an additional £30 million, £36 million and £60 million would be provided to local authorities in the years 2001-02, 2002-03 a…

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the recruitment of police officers.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The number of police officers in Scotland reached an all time high in March 2001. The funding made available to the police service, which is more than a third higher in real terms than ten years ago, is intended to sustain this level. These resources, combine…

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to improve co-operation and the co-ordination of resources and strategies between local government and the NHS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Effective joint working between the NHSScotland, local authorities and other agencies is central to the Scottish Executive's Health and Community Care policies.Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change (December 2000), Rebuilding …

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact growing up in a smoking environment has on the physical and intellectual development of a child.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There is evidence that children exposed to passive smoking are at increased risk of serious respiratory illness, asthma attacks, and middle ear disease. Infants are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.The World Health Organ…

13 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Enterprise business birth rate strategy has been successful.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The recent independent review of the Business Birth Rate Strategy (BBRS) by the Fraser of Allander Institute indicates that the BBRS has had a positive effect-if not as much as was originally hoped. The report recognises that there have been improvements in m…