Parliamentary questions

Kenneth Gibson

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

20 Jun 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what date the backlog of outstanding school repairs will be cleared at current levels of expenditure.

Answer · Jack McConnell: We are currently discussing with local authority representatives school building needs in order to clarify the level of need for improvement, and establish strategic priorities for future funding.

23 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish an urban task force.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive is pursuing a wide range of initiatives of relevance to urban Scotland, including work on social justice, housing, transport, local governance, health, education and the environment. The Executive intends to build on these initiatives i…

23 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are issued with regard to the quality of school meals

Answer · Jack McConnell: Local authorities are responsible for school meal provision and content. To assist them with this, Model Nutritional Guidelines for Catering Specifications for the Public Sector in Scotland, were published in 1996.

3 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement the World Health Organisation's international code for marketing breast milk substitutes and, if so, by what date.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is fully committed to the promotion of breastfeeding, which is uniformly accepted as the best form of nutrition for infants.The provisions and restrictions on information, including advertising, relating to infant formula and follow-…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were injured in accidents involving footways in each of the last three years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Data about accidents on roads (including footways) in which a vehicle is involved, and which result in death or personal injury, are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. Information about a…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide additional resources to local authorities to improve community relations and develop strategies to encourage awareness and understanding between local residents and asylum seekers.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for local authorities and I know that, particularly in Glasgow, much good work is being done within existing resources. The key is to have strategies in place to encourage awareness and understanding between local residents and asylum seekers…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether heroin addicts on methadone should be gradually weaned off the drug or remain on it for life.

Answer · Iain Gray: Clinical guidance issued to all medical practitioners involved in treating drug misuse in 1999 acknowledges that some people can become drug-free in the short term, others require support over a long period of time.Substitute prescribing of methadone shoul…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much is being spent on heroin addicts on methadone programmes in the current financial year, broken down by health board area.

Answer · Iain Gray: Information on the total cost of treating heroin addicts with methadone is not held centrally.Total costs include the cost of the methadone, fees to pharmicists to dispense methadone and to supervise consumption, the cost of counselling and social support …

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many users of class "A" drugs there currently are in each local authority area and how much funding has been provided to each local authority to deal with drug misuse in the current financial year.

Answer · Iain Gray: Information on the number of users of class "A" drugs is not held centrally. The Executive, however, is currently funding a National Prevalence Study of Problematic Drug Use, which will assist DATs, local authorities and health boards to determine t…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the extra resources for Greater Glasgow Health Board recommended in Fair Shares for All, the Report of the Arbuthnott Inquiry will be made available.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has already made considerable progress in providing extra resources to Greater Glasgow Health Board in line with the recommendations in the Final Report of the Arbuthnott Committee. In 2000-01 every health board in Scotland has received…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what services are currently available for young runaways and what plans it has for the future provision of such services.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Services for young runaways are provided by a wide range of statutory, voluntary and private agencies. The Scottish Executive is helping to tackle many of the underlying problems which can cause children to run away. We are supporting a variety of initiatives…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many refuges exist for sixteen-year-olds who run away from home, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally, but the Social Work Information Review Group will consider collecting data on refuges as part of the current data standards review. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 gives local authorities powers to provide short-term r…

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a vote of no confidence in a tenants' representative member of the board of Glasgow Housing Association by that individual's tenants' association ensures that person's exclusion from the board and replacement by another tenants' representative.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15410.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Glasgow City Council staff it expects to transfer to the Glasgow Housing Association in the event of stock transfer, broken down by current department.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15312 on 9 May 2001.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used in selecting tenants' representatives to serve on the board of Glasgow Housing Association.

Answer · Margaret Curran: That is a matter for Glasgow Housing Association in line with the provisions of its constitution.

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why output in the Scottish service sector in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2000, as reported in Lloyds TSB Business Monitor Issue 13-Winter 2001, grew by less than half the United Kingdom average and what steps are being taken to ensure Scotland's service sector grows by at le…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: he following table gives a breakdown of official Scottish and UK GDP growth rates in the four quarters to 2000 Q3, compared with the preceding four quarters, for the published sectors within services.Scottish & UK 4 quarter on 4 quarter …