Parliamentary questions
Kenneth Gibson
2,008 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to provide free school milk to (a) all schoolchildren whose parents are in receipt of either income support or working families tax credit and (b) other schoolchildren.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended, all local authorities must provide free milk, meals and other refreshments to children whose parents are in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or support provided under Part VI of…
13 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of schoolchildren at (a) primary level and (b) secondary level received free school milk, broken down by local authority for the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Information on the proportion of schoolchildren who receive free school milk in schools is not collected centrally.
13 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is for a child to receive free school milk throughout the school year.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Information on the cost of providing free school milk in schools is not collected centrally.
13 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of children lived in households with an income below the poverty line as defined by the Child Poverty Action Group for each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information requested cannot be provided at local authority level.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Information currently available on household income is drawn from the Households Below Average Income dataset and the Family Resources Survey which do not have sufficient…
13 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding devolving powers relating to council tax benefit to Scotland, given that local government levies the tax.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Social security benefits including housing and council tax benefit are reserved matters and are the responsibility of the DSS.
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a legal obligation on local authorities to assess the impact on business of transport proposals and decisions.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Executive's guidance on Local Transport Strategies encourages local authorities to consult fully with business interests; furthermore in bringing forward guidance under the terms of the Transport Bill the Executive will, where appropriate, require local a…
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the impact that the establishment of a "fast track" UK patent system for small businesses could have on small businesses in Scotland.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues, including the UK patent system. The existing UK patent system already provides for accelerated processing leading to the grant of a patent in as little …
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make upward-only clauses for rent reviews illegal and to allow rents and rates to be reduced in line with market trends where appropriate.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive has no such plans. Scots commercial law favours a freedom of contract approach in which commercial tenants and landlords can, with professional advice, tailor a lease to suit their own circumstances; clauses, including upward-only clauses, can o…
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assist existing and new small businesses to expand and take on new employees.
Answer · Henry McLeish: I refer Mr Kenneth Gibson to the answer I gave to question S1W-7739 on 22 June.
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to assess the effect of proposed legislation, prior to implementation, on the ability of small businesses to comply in terms of both cost and technical implications.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive requires that a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is completed before introducing any legislation which will have a significant impact upon business. This document, which must be included in any consultation, addresses the cost to busi…
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to undertake a review of legislation as it affects small businesses to assess its impact.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has committed itself to tackling any unnecessary legislative burden on business. The Improving Regulation in Scotland (IRIS) unit has organised a number of events around Scotland where the business community has the opportunity to raise…
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to undertake a rolling review of existing legislation in order to ensure that any which is no longer relevant is revoked or amended and what representations it is making to Her Majesty's Government and the European Parliament to do likewise.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is committed to reducing the burden on businesses caused by unnecessary legislation. The Improving Regulation in Scotland unit has a continuing dialogue with businesses and pursues any regulatory concerns they raise.
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to stimulate increased employment and wealth creation in the small business sector.
Answer · Henry McLeish: I refer Mr Kenneth Gibson to the answer I gave to question S1W-7739 on 22 June.
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to eliminate any constraints on small business growth.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is committed to creating a culture of enterprise and a sustainable business environment with higher levels of productivity and employment. Working with our economic development agencies we have a range of policies and measures in place …
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses there are in Scotland and what percentage employ 10 people or less.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive's Scottish corporate sector figures are produced by the Government Statistical Service using data from the Office for National Statistics' Inter Departmental Business Register, the Labour Force Survey and the Inland Revenue's Survey for…
8 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has carried out into any impact on the number of rough sleepers which the removal of benefit for 16 and 17-year-olds may have had.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: No specific assessment has been undertaken. The Homelessness Task Force, which I chair, is taking a wide-ranging look at the underlying nature and causes of homelessness and as part of our programme of work we will be considering youth homelessness and benefi…
7 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase support to community pharmacists providing services to drug misusers, including security measures such as installation of panic buttons, CCTV and prominent alarm boxes.
Answer · Susan Deacon: NHS community pharmacy services to drug misusers - the dispensing of methadone and needle exchange - are subject to local contracting between community pharmacy contractors and their Primary Care Trust/Island Health Board. Issues of safety and security are pr…
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce coterminous boundaries for local enterprise companies, tourist boards and local authorities.
Answer · Henry McLeish: Many areas in Scotland have co-terminous boundaries already. The Scottish Executive has no plans at the present time to change the boundaries of local enterprise companies, tourist boards or local authorities. The current Review of the Enterprise Networks is …
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider revising flood defence legislation to take account of river catchment areas rather than local authority boundaries.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 provides for local authorities to take measures for the prevention or mitigation of flooding of non-agricultural land in their area. The Act already allows for the exercise of these powers by a local authority to take …
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether whole life asset management rather than just road maintenance is required to link communities effectively and promote social and economic development.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Road maintenance on the trunk road network, which is the responsibility of Scottish Ministers, is considered in the context of whole life asset management to ensure the integrity of the network in meeting the requirements of local and national planning.
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Scotland's local roads network will be resurfaced this financial year.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not hold the information requested.
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the road network showed improvement or deterioration in terms of maintenance need for the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The last year where information is available is 1998-99 and the trend data over a fixed sample of trunk roads, which are surveyed every four years, showed a slight improvement from the previous year.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Condition trend data for the trunk road n…
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many kilometres of non-trunk road network there are and what percentage requires to be repaired during this financial year.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Table 5.2 in the 1999 edition of Scottish Transport Statistics indicates that as at 1 April 1998 there were 49,857 kilometres of non-trunk road network. The Scottish Executive has no information on the percentage to be repaired by local authorities during thi…
6 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the trunk road network requires to be repaired during this financial year.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The percentage of the trunk road network requiring to be repaired during this financial year, based on treatment type, is as follows:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1. Reconstruction 1.12%<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">2. Strengthening (overlay and…
31 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many New Deal placements were made available by each local authority for the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Henry McLeish: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of New Deal throughout Great Britain, working together with its partners, including the Scottish Executive.
31 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours a week of physical education pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, should receive and which local authorities have yet to achieve these targets for the last year for which figures were available.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: In Scotland there is no statutory amount of time required for any curriculum area or subject. However, in the 5-14 curriculum (covering P1-S2), national guidelines recommend that education authorities and schools have a minimum time allocation of 15% for the …
31 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to (a) tackle and (b) minimise disruptive classroom behaviour.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive is taking several measures to minimise disruptive behaviour and improve discipline in schools. Improving discipline is one of the key elements of the Executive's National Ethos Programme which also includes anti-bullying and attendance.<P ALIGN=…
31 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled in Glasgow hospitals in the last year for which figures were available.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on the total number of operations cancelled in Glasgow Hospitals in the last year is not available centrally.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Details of planned admissions to hospitals which are cancelled are published annually in <I>the NHS in Scotland Annual …
31 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review its funding of community safety initiatives in order to assess whether they can be adapted to provide incentives for longer term resource planning and support partnership strategic priorities.
Answer · Angus MacKay: Whilst we<B> </B>have no plans to do so at this particular time, the Executive is aware of the recommendations made in the Account Commission's study of community safety partnerships in Scotland <I>Safe and Sound</I>, published last month by Audit Scotland, p…
31 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing legislation on community safety.
Answer · Angus MacKay: There is currently no plan to do so. Since the launch of the joint community safety strategy with CoSLA and ACPOS in 1998, all Scottish local authorities and police forces have participated in multi-agency activity designed to improve safety in their communit…