Parliamentary questions
Kenneth Gibson
2,008 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assess the impact of sport on reducing social exclusion.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer Mr Gibson to the answer I gave to parliamentary question S1W-5761.
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many council houses have been built in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The table presents the number of new council houses which have been completed in each local authority area, in the years 1994 to 1998, as reported by local authorities to the Scottish Executive.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=408><TR><TD VALIG…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the capital investment in council housing was in real terms in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The following tables set out local authorities' capital investment in council housing in real terms (1998-99 prices) for each of the last five years.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Local Authority Capital Investment in Council Housing<P>Real Terms (1998-99 prices)</FONT><…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the proportion of registered disabled people is as (a) a percentage of the population and (b) a percentage of the workforce, in each local authority area, for the last year in which figures are available, and what steps it is taking to increase employment of registered disabled peopl…
Answer · Frank McAveety: This information is not held centrally. However, the Labour Force Survey, which includes about 6,000 households each quarter in Scotland, gives reliable estimates although not broken down by local authority area. The autumn 1999 survey estimated that in Scotl…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assist the film industry.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive funds Scottish Screen to carry out a range of activities, including training in film crafts, funding for script development, producer support, and locations marketing.
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive continues to support early detection via the well established breast and cervical cancer screening programmes. <I>The Cancer Challenge</I>, a pilot study to assess the feasibility of a population-based screening programme for colorectal…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to integrate the NHSiS with the voluntary sector in relation to medical research.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive recognises and encourages the valuable contribution that the voluntary sector makes in raising funds for and in commissioning medical research. We are also committed to ensuring that our agencies, non-departmental public bodies and the …
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of general practitioners have received training in cancer and palliative care in each of the last five years and what plans it has to ensure that all general practitioners receive training in this area.
Answer · Susan Deacon: General practitioners, like other professionals, are encouraged to look at their own personal learning needs and the health needs of their patients and to seek training in specific areas. Guidance and assistance is available from the Scottish Council for Post…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the total assistance, from all public bodies, given since 1 April 1989 to: (a) Levi Strauss; (b) Hyundai; (c) Lite On; (d) Mitsubishi; (e) Continental; (f) Caterpillar; (g) Kvaerner; (h) Viasystems; (i) National Semiconductor; (j) Wrangler, and (k) Volvo.
Answer · Henry McLeish: Comprehensive information on all financial packages available to inward investors is not held centrally and to provide a detailed list would involve disproportionate costs. However, the following information on each of the companies specified shows total assi…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to firms awarded more than #1 million public assistance since 1 April 1989, how many jobs were promised by the inward investor in each case; how many jobs were created at the time of the highest development of the project in each case; how many jobs existed in each companies …
Answer · Henry McLeish: The following table gives the details requested in relation to firms awarded more than £1 million in Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) since 1 April 1989.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In column 2, the total jobs forecast may include the number of jobs planned to be cr…
3 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many firms have been given location assistance totalling more than #1 million from Locate in Scotland and other relevant public bodies since 1 April 1989.
Answer · Henry McLeish: Comprehensive information on all the financial packages available to inward investors is not held centrally and to provide a detailed list would involve disproportionate costs. However, the number of companies that received Regional Selective Assistance (RSA)…
30 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes fell into each council tax property band in (a) the first year of its introduction and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The table below shows the number of dwellings in each council tax property band in (a) the first year of its introduction and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=608><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COL…
30 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to redefine council tax bandings to take account of house price inflation since the council tax was introduced.
Answer · Jack McConnell: We do not propose any changes at this time to the current council tax arrangements.
30 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cumulative percentage increase in the average house price in Scotland has been since the introduction of the council tax and what the cumulative increase in the retail price index has been over the same period.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The table below shows the cumulative percentage increase in the unweighted average house price in Scotland, the weighted average house price (which takes account of the sizes of the property sold), and the Retail Price Index for the period since the introduct…
30 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why it has not yet given substantive answers to questions S1W-1518, S1W-2429, S1W-2433, S1W-2603, S1W-3258, S1W-3259, S1W-3383, S1W-3384, S1W-3804 and S1W-3807, all lodged between 13 September 1999 and 18 January 2000 and when it will answer these questions.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The background to the delay in answering these PQ's has been investigated and answers will be issued as soon as possible.
30 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Greater Glasgow Health Board will spend on recruiting the services of Shandwick International and whether hiring a public relations firm to advise on public consultation represents best value in the National Health Service.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive expects health boards to carry out effective public consultation on proposals for significant service changes and developments. The Executive welcomes the fact that Greater Glasgow Health Board is actively seeking to improve their arran…
28 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what blockages it has identified in local government which prevent modernisation and how it proposes to remove them.
Answer · Frank McAveety: In line with the recommendations of the McIntosh Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament, the modernisation of council decision-making structures and policy development processes is being taken forward by an independent panel - the Leadersh…
28 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans "to put the citi'en at the centre of what it does" as stated by Mr Jack McConnell at the CoSLA conference 2000 on March 24 2000.
Answer · Jack McConnell: In our <I>Programme for Government</I>, we made a commitment to work across the Executive to promote modern government, of which one of the main themes would be customer-focused policy development and service delivery.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We will put the citize…
28 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much capital debt was owed by each of Scotland's local authorities at the end of each of the last three financial years for which figures were available.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The total capital debt outstanding reported by each council and joint board for the past three financial years is shown in the following table. <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Local Authority Capital Debt Outstanding 1996-97/1998-99<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 BORDERCOLOR=…
28 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many private schools enjoy charitable status and receive discretionary rates relief, and which local authorities offer mandatory relief only.
Answer · Peter Peacock: This information is not collected centrally.
28 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many council tenants who bought their council house and subsequently sold the property were allocated another tenancy in the same local authority in each of the last three years for which figures are available, listed by local authority.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: This information is not held centrally. The right to buy legislation restricts the discount available to those who have exercised the right to buy on more that one occasion. This means that any discount a tenant has received on the first sale would be deducte…
28 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of engineering companies have experienced an (a) increase or (b) decrease in order intake, output volume, staffing, optimism and investment over the last year and what steps will it take to assist the engineering sector.
Answer · Henry McLeish: Comprehensive data of this kind are not available, although Scottish Engineering collects such data on a sample basis. Latest official data from the Scottish Executive Index of Production show that engineering output in Scotland increased by 6.6% in the year …
27 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that all members of its workforce have access to an occupational health service staffed by nurses who are appropriately trained and qualified.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive has a contract with Lothian Health Occupational Health Services to provide all occupational health support for its employees. In addition, the Executive runs an annual programme of occupational health promotion activity (e.g. Well Woman…
27 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on secondary mental health services was in real terms, for each financial year from 1995-96 to 1999-2000 inclusive, what it will be in 2000-01 and what this represents as a percentage of the Hospital and Community Health services budget in each of these years.
Answer · Iain Gray: Mental illness is equated with the specialties of General Psychiatry, Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry.<P>The information available from health boards regarding expenditure on mental illness treatment is provided on the basis o…
27 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be represented at the conferences on "Joining Up Local Government" and "Housing Benefit Fraud" in London, to be held on 11 and 14 April respectively, and whether it will provide reports on these conferences.
Answer · Frank McAveety: No.
20 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5027 by Mr Jack McConnell on 17 March 2000, what the standard figure for band D council tax will be for 2000-01, and how that figure was arrived at.
Answer · Jack McConnell: For 2000-01 the difference between adjusted Government Supported Expenditure and Aggregate External Finance will be £1,209.586 million, an amount equal to £657 per band D equivalent property.
16 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to reduce the incidence of convicted paedophiles re-offending.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive is committed to taking measures to ensure that the risk posed to communities from convicted paedophiles is minimised.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A number of steps have already been taken. Notably, the Sex Offenders Act 1997 requires certain sex …
16 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is providing to the engineering industry.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive provides support to the engineering sector through a wide variety of general schemes and programmes for industry, administered through the Executive and the Enterprise Network. These support investment and job creation by companies in n…
16 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why there is a variation from 1.7% to 24.8% in guideline expenditure for local authorities in excess of the figures for Grant Aided Expenditure plus Loan Charges Grant for the year 2000-01.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The guideline system reflects each council's historic spending pattern which is the reason for the variation between guideline and Grant Aided Expenditure and loan and leasing charge support. The guideline system is designed to promote gradual convergence by …
16 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have budgeted in excess of their guideline figure for 2000-01 while simultaneously increasing council tax by more than 5%.
Answer · Jack McConnell: We will not be able to provide this information until we receive the returns from local authorities which give details of their budget estimates for 2000-01.