Parliamentary questions
Kenny MacAskill
2,611 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken since the passing of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to monitor clauses in PPP contracts that would place additional costs on the public authority if the contractor was designated under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive monitors PPP contracts routinely as part of its policies on standardisation of PPP procurement terms but no specific assessment has been made of the cost implications of provisions in the contracts relating to the Freedom of Information (Scotlan…
6 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-283 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 June 2003, what issues might arise in designating the operator of HM Prison Kilmarnock as a public authority under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, given its position that such designation would …
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>Before deciding whether it would be appropriate to make such a designation, it would be necessary to consult every person to whom the orde…
6 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-281 by Mr Andy Kerr on 4 June 2003, whether it has sought legal advice on whether designation of operators of existing PPP schools as public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 would constitute either a discr…
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive has not sought legal advice on this issue.</p>
22 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of the UK Road Safety Bill will impact on devolved matters; what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government regarding the bill; what impact the bill will have on the ability to prosecute and detain foreign-registered vehicles for road traffic and other vehicular off…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Most road traffic law is reserved to the Westminster Parliament and there were no specific implications for devolved matters contained in the Road Safety Bill. The greater part of the bill proposed to amend existing legislation, particularly the Road Traffic …
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, whether it will approach the Parliament's European and External Relations Committee to debate its representations to, and negotiations with, the UK Government on counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of che…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No. These issues are reserved. Consequently we do not intend to approach the Committee in this regard.</p> <p>However, the Scottish Executive does work with the UK Government to help develop effective responses to terrorism and related national security issue…
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, whether it will seek parliamentary time to debate its representations to the UK Government on counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No. These issues are reserved. Consequently we do not intend to seek Parliamentary time for such a debate.</p> <p>However, the Scottish Executive works with the UK Government to help develop effective responses to terrorism and related national security issue…
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it believes the impact on devolved areas of responsibility will be if Trident missiles in Scotland are (a) replaced and (b) removed.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Matters concerning the basing of Trident missiles are reserved to the Westminster Parliament and all questions of detail are for the Ministry of Defence.</p>
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, with which partners around the world it has directly co-operated with in respect of (a) the non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons and (b) counter-terrorism.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive works with international partners through the UK Government to develop effective cross-border responses to terrorism and related national security issues, including the non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear …
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, whether it has made, or plans to make, representations to the UK Government regarding the replacement of Trident missiles in Scotland and, if so, what form these representations will take.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Policy on defence and the nuclear deterrent is reserved to Westminster and, as such, is a matter for the UK Government.</p>
16 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions, when and for what purpose it has announced lottery funding as "Scottish Executive" or "Scottish Government" funding.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I am not aware of any occasions on which the Scottish Executive have suggested that lottery funding comes from the Exchequer. The National Lottery has been a great success story bringing £1.7 billion to almost 25,000 projects in Scotland since 1994 and transf…
16 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14805 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March 2005, what its contribution to the UK Government was to the topics to be discussed at the G8 summit and when this contribution was made and by whom.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Prime Minister has stated publicly that the key themes of this year’s G8 summit will be climate change and Africa. I, my ministerial colleagues, and our officials, have regular discussions with our counterparts in the UK Government on various aspects of t…
16 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14803 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March 2005, what action it has taken to play a full part in helping to formulate commitments the UK Government has made on counter-terrorism.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: We work closely with the UK Government on a wide range of law enforcement related issues – including counter-terrorism. This work plays an important role in helping to formulate the UK policy on tackling counter-terrorism, including commitments made in the fo…
16 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14803 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March 2005, with which partners around the world the Executive has directly co-operated to combat counter-terrorism.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive works with international partners through the UK Government to develop effective cross-border responses to terrorism. The Scottish Police Service and the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency work successfully with a wide range of agencies f…
16 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people charged with (a) murder and (b) culpable homicide have (i) applied for, (ii) been granted and (iii) been refused bail in each year since 1999.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available statistics on the number of murder and culpable homicide charges on bail orders granted are given in the table. Statistical information on total applications for bail and refusals of bail is not held centrally.</p> <p>Number of Murder and Culpab…
14 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to article 2 of the Proposal for a European Council Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record (COM (2004) 664 final), what central authority it expects will be designated in respect of the exchange of Scottish criminal records.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Proposal for a European Council Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record for mutual legal assistance requests requires each member state to designate a single central authority for initial contact. It will be possible, ho…
14 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many enquiries have been made to the Relocation Advisory Service since it was opened, broken down by (a) month and (b) country of origin.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The web-based element of the Relocation Advisory Service opened on 12 October 2004. The Service became fully operational at the end of that month. Between 12 October 2004 and 30 March 2005, a total of 4,524 enquiries have been received. These can be broken do…
14 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14734 by Mr Tom McCabe on 10 March 2005, what the nature and cost was of all the activities undertaken to promote Scotland as a place to work in the 10 EU accession states, broken down by country in which each activity took place.
Answer · Tom McCabe: As part of our efforts to raise Scotland’s International Image announced by the First Minister on 1 July 2004 international journalists from both Poland and the Czech Republic visited Scotland in Autumn 2004. The cost of the visit amounted to £6,805.78 and re…
14 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided for English language classes for immigrants in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Disaggregated data on the costs of English language classes for immigrants, as distinct from other provision, are not available because of the way that local authorities and further education (FE) colleges are funded.</p> <p>However, the Scottish Executive di…
14 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the skills shortage is estimated to be in the "low-skilled" category.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The information requested is given in the Futureskills Scotland publication, <i>Skills in Scotland 2004,</i> which was published in January 2005. Copies of this publication are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35294).</p>
14 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the extent of the skills shortage, broken down by sector.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The information requested is given in the Futureskills Scotland publication, <i>Skills in Scotland 2004,</i> which was published in January 2005. Copies of this publication are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35294).</p>
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which PPP/PFI operators it considers are providing a service that could be considered to be a function of a Scottish public authority, as defined in section 3 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16046 on 3 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will designate Premier Custodial Group Ltd, as operators of HM Prison Kilmarnock, as a Scottish public authority under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16047 on 3 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to designate any persons or bodies as Scottish public authorities under Section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16050 on 3 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which persons or bodies it has designated as Scottish public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16049 on 3 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p> <p><ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/web…
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to amend Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to include offices or organisations not currently listed.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16048 on 3 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…
9 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available on the number of people consuming alcohol in excess of recommended limits and the amount that they consume.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: </p> <p>Statistics on alcohol consumption can be found in the information section of the Alcohol Information Scotland website, managed by the National Alcohol Information Resource (NAIR): <a href="http://www.alcoholinformation.isdscotland.org/">www.alc…
4 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers from forces outwith Scotland will be deployed during the G8 summit, who will be in overall control of these officers at a local and operational level, whether a Scottish officer will be in command of individual units or be attached to such units for liaison and ad…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: It is too early to be precise about the number of officers from forces outwith Scotland who will be deployed in Scotland during the G8 summit. That will depend on operational decisions to be taken in due course by the Scottish Police Service. Those officers, …
4 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many security representatives from foreign states are expected to be in attendance at the G8 summit; what instructions have been given to them regarding their actions at the summit; whether Scottish police officers will be attached to these representatives for advisory and liaison pu…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The arrangements regarding attendance at the summit by security representatives from foreign states are a matter for the UK Government. Arrangements for permission for foreign security personnel to carry firearms are a reserved matter for which the Home Secre…
4 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific measures it has used to encourage expatriate Scots to return to Scotland to live and work and what funding has been provided in relation to any such measures.
Answer · Tom McCabe: Fresh Talent has identified returning Scots as a particular target group who could make an important contribution to Scotland’s economic and social future. We are therefore taking forward promotional activities to encourage such individuals to consider return…
4 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in the reorganisation of Friends of Scotland and globalscot in order to encourage members of the Scottish diaspora to live and work in Scotland.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Friends of Scotland project has been renamed "Global Friends of Scotland" and maintains regular contacts, both formal and informal, with the GlobalScot team in Scottish Enterprise.</p> <p>Both Global Friends and GlobalScot continue in their effo…