Parliamentary questions
Kenny MacAskill
2,611 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take to promote direct air links with Canada.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive, in partnership with the Enterprise Networks, VisitScotland and the airport operators, continues to encourage the development of more commercial and cost effective air services from Scotland to Canada and other destinations for the bene…
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been employed on adult literacy projects in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally.
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been provided to each further education college in each year since 1997.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information requested is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="31%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=4><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">College </FONT></TD><TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=4><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="…
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been provided to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council in each year since 1997.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The level of funding provided to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council since 1997 is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=538><TR><TD WIDTH="14%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1997-98<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"…
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of court rooms in the High Court building in Edinburgh from two to three and what effect any such increase will have on the resources available to the High Court or any agencies which utilise the building.
Answer · Iain Gray: There are no plans to increase the number of courtrooms in the High Court Building in Edinburgh. The refurbishment of the former Sheriff Court House in the Lawnmarket to provide accommodation for the High Court in Edinburgh was completed in 1997 and already p…
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminal offences committed by children were reported to the Reporter to the Children's Panel for Edinburgh and what action was taken on each case in each year since 1997.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration is responsible for statistics relating to the children's hearings system. National statistical bulletins for 1997-2000 are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 16799). I have asked the Pri…
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been prosecuted at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh in each year since 1997.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The number of persons called to the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh in the years 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 were 417, 388, 447 and 375 respectively.
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology is used for establishing the number of police officers employed by individual police forces and what account is taken of the number of police officers employed by individual forces on long-term sick leave.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally. It is for chief constables in consultation with police authorities to decide on staffing levels within the resources available to them.
12 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what volume of traffic using the new continental ferry from Rosyth could be carried to and from the port by rail if a rail link is created.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: We understand that there would be no capacity constraints on carrying ferry traffic to and from the port by rail if a rail link was made between the proposed ferry terminal and the existing dockyard rail line. It should also be noted that the proposed ferry s…
9 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve and upgrade the A90 between the Forth Road Bridge and Barnton.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The A90 between the Forth Road Bridge and Barnton is classified as a local road. Plans to improve or upgrade that section of road are therefore matters for the City of Edinburgh Council.
9 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimates are of the increase in traffic flow on the A90 between the Forth Road Bridge and Barnton in each year until 2010.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The A90 between the Forth Road Bridge and Barnton is classified as a local road. This is therefore a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council to address.
9 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimates are of the increase in traffic flows on the A8000 that will result from the opening of a ferry route from Rosyth to the continent in each year from its opening until 2010.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Expected traffic flows on this local road will be a factor considered by City of Edinburgh Council as part of its plans for improvement of the road. However, information provided to the Executive in confidence as part of the application for freight facilities…
9 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what timescale has been set for improving and upgrading the A8000.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The A8000 is a local road and therefore the responsibility of City of Edinburgh Council. I understand that the council will be holding public exhibitions of its plans beginning on 4 December at Kirkliston, and moving on to South Queensferry and Edinburgh befo…
1 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it maintains a register of all people serving on non-departmental public bodies and, if not, whether it has any plans to start such a register.
Answer · Angus MacKay: The Executive's Public Appointments Unit maintains a register of all people serving on non-departmental public bodies. Full details are also available on the Executive's website at <A HREF="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/government/publicappoint">www.scotland.gov…
1 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people currently serve on more than one non-departmental public body (NDPB); what NDPBs these are; what remuneration each of these persons receive from each NDPB; whether any of these persons are politically affiliated, and how long each such person has served on each NDPB.
Answer · Andy Kerr: As at 1 December 2001, there were almost 1,100 appointees serving on NDPBs sponsored by the Scottish Executive. At the same date 56 people were serving on more than one non-departmental public body (NDPB). 75% of these 56 people had not declared any political…
31 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail (a) the inspection schedule for manhole covers on the M8 by the trunk road contractors; (b) the criteria to determine whether a manhole cover on a trunk road is inspected, and (c) the design standards for manhole covers on trunk roads.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The inspection schedule for the M8 motorway, which is unchanged from the previous trunk road contracts, covers all inventory items, including manhole covers. The trunk road contract requires that a safety inspection is undertaken every seven days with a furth…
25 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the PFI project for the new passenger terminal at Inverness airport, (a) when the PFI project was entered into, (b) what advice was taken and from whom regarding (i) the terms of the contract, (ii) the length of the contract and (iii) the ability to vary the contract; (c) …
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information is as follows:<P>The contracts for the Inverness Airport Terminal PFI project were signed on 4 February 1998.<P>Advice was taken from: <P>Dundas and Wilson - legal<P>Ernst and Young - financial<P>Scottish Airports Ltd - estates<P>Thomas and Ad…
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, as part of its broadband strategy, it has information on how many British Telecom operated telephone exchanges have installed Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line equipment
Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17355 on 1 October 2001.
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers of the Lothian and Borders Police Force were (a) recruited, (b) on secondment and (c) on long-term sick leave in each year since 1997.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested for Lothian and Borders Police on recruitment and long-term sick leave is shown in the following table. The number of officers on secondment is not held centrally.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=519><TR><TD WIDTH="44%…
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers of Lothian and Borders Police will be eligible to retire for each year between now and 2010.
Answer · Jim Wallace: This is a matter for Lothian and Borders Police. The information requested is not held centrally.
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers from the Lothian and Borders Police Force were on secondment in the year 2000, and which organisation or post each officer was seconded to.
Answer · Jim Wallace: This is a matter for Lothian and Borders Police. The information requested is not held centrally.
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers have (a) retired or (b) resigned from Lothian and Borders Police Force in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) age profile and (iii) length of service and how many took early retirement in each year broken down similarly.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested for Lothian and Borders Police is shown in the following table. Information on age profile and early retirements is not held centrally.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="48%" VALIGN="TOP" ROWSPAN=2><FO…
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the City of Edinburgh were (a) charged and (b) convicted of the sale of fireworks to minors in each year since 1997.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is not separately identifiable in the data held centrally, from other crimes relating to the keeping and supply of explosives.
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the City of Edinburgh were (a) charged and (b) convicted of the sale of solvents to minors in each year since 1997.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The available information shows that no persons were proceeded against, or convicted of, the sale of solvents to minors in Edinburgh sheriff court or district court between 1997 and 1999. Information for 2000 is not yet available.
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, as part of its broadband strategy, it has information on how many telephone operators, other than British Telecom (BT), are installing Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line facilities within or adjacent to BT exchanges and what the location of each facility is.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Following requests from operators, BT has now completed build at six co-location sites across the UK. Work is on-going at a further 10 co-location sites. <P>Work has been completed at 41 distant location sites and is on-going at a further six distant location…
24 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were injured by fireworks in the City of Edinburgh in November of each year since 1997.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The number of fireworks injuries dealt with by Edinburgh hospitals for the years 1997-2000 are shown in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=453><TR><TD WIDTH="10%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Year<…
23 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it currently uses Consignia plc for its mail collection and delivery service in Edinburgh and what plans it has to consider using an alternative provider for this service.
Answer · Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive uses a number of mail service providers, including Consignia plc, for the collection and delivery of mail within Edinburgh. The preferred method used is based on the service requirements and the most cost-effective method for that servi…
12 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made or plans to make to Her Majesty's Government to promote the claiming back of VAT by tourists and visitors to Scotland.
Answer · Mike Watson: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues.
12 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many conferences, seminars or away days for staff training or other internal matters it has held in each year since May 1999; what the annual cost was of these events; how many were held in private venues as opposed to on its property and how many were held outwith Scotland.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
12 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to prepare for the possible introduction of the euro and what assistance or advice is being made available to businesses to help them prepare for a possible introduction.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The euro currency was introduced as a formal retailing currency in 12 countries on 1 January 2002. The legacy currencies of each country will be withdrawn from circulation by no later than the end of February 2002.<P>Scotland Europa, in conjunction with HM Tr…