Kenny MacAskill

30 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of fuel for police vehicles was, broken down by police force, for the financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The cost of fuel for police vehicles for each police force in 1999-2000 is shown in the following table. Figures for 2000-01 are not yet available.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=368><TR><TD WIDTH="59%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Force</TD><TD WIDTH="41%…

30 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of fuel for fire service vehicles was, broken down by fire board, for the financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

Answer · Iain Gray: Information from fire authorities is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=502><TR><TD WIDTH="61%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P></TD><TD WIDTH="19%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P ALIGN="CENTER">1999-2000</TD><TD WIDTH="21%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=1…

30 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on fuel for ministerial cars in each month from July 2000 to April 2001.

Answer · Angus MacKay: The monthly expenditure on fuel for the Government Car Service (Scotland) (GCS) since July 2000 is shown in the following table (details of expenditure for April 2001 are not yet available as invoices have still to be received):<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CEL…

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the independent management consultant's report commissioned by the Scottish Tourist Board from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and whether implementation will be postponed pending the appointment of a new chief executive of visitscotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer Mr MacAskill to the answer I gave to question S1W-13458. Visitscotland are implementing the findings during the search for a new Chief Executive.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the salary is of the interim chief executive of visitscotland, whether his contract is on a full-time basis and what arrangements have been agreed regarding any other working commitments he has.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Peter McKinlay was appointed by visitscotland on a full-time basis. His appointment was approved by the Executive. His salary is £8,000 per month.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of the recruitment of a new Chief Executive of visitscotland, whether a limit will be set for this expenditure on this and which budget will cover the cost of the recruitment.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15295 on 8 May 2001. visitscotland will cover the cost of the recruitment.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when Peter McKinlay is due to stand down as interim Chief Executive of visitscotland and, if he is due to stand down in the near future, whether his appointment will be extended and, if so, until when and, if not, who will replace him as interim chief executive.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for visitscotland, but they announced on 27 April that Mr McKinlay had agreed to stay on as interim Chief Executive.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale will be for the recruitment of a new chief executive of visitscotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for visitscotland, but they announced on 27 April that they were renewing the search as a matter of urgency, and on 3 May that further interviews would be held in May.

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new chief executive of visitscotland will be selected by visitscotland and, if so, what role the Executive will take in the new appointment, in particular, whether it will issue any guidance or guidelines to visitscotland with regard to the appointment process.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Yes. The Executive will be involved in the selection process and will exercise its function of giving consent to visitscotland's appointment. The appointment process is for visitscotland. We are content for the search to look for a chief executive with the qu…

27 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the job specifications for the posts of chief executive and chairman of visitscotland as issued prior to the appointments of Peter Lederer and Rod Lynch.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Chair, along with the other members of the visitscotland, oversees and provides strategic direction to the operations of visitscotland. The main duties are:<UL><LI>chairing meetings of visitscotland;</LI></UL><UL><LI>considering papers prepared by visitsc…

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will name the members of the selection panel used by visitscotland to appoint a Chief Executive, whether Mr Donal Dowds was a member and whether his views were sought at any time before the offer of employment was made to Rod Lynch.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The members of the selection panel were Lord Gordon of Strathblane, Mr Peter Lederer and Mr Mike Foulis. Mr Michael Cantlay joined the panel after 28 February when Lord Gordon's period of appointment as Chair of visitscotland came to an end. Communications be…

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people visited Scotland for the purpose of studying the English language in each year since 1997 and what the value to the economy of people making such visits was in each of these years.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: The specific information requested is not held centrally. However, visitscotland does hold data on students visiting Scotland for short-term study, the majority of which is likely to be English language study. The figures are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPAC…

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any sums recovered from Motorola in respect of its Bathgate plant will be ring-fenced for use in relation to workers made redundant and communities damaged by the plant's closure; if so, how much of the recovered sums will be used for this purpose and, if not, into which budget th…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: On 25 April I announced in the Parliament that the Scottish Executive was setting aside up to £10 million to help fund the Motorola task force's action plan.<P>All recoveries of Regional Selective Assistance are returned to the Executive's budget, in line wit…

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet directly, in whole or in part, any legal costs and damages or compensation which visitscotland has to pay in relation to Rod Lynch's appointment or whether any additional funding will be given to visitscotland in respect of any such costs.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Discussions between legal representatives are under way. The Executive will consider its response to the outcome of those discussions in due course.

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when Peter McKinlay is due to stand down as interim Chief Executive of visitscotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for visitscotland.

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what fee the recruitment agency involved charged visitscotland for its services in relation to the appointment of Rod Lynch.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15295 on 8 May 2001.

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether an official from the Executive sat in during the interviews or was a member of the selection panel which interviewed candidates for the position of Chief Executive of visitscotland; if so, what grade that official was and how many interviews he or she attended.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Yes. The official is a Head of Group and attended interviews with all seven candidates.

26 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new standard grade course in technological studies will proceed in the coming academic year and, if this matter is still under consideration, when a decision will be announced.

Answer · Jack McConnell: SQA has developed new General and Credit Standard Grade courses in technological studies which will be available from session 2001-02. The Foundation level course will be discontinued and pupils directed into courses more appropriate for their needs. A letter…

24 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff are dedicated to working on (a) grant aid for businesses, (b) enterprise networks, (c) export promotion, (d) inward investment, (e) energy, (f) lifelong learning, (g) student support and (h) better regulation.

Answer · Angus MacKay: The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department consists of 309.4 permanent staff, some of whom will be working on these topics. The information requested is not held centrally, although the Scottish Executive Business Directory will provide a general picture…

24 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14935 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 20 April 2001, how many staff have responsibility for tourism policy in the Enterprise Networks and Tourism Division of its Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department and how many officials in Historic Scotland have po…

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: Seven members of staff in the Enterprise Networks and Tourism Department have tourism responsibility. A number of Historic Scotland staff are involved in tourism operations within the agency. Of these, there are three officials who have policy responsibility …

23 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the parameters were for any negotiations on salary and terms and conditions of employment when considering applications for the post of Chief Executive of visitscotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: In considering these matters in consultation with my department, visitscotland will have borne in mind the need to strike a balance between paying a market rate for the kind of ability and experience they were seeking to attract and other senior public sector…

23 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were interviewed for the post of Chief Executive of visitscotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Seven.

23 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any chief executives of Scottish public bodies, other than the Chief Executive of visitscotland, who have other paid renumeration or directorships.

Answer · Angus MacKay: The information is not held centrally. Public bodies are required to ensure that staff adhere to rules covering private interests and possible conflicts with public duties.

23 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the planning and environmental impact would be at airfields in the Highlands and Islands of British Airways moving entirely to jet aircraft following any takeover of British Regional Air Lines Group plc and how it would ensure that any subsequent costs incurred were not passed on to…

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any plans by British Airways for an all jet aircraft operation in the Highlands and Islands following its take-over of the British Regional Air Lines Group plc.

19 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the recent Scottish Enterprise document Survival Toolkit for Tourism Business have been produced, to whom these have been delivered and what the costs of the production and distribution were.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The document <I>Survival Toolkit for Tourism Business</I> was a joint publication between Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. 20,000 copies of the document were produced with 12,000 delivered directly to tourism businesses and 5,200 copi…

19 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail what its expenditure was on advertising and promotion during each of the last three financial years, how much of this was for promotion and advertising conducted in-house and how much was for promotion and advertising done by external agencies on its behalf.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The figures requested are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=521><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT=17><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=1><P>1998-99</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="64%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=17><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=1><P>Campaign</T…

19 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail, for each of the past three months, what its expenditure was on advertising, promotion and public awareness campaigns, and what the nature and purpose were of each of these campaigns.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=436><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT=17><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=1><P>Campaigns Run Between January-March 2001</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="72%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=17><FON…

18 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by Ms Wendy Alexander on 11 April 2001, what methodology was used to estimate that there are 100,000 job vacancies in Scotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Currently, the only official source of information about vacancies in Scotland is from Jobcentre records maintained by the Employment Service. The latest figures show that in March 2001 there were 45,700 vacancies at Jobcentres in Scotland. Surveys of employe…

17 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to assist motorcyclists in making integrated journeys, including provision of interchange facilities and parking, and whether it proposes to implement a package of measures to improve the safety of motorcyclists and, if so, whether it will detail such measures.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Officials meet Scottish motorcycling representatives on a regular basis.<P>The provision of interchange facilities is a matter for the local authorities and transport operators. New powers in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 will enable local authorities to …

17 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what change it forecasts in the number of people employed in the electronics sector over the next year.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive does not produce forecasts of employment by sector. The electronics industry in Scotland is clearly being affected by global re-structuring by the major companies, but Scotland cannot and should not compete on wage rates or work against…