Parliamentary questions
Malcolm Chisholm
362 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it fulfilled its commitment in the National Planning Framework to reach out beyond the constituency of organisations normally involved in planning consultations to a wider range of public interests such as younger people, older people, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government''s actions in seeking to achieve its participation commitments are set out in the Interim Conformity Report which was posted as an annex to the latest version of the NPF2 Participation Statement on the Scottish Government''s website on…
7 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to objective two in the National Planning Framework participation statement, how it ensured that the selection of participants was representative of the public, private, voluntary, academic and community sectors and of the various equality groups.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government''s actions in seeking to fulfil each of the NPF2 participation objectives are set out in the Interim Conformity Report which is included as an annex in the latest version of the Participation Statement which was posted on the Scottish …
7 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when a report and statement on the extent to which the National Planning Framework participation statement was adhered to will be laid before Parliament.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The annex to the latest version of the Participation Statement (posted on the government''s website on 12 December 2008) includes an interim statement on the extent to which ministers consider they have conformed with the Participation Statement to date. Thi…
7 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-18702 and S3W-18705 by Stewart Maxwell on 7 January 2009, how pre-announcing the combined housing allocation for Edinburgh and Glasgow for 2010-11 is compatible with the start of a new weighted system for the distribution of housing resources.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The combined allocations to Edinburgh and Glasgow for 2010-11 have been agreed through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The earliest that a new system for distributing the Affordable Housing Investment Programme would be introduced is 2010-11. The spl…
12 Dec 2007 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has for the use of the unallocated asset fund of dormant bank accounts and whether it will consider using some of this money for the provision of music rehearsal space for young people.
Answer · Jim Mather: We have been working with theUK Government to ensure that Scotland’s share of any assets released through the Dormant Bankand Building Societies Accounts Bill is spent on Scotland’s priorities.</p><p>The Scottish Government intendsto consult widely with the t…
10 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-7388 by Stewart Maxwell on 10 December 2007, what the value is of each of the contributor funds which make up the regeneration fund in the current financial year.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: In 2007-08, the valuesof the original allocations of the seven component funds which make up the regenerationfund were as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td valign=top> <p align=center>Fund</p> </td> <td valign…
3 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3O-1392 by Stewart Maxwell on 29 November 2007 (Official Report, c. 3935-36), whether it will list all the contributor funds which make up the £145 million regeneration fund and what the value is of each fund.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Introduction of the new fund involves replacement of seven current funding streams and their associated monitoring regimes. The funds involved are: Community Regeneration Fund; Community Voices Programme; Working for Families; Financial Inclusion Fund; Changi…
20 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the budget for culture for 2007-08, including Historic Scotland, is stated on page 145 of Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 as being £232.8 million while the budget for culture outlined on pages 80 and 82 of the same document amounts to £229.4 million.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The budget for cultureof £232.8 million on page 145 includes the budget of £4.3 million for majorevents and themed years. This is shown on page 79 under Europe and External Affairs. The figure of £181.7 million onpage 80 also includes additional budget of £0.…
20 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on the Royal Museum Project in each of the next three years.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: As set out in our <i>ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007</i>, we are providing £11.6 million over the nextthree years to complete the Royal Museum Project.</p>
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a topline breakdown of the 2007-08 Scottish Arts Council budget.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The following tableprovides a topline breakdown. Information about recipients of individual grantsand further details about the implementation of other funds is available fromthe Scottish Arts Council.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=621…
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what the £20 million Cultural Review funding attached to the 2007-08 culture budget is actually being spent.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: A total of up to £13.3million of commitments from the £20 million new money for culture in 2007-08 havebeen made so far, as set out as follows:</p><p>£8.4 million to ScottishArts Council;</p><p>£0.55 million to ScottishScreen;</p><p>£3.85 million to theNation…
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent in 2008-09 on cultural co-ordinators in schools.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: £2.65 million hasbeen budgeted for the Cultural Co-ordinators programme in 2008-09.</p>
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent in 2008-09 on the Youth Music Initiative.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: Our budget plansinclude a proposal to maintain funding to the Youth Music Initiative over theperiod of the Spending Review, including 2008-09, at the current level of £10 millionper annum.</p>
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage the planned culture budget for (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09 is of the total Scottish budget departmental expenditure limit in each year.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The plannedculture and Gaelic budget in 2007-08 is 0.7% of the total Scottish budget departmentalexpenditure limit. In 2008-09 it is also 0.7%.</p>
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the planned culture budget for 2007-08 shown on page 145 of Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 is £232.8 million, whereas the original culture budget shown on page 12 of the autumn budget revision document is £219.6 million.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The two documentsare not directly comparable as the Spending Review document contains the full resourcebudget for non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and includes their depreciationand cost of capital charges. The autumn budget revision document includes o…
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which budgets are included in Cultural Collections, as shown on page 80 of Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007, and how much will be allocated to each from the planned 2008-09 culture budget.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The breakdown of the draft budgetfor the Cultural Collections for 2008-09 is set out in the following table (£ Million):</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=450 valign=top> <p align=center>Cultural Collections</p> </t…
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much is being spent in 2007-08 on (a) National Museums of Scotland, (b) National Galleries of Scotland and (c) the National Library of Scotland and how these figures compare with planned expenditure.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The information on budgets forthe National Museums, Galleries and Library for 2007-08 is set out in thefollowing table (£ Million):</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=168 valign=top> <p> </p> </td> <td width=2…
19 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the Scottish Arts Council budget for 2007-08 is being spent on the national performing companies.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: I refer themember to the answer to questionS3W-6596 on 27 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people have benefited from the youth music initiative and whether it will continue to support this initiative.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: Figures publishedas part of the Scottish Arts Council Annual Report 2006-07 state that there werealmost 490,000 attendances on Youth Music Initiative “P6 target” projects in thethree years 2003-06. The P6 target is focused on ensuring all school children have…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on its plans to merge the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Historic Scotland.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-5747 on 8 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support is available to non-national museums.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Governmentsupports non-national museums through funding for the Scottish Museums Council.Grant to Scottish Museums Council in 2007-08 is £3.374 million, including £0.5 millionfunding for the Museums Recognition Scheme.</p><p>The Scottish Governme…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which museums and galleries have benefited from the Significance Scheme.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: Seventeen museum andgallery collections have been identified as being significant to the nation underthe Recognition Scheme and six have been awarded funding. Details are availableon the Scottish Museums Council’s website at</p><p><ahref="http://www.scottishm…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress Historic Scotland is making in its audit of the historic environment.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: We are making goodprogress with our audit of the historic environment. It is a process rather thana single piece of work. So far, we have completed our preliminary survey of baselinedata. Shortly, we will be agreeing the data that we want to collect in future…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to give further support to the creative industries.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The government recognisesthat the creative industries are a successful and growing part of the Scottish economy.Significant support is already provided through the efforts of bodies such as theenterprise networks, the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen, t…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much is being spent this year on cultural co-ordinators in schools and how much was originally earmarked for cultural co-ordinators for 2008-09.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: A total of £2.65million was made available to support the Cultural Co-ordinators in ScottishSchools programme during 2007-08 and a total of £4.65 million was earmarked for2008-09 by the previous administration. All spend across the ScottishGovernment from 200…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what requirements it will place on local authorities in relation to the provision of cultural services.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: Local authoritiesalready make a huge contribution to cultural delivery, and the Scottish Governmentwill encourage them to build on this and to strive for continuous improvement andexcellent outcomes for all the people of Scotland. We will be seeking to do thi…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether and how it will ensure that cultural entitlements are central to its culture policy.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: As I announced inmy statement to the Parliament on 7 November 2007, the Scottish Government’s future cultural policy frameworkwill be one that affirms the place of culture in this nation, and which acknowledgesthe important role played by culture and creative…
26 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of the draft Culture Bill published by the previous administration it proposes to bring forward in its own Culture Bill.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: I expect to make astatement about this and connected matters on 7 November 2007.</p>
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to establish a Scottish centre for intergenerational practice.
Answer · Shona Robison: A Scottish Centrefor Intergenerational Practice was one of the commitments in <i>All OurFutures; Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population</i>. The ScottishGovernment endorses <i>All Our Futures</i> as a clear strategy for the futureand supports its o…
29 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any reliable research that suggests that secondary schools with approximately 500 pupils perform less effectively than those with over 900 pupils.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Secondary schoolsoperate effectively, and necessarily, with rolls of varying sizes. The ScottishGovernment is not aware of any reliable basis which might point to optimum sizesfor various categories of school.</p>