Parliamentary questions

Michael Matheson

1,154 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish details of any representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government regarding the proposed privatisation of air search and rescue services in Scotland.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Control and tasking of theair search and rescue service is a reserved matter and will remain with the UKGovernment. The Department for Transport and the Ministry of Defence announcedon 9 May that the joint Search and Rescue Helicopter project would go forward…

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has about the proposed privatisation of air search and rescue services in Scotland.

Answer · Tavish Scott: I refer to the member to the answer to question S2W-25482 on 13 June 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first notified of the proposed privatisation of air search and rescue services in Scotland.

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has requested any assessment of the potential impact on police and civilian mountain rescue teams of privatisation of air search and rescue services and, if so, whether it will publish such an assessment.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No assessment has been requested.

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with police forces on the implications of privatisation of air search and rescue services and, if so, what concerns were expressed.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No discussions have taken placeon this issue.

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with civilian mountain rescue teams on the implications of privatisation of air search and rescue services and, if so, what concerns were expressed.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No discussions have taken placeon this issue.

27 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted on the proposed privatisation of air search and rescue services and, if so, what concerns it expressed.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Control and tasking of theair search and rescue service is a reserved matter and will remain with the UKGovernment. No consultation took place. The Department for Transport andMinistry of Defence (MoD) initiated a competition under the Private FinanceInitiati…

22 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify what the First Minister meant by “a Scottish-level athlete” as opposed to a “world-level” or “UK-level” one, in comments reported by The Scotsman on 1 August 2002.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The categorisation of an athletewould largely depend on the sport in question and the entry criteria for any associatedcompetition. A “Scottish-level” athlete may be one who is selected to representScotland or restricts their participation in competition to n…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following disclosure, in response to a freedom of information request, of the sportscotland: Property review and relocation study which stated that “if the Scottish Executive still wish sportscotland to move from their existing location then a financial incentive should be provided to en…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The future location of sportscotland’sheadquarters is a matter under active consideration by ministers.

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided for the investment in swimming pool facilities, in each year since 1999.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Funding of £4 million hasbeen made available under the national and regional facilities strategy toprovide for a revamped Royal Commonwealth Pool. Funding for swimming pools isavailable from sportscotland under the lottery supported Building forSport p…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the statement in sportscotland’s report, The Ticking Time Bomb, published in 2001, that “if Scotland wishes to retain its present level of public pool provision over the next twenty years, there will be a need for massive re-investment in existing pools…somewhere around £540 …

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: In response to the TickingTime Bomb report, sportscotland established the lottery funded swimmingpool strand under its Sports Facilities programme. £10 million was committed tothis strand and over £8 million was awarded before the strand was sub…

23 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review or change any of the provisions within the Council Tax (Discount for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 and, if so, when it will publish the results of the review or introduce changes.

Answer · George Lyon: A review of the regulations and associated guidance to the Council Tax (Discount for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 was carried out shortly after the Regulations came into force. The review involved local authorities, Communities Scotland, …

23 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for changing the present structure of community councils and when it plans to implement any changes.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We are currently reviewing theoperational framework for community councils and in support of this issued a DiscussionPaper in November 2005, What can we do to help community councils fulfiltheir role. The closing date for responses was 28 Februa…

9 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22669 by George Lyon on 9 February 2006, how many pre-Christmas deliveries BT was unable to meet under the Home Computer Initiative Framework Contract and what compensation will be provided to those whom it failed to supply on time.

Answer · George Lyon: BT have advised that approximately 20,000 orders were delayed. Many of these were due for pre-Christmas delivery and others were scheduled for delivery in 2006. As a goodwill gesture, BT have offered a £50 voucher for use in their online shop for tho…

1 Feb 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is improving sporting achievement.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive through sportscotland provides financial and other support to athletes and governing bodies of sport as part of our commitment to achieving target 7 of Sport 21, which aims to have over 250 Scots as medallists on the world stage by 2007.<…

26 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that public authority employees who purchase computers under its Home Computer Initiative receive the equipment from their chosen supplier within the agreed delivery period.

Answer · George Lyon: The Scottish Executive monitors the overall performance of the Home Computer Initiative Framework with each of the suppliers. Participating public authorities enter into individual contractual arrangements with their chosen supplier and performance of a contr…

26 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the operation of its Home Computer Initiative Framework Contract and whether it will provide a list of computer suppliers under the contract that failed to deliver equipment before the agreed date of 25 December 2005.

Answer · George Lyon: The Scottish Executive is encouraged that over 40 public authorities have participated in the framework which is helping achieve the overall aim of increasing home computer ownership in Scotland. The three framework suppliers compete on price for prefe…

22 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funding for sports facilities announced on 20 December 2005 is Exchequer or lottery funding and over what period of time the funding will be made available.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The awards announced on 20 December were funded from sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme, which is a combination of Exchequer and Lottery funds. The awards made are set out in the following table. Recipients must be in a position to start the …

21 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of improvement services for local authorities, including the level of funding used for commissioning consultants’ reports, in each financial year since 2003.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Local authorities are expected to provide for the cost of improving their services from their budget each year. There is a wide range of work aimed at improving services carried out by local authorities. The only Executive funding specified for improve…

21 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been allocated to local authorities for improvement services and what the source of funding has been in each financial year since 2003.

12 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21248 by Patricia Ferguson on 12 December 2005, what efficiency savings sportscotland has already achieved and where these savings have been reallocated.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Sportscotland had undergone significant organisational restructuring in recent years to provide a more responsive service to client and partner groups. Sportscotland commissioned a report by KPMG with the specific objectives of identifyin…

7 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the length of time which applicants have to wait for their central heating system to be installed under the central heating programme; whether it has established any targets in this respect and, if so, what these targets are.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows: Eaga is the managing agent contracted to deliver the central heating programme on behalf of the Scottish Executive. Monthly progress meeting…

7 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21027 by Johann Lamont on 6 December 2005, how many applicants, broken down by local authority area, have had to wait for five months or more to have their central heating replaced under the central heating programme in each of the last three years.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows: The information requested is not held by local authority area, but by main postcode area. The details are shown in the following table:<…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current review of NHS eye care services will include consideration of the NHS spectacle voucher scheme and, in particular, the fact that of the scheme does not meet the full cost of prescribed spectacles.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No. The current review of Eyecare Services in Scotland will not consider the NHS optical voucher scheme.

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how sportscotland has supported and developed sport in 2004-05; which projects were recipients of the £14.4 million spent on supporting and developing sport at grassroots level, and how much each project received.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: This is an operational matter for sportscotland. I have asked the chair to provide the information requested.

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much sportscotland has spent on providing community facilities in each of the last five years; what community facilities have benefited from this investment, and how much they received.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: This is an operational matter for sportscotland. I have asked the chair to provide the information requested.

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Sports Council Trust Company spent on the provision of community sports facilities in each of the last five years; which facilities have been provided as a result, and how much each received.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Trust Company was not established by sportscotland to provide community sports facilities but to manage and operate the three National Centres at Glenmore Lodge, Inverclyde and Cumbrae. The board members of sportscotland are the directors of…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set guidelines on how Exchequer funding is spent by sportscotland.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Sportscotland, like any other non-departmental public body, is subject to a number of guidelines and requirements regarding its Exchequer expenditure. These are set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The conditions governing how particul…

30 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to monitor sportscotland’s expenditure to ensure that expenditure on bureaucracy is kept to a minimum.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Under the Efficient Government initiative, which aims to redirect administrative costs to delivery of front-line services, we have asked sportscotland to deliver annual efficiency savings of at least £200,000 by 31 March 2008. With regard to specific e…

23 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was informed by the Minister of State for Sport about his review of football governance and whether the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport will be participating in the review, given that Scottish football has its own independent status in world football.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Minister for Sport at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport convened a meeting, under the auspices of the UK Presidency, to discuss corporate and social governance in football with a view to agreeing terms of reference for a review of corporate and …