Parliamentary questions

Mike Rumbles

1,089 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

3 Jan 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the next round of capital funding for the building of new schools will be made available to local authorities.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Current plans will see schoolscontinuing to be built and refurbished to the end of this decade, with substantialfunding in place to support this through a combination of public private partnershipprojects, the recently increased Schools Fund capital grant, an…

4 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the graduate endowment fund has disbursed in the last three academic years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: There is no graduate endowmentfund. The Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001provided that income arising from the graduate endowment for the financial yearto which it related is to be used for the provision of student support…

27 Sep 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to provide financial support for Scottish snowboarders who have secured the Olympic Gold Passport, in light of reports that one team member has been awarded £5,000 from sportscotland whereas English snowboarders have received £10,000 from Sport England.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Olympic Gold Passport isa Great Britain wide scheme managed by the British Olympic Associationwhich does not include a monetary value. All athletes across Great Britainare eligible for the World Class Podium, World Class Development or World ClassTalent P…

2 May 2006 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it intends to review the allowances system, with specific emphasis on MSPs¿ staff salaries.

Answer · Nora Radcliffe: MSPs employ their own staff.The current Allowances Scheme, approved by the Parliament in June 2001,provides a Members Support Allowance to cover a number of costs and expensesincluding salaries of employees. The SPCB does not have any responsibility, interms …

14 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people expressed a preference for an upgrade of the B979 through Netherley as part of the public consultation on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Answer · Tavish Scott: A report has been published whichprovides a breakdown of the main issues contained in the responses to the publicconsultation exercise. This can be downloaded from the Aberdeen Western PeripheralRoute website <a href="http://www.awpr.co.uk/">www.awpr.co.uk</a…

14 Dec 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that education authorities ensure adequate provision for school nurses in primary schools to deal with young people¿s health issues.

Answer · Robert Brown: Appropriate provision for schoolnurses is a detailed matter for agreement between local authorities, schools andhealth boards.

9 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20631 by Lewis Macdonald on 21 November 2005, why information in respect of the number of people who have entered into a deferred payment agreement in order to avoid selling their home to meet care home fees is not available after 30 June 2004.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive last surveyed local authorities for this information in June 2004. In the light of that survey the Executive issued in December 2004 strengthened guidance to local authorities on deferred payments and other similar funding arrangements.…

8 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the provision of school nurses in primary schools is adequate to deal with young people's health issues.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The number of school nurses employed for Scottish schools is a matter for local health boards in partnership with local authorities. A Scottish Framework for Nursing in Schools, which was launched in March 2003, sets out in clear terms the nursing serv…

11 Nov 2005 · Written Question

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: £162 million will be provided for year 2006-07 and £169 million for year 2007-08. Funding for year 2008-09 has not yet been set.

11 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take against local authorities, such as Renfrewshire Council, who continue to charge for the preparation of meals, in contravention of the standards set out in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, the Executive’s own guidance and the Minister for Finance …

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We are presently discussing with COSLA the question of charging for assistance with the preparation of food as set out in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002.

11 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many notices it has served requiring action to be taken to control the spread of ragwort and how many of these notices have been complied with to the satisfaction of its Environment and Rural Affairs Department in each of the last five years for which this information is available.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The number of notices served requiring action to be taken to control the spread of ragwort during the last five years is given below: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Year</td> <td> 2…

11 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have entered into a deferred payment agreement in order to avoid selling their home to meet care home fees in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Deferred Payment Agreements (DPAs) were introduced in July 2002 under the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. The Scottish Executive surveyed local authorities in 2003 and 2004 on the numbers of DPAs in place. I refer the member to the answers to q…

19 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the results of its annual assessment of the level of problem posed by ragwort have been for each of the last five years for which this information is available.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The number of complaints made about ragwort in relation to the Weeds Act 1959 to the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s Area Offices in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. A complaint may relate to more than…

6 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19403 by Lewis Macdonald on 3 October 2005, what specific funding has been allocated to General Dental Services in each of the next three financial years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The additional funding allocated to the General Dental Services is £37 million in 2005-06, £80 million in 2006-07 and £120 million in 2007-08 which cumulatively amounts to £237 million.

21 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care on 17 March 2005 outlining that spending on NHS dentistry will rise from £200 million in the current year to £350 million in 2008 (Official Report c. 15538), whether this funding has now been alloca…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The increased funding contained within the ministerial statement on 17 March 2005 is held within the central General Dental Services programme for the purposes of primary care dental services, and is being allocated to NHS boards and to NHS Education for Scot…

21 Sep 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken towards establishing a grade-separated junction on the A90 at Laurencekirk.

Answer · Tavish Scott: We recognisethat the long-term solution for this junction maybe a grade-separated junction.However, in the meantime, other measures have been considered and action has beentaken to implement a range of safety initiatives including the installation of CCTVcame…

19 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is on target to introduce unlimited Scotland-wide free bus travel for elderly and disabled people from April 2006.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Yes.

9 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money it estimates was spent on investigating the possibility of reintroducing beavers to Scotland.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has worked on developing proposals for a trial re-introduction of beavers over a number a years since the mid 1990s. SNH have assessed the costs incurred for the work which they undertook in the 1990s (including the 1998…

14 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to develop a national asthma strategy.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no plans for a formalnational strategy. However, the Executive is participating in a range of measuresto improve the quality of care for people with asthma. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, with input from AsthmaUK Scotland, is working on a project…

23 Feb 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the deer cull recently carried out at Mar Lodge Estate was appropriate and carried out in accordance with best practice.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for the National Trust For Scotland as owners of the Mar Lodge Estate.

11 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13939 by Rhona Brankin on 10 February 2005, why data on the number of NHS dentists at 31 December 2004 is not available centrally whereas data on the number of NHS dentists at 31 December 2003 was made available in the answer to question S2W-5720 by …

Answer · Rhona Brankin: ISD Scotland now co-ordinate the publication of data on all NHS dentistry, both hospital and community health service (HCHS) and general dental service (GDS) dentists, at 30 September each year. Data as at 30 September 2004 for both HCHS and GDS dentists was …

28 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists there were per head of population in each (a) NHS board area and (b) local authority area at 31 December 2004.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Data on the number of NHS dentists at 31 December 2004 is not available centrally.The latest centrally-held information on hospital and community health service(HCHS) dentists and general dental practitioners in NHSScotland, as at 30 September 2004, wa…

26 Jan 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to aid the development of rural Scotland, for example by increasing the amount of quality rented housing in rural areas.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is committed to maintaining strong, prosperous and growing communities in rural Scotland. Examples of the wide range of measures we are taking to achieve this are set out in our Annual Rural Report, <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/l…

10 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the action that it intends to take to improve road safety at the A90 junctions around Laurencekirk.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive intends to introduce the following measures to improve road safety on the A90 at the Laurencekirk/Marykirk junctions:<ul type=disc> <li>The introduction of a 50mph speed limit over a 1,600 metre length of the A90 between Oatyhill an…

5 Jan 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent deaths caused by radon gas.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive has commissioned the National Radiological Protection Board to give advice on the radiological significance of levels of radon in Scotland, and, as part of this process, the board is completing its survey of radon, in housing across Scotland. Th…

8 Dec 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers Scottish Water's consultation procedures to be satisfactory.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Yes. Scottish Water’s consultation code was approved by Scottish ministers after consultation with the Water Customer Consultation Panels. We have asked the panels to keep the code under review and report back on how well it is being implemented.

24 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the Inverurie to Stonehaven Crossrail project.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The development of the Aberdeen Crossrail proposal is being led by Aberdeenshire Council, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council. I understand that a full appraisal of the proposal is currently being prepared in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appra…

5 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with First Group plc regarding the possible reopening of Laurencekirk Station.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has had no discussion with First Group plc, regarding the possible reopening of Laurencekirk Station. However, officials met with Aberdeenshire Council on 30 September 2004, to discuss the proposals for reopening the station.

5 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to prevent duplicate planning applications with minor alterations from being submitted following the rejection of an original application by a local authority.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Planning legislation aims to strike a balance between allowing an applicant to submit a revised application where they may have made a genuine attempt to take into account objections to a previous proposal or if there has been a change in circumstances, and p…

5 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to education authorities in respect of dealing with bullying.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive expects all education authorities to develop and implement an anti-bullying policy and for this to be reflected in school-level policies. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education may look at schools’ policies and practices in relation to…