Parliamentary questions
Mike Rumbles
1,089 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging people to cycle as an alternative to travelling by car.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has adopted the targets of the UK National Cycling Strategy, to double the number of bicycle trips made between 1996 and 2002, then double that figure by 2012. This is included in the <I>Programme for Government</I> for Scotland. <P>In …
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure the future of museums and galleries.
Answer · Elaine Murray: The Executive ran a three-month consultation process on the findings of the National Audit of Scotland's Museums and Galleries from 9 September to 6 December. This consultation process also included a seminar organised by the Scottish Museums Council on 4 Nov…
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will review its concessionary travel scheme.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We have commissioned research to monitor travel behaviour before and after the recent enhancements. The initial findings of this research will be presented to the Executive in June 2003, and will inform future funding decisions.
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on its "Learn to Let Go" campaign since the campaign began
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Spend on the Learn to Let Go campaign is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=198><TR><TD WIDTH="62%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>2001-02</TD><TD WIDTH="38%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>£539,100</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="62%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>2002-03 (to date)</TD…
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that local authorities are carrying out their responsibilities with regard to flood prevention.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The amendment of the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 in 1997, among other things, introduced a new duty on local authorities to publish a report every two years specifying:<P>(a) any measures which the council considered it was required to take to mitiga…
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its current health budget is spent on audiology services.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: The information requested is not held centrally.<P>It is for local NHS boards and trusts to set priorities for their funding to meet the needs of residents within their area of responsibility.
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government regarding top-up fees for university students.
Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a range of issues.
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions, as part of its cultural responsibilities, it has had with the BBC about the possibility of a "Scottish Six" national news programme
Answer · Elaine Murray: None. BBC programming and editorial decisions are entirely a matter for the BBC.
5 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had, as part of its cultural responsibilities, with Her Majesty's Government about the possibility of a "Scottish Six" national news programme
Answer · Elaine Murray: None. BBC programming and editorial decisions are entirely a matter for the BBC.
29 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average level of payment was from the Rural Stewardship Scheme in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answer · Ross Finnie: For applications approved in 2001, average annual payments were £161.80 in 2001-02 and are £6,868.67 in 2002-03, as at the end of October 2002. The first management payments will be made for these participants in the next three months. <P>For applications app…
28 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following its decision to suspend tendering for a BSc course in audiology after tenders had been submitted.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30980 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/sear…
28 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to the situation regarding audiology staffing as reported in A Survey of Staffing in NHS Hospital Audiology Departments: An Interim Report from the Audiology Needs Assessment Group.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: The full report of the Audiology Review was received from the Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS) on 31 October. It is accessible on the PHIS website at: <A HREF="http://www.phis.org.uk/">www.phis.org.uk</A>. <P>The Executive's response to the review r…
23 Oct 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the implementation of the National Cultural Strategy is proceeding effectively.
Answer · Elaine Murray: Yes. The Executive looks forward next month to publishing the 2nd Annual Report giving details of action to implement the National Cultural Strategy and progress achieved in the past year.
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to promote information technology literacy amongst children.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: We are planning to promote information technology literacy amongst children in a number of ways: by creating a schools intranet to enable better communications and sharing of information between schools; by creating exciting digital content for children to us…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to assist in efforts to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: The Executive is committed to reducing the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies. On-going initiatives include the Healthy Respect Demonstration Project in Lothian and the provision of funding for four new Caledonia Youth Centres. Further initiatives are lik…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce instances of food poisoning.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have advised me that they are committed to reducing food borne illness in Scotland by 20% by 2006.<P>The key elements of the FSA strategy to reduce food-borne illness will focus on improved risk management through supporting th…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to improve drug misuse services.
Answer · Richard Simpson: The Executive's Drugs Strategy, <I>Tackling Drugs in Scotland - Action in Partnership</I>, is backed by around £130 million in new resources over the three years from 2001-02 to 2003-04. Examples of measures supported by these resources include £33.5 million …
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in tackling poverty in rural areas.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The <I>Social Justice Annual Report 2001</I> included data on progress against some of the social justice milestones with an urban/rural breakdown for the first time. This showed that on a number of indicators, rural areas are performing better than urban are…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) businesses and (b) homes have access to broadband internet connection in each parliamentary constituency.
Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not currently available. However, I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27832 on 23 August 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for wh…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children left school with less than three standard grades in each of the last three years.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is given in table number 1 of <I>Scottish School Leavers and their Qualifications: 2000-01</I> published by the Scottish Executive on 16 July 2002. A copy of the news release relating to this publication, which includes the relevant …
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly-qualified (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers have taken up posts in each local authority area in each of the last three years.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information available on how many newly qualified (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers have taken up posts in each local authority area in each of the last three years is shown in the following table:<P>Initial Teacher Training Graduates and Dipl…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many DNA records are currently held by each police force.
Answer · Jim Wallace: DNA records are not kept by forces but are held on the Scottish DNA database, managed by Tayside Forensic Laboratory. As at 30 September 2002, the Scottish database currently held 117,354 DNA profiles from known individuals and 2,691 profiles from crime scene…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reduce instances of violent crime.
Answer · Richard Simpson: We have introduced a wide range of measures to make Scotland safer and the people of Scotland feel safer. Measures we have or are taking to specifically combat the many forms of violence which occur in our communities include:<P>To reduce domestic abuse we ar…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage ethical practices by companies to ensure that they have a sound social and environmental record.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27744 on 22 August 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its total budget was spent on employee wages and salaries in each of the last three years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The following table sets out the percentage of the total budget spent on wages and salaries by the Scottish Executive for employees within its core departments in each of the last three years:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=349><TR><TD WIDTH="…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists in each NHS board area continue to carry out NHS work.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: The number of general dental practitioners in each NHS board area who continue to carry out NHS dental treatment is shown in the following table:<P>NHS General Dental Practitioners (Principals, Assistants and Vocational Trainees) Who Carry Out NHS Dental Trea…
4 Oct 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly-qualified dentists have taken up posts in each NHS board area in each of the last three years.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: The information requested by the member is currently being collated. Once complete I will write to the member with a full response and place a copy in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
23 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reimburse colleges to allow them to offer fee-waivers to individuals of pensionable age that are not in receipt of public benefits.
Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive has no plans to change the current fee-waiver policy.
11 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28190 by Ross Finnie on 30 August 2002, what average level of subsidy payment was made to farmers under the main Common Agricultural Policy schemes for the scheme year 2000.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The average level of subsidy payment made to farmers who claimed under the main Common Agricultural Policy schemes for the scheme year 2000 is £19,000.
6 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of each full-time equivalent salaried general dental practitioner has been, including accommodation, equipment, staff, materials, salaries and laboratory fees, in each of the last three years.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: This is a matter for the relevant Island NHS Boards and Primary Care NHS Trusts. The information requested is not held centrally.