Parliamentary questions
Paul Martin
317 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Sep 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that council tax levels are maintained at a reasonable level.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The settingof council tax levels is, of course, a matter for local authorities. However, wehave repeatedly said that we expects councils to keep council tax rises to reasonablelevels – that remains the case and we will be discussing the situation with them.</…
25 May 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to improve oral health provision in Glasgow Springburn.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: I very much welcome NHS Greater Glasgow’s oral health strategy which was launched last month. NHS Greater Glasgow is implementing a range of measures to address the high levels of dental disease. Examples are the Oral Health Action Teams initiative, the devel…
4 May 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to improve housing conditions in Glasgow Springburn.
Answer · Johann Lamont: The Executive is committed to enabling the complete transformation of the quality of housing in Glasgow. The Glasgow Stock Transfer will see £1.5 billion of new investment in the former Council stock over a ten year period. In addition, we are investing £140 …
5 Jan 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to review the sex offender registration scheme.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have ordered that an independent review of the operation of the sex offenders registration scheme be conducted.</p><p>I am pleased to confirm that Professor George Irving, currently Chair of Ayrshire and Arran Health Board, has agreed to undertake this work…
24 Nov 2004 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce fuel poverty.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We are tackling fuel poverty on a variety of fronts. These include improving the energy efficiency of homes through the Warm Deal and the Central Heating Programme. We also recently challenged the fuel supply companies to offer a social tariff so that people …
28 Apr 2004 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the results of the consultation exercise on the Nicholson Committee Report on liquor licensing.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Theindependent analysis of the consultation on the Nicholson Committee Report waspublished on 24 March 2004 and can be viewed on the Scottish Executive website.</p>
7 Jan 2004 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support waste reduction and recycling among businesses following its announcement of funding for kerbside collections of recyclable material from domestic residences in Glasgow.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The National Waste Plan (Bib. number 26101) outlines theways in which the Executive plan to tackle issues of non-municipal waste. Inparticular reference is made to advice from the Scottish Environment ProtectionAgency (SEPA) <a href="http://www.sepa.org.uk/wa…
8 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the details of how it intends to spend the #20 million funding announced as part of its budget for 2003-06, to help to ensure that child care is not a barrier to disadvantaged people in deprived communities engaging with work, training or education.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I am announcing today fulldetails of the allocation of the £20 million “Working for Families” fund. Thiswill be distributed to the 10 selected local authorities as outlined in the followingtable:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> …
21 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish its report on the responses to the consultation document Putting Our Communities First: A Strategy for tackling Anti-social Behaviour.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I will be publishing thereport of the analysis, by Glasgow University, of the responses to <i>Putting Our CommunitiesFirst: A Strategy for tackling Anti-Social Behaviour</i> later today. Copies of the report have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Cent…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to reduce the number of lung cancer deaths in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34903 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/searc…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area died from lung cancer compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the observed number of deaths from cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area compared with the national average:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=274><TR><TD WIDT…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to reduce the number of cancer deaths in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: <I>Cancer in Scotland: Action for change</I> sets out a variety of measures aimed at improving prevention, earlier detection and more rapid diagnosis and treatment for all cancers.
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area died from cancer compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The table shows the observed number of deaths in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area from all cancers compared with the national average, by year of death.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=311><TR><TD WIDTH="33%" VALIGN="TOP">…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to reduce the number of patients who suffer from coronary heart disease in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The <I>Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke: Strategy for Scotland</I> published in October 2002 highlights the importance of primary prevention measures in tackling the burden of coronary heart disease in Scotland. Improving Health is also a key theme in our re…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area were diagnosed with coronary heart disease compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The data requested are presented in the following table and show new cases treated in hospital who were recorded with a diagnosis of coronary heart disease on discharge:<P>Coronary Heart Disease in Scotland<SUP>1</SUP>; New Cases<SUP>2,3</SUP> Treated in Hosp…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to increase the number of school leavers in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area leaving school with a higher grade qualification.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34897 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/searc…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school leavers in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area left school and attained a higher qualification at a further or higher education institution compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Iain Gray: Information on students attending further education colleges (FECs) and higher education institutions (HEIs) in Scotland is not published at the required level of geographic disaggregation. Although some information is held centrally on the home postcode of s…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to increase the number of school leavers in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area leaving school with (a) standard and (b) higher grade qualifications.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The school improvement framework requires all local authorities and their schools to establish local targets for school pupils achieving national qualifications. The targets are to be set for the period 2002-05 and should be stretching, but realistic.<P>The i…
17 Mar 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school leavers in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency area left school with no (a) standard and (b) higher grade qualifications compared to the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is shown in the following table; the data for Glasgow Springburn is based on publicly funded schools within the constituency rather than pupils living within that area. The schools included are: All Saints Secondary School; Smithycro…
29 Jan 2003 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise educational attainment of pupils in the early stages of secondary education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive's response to the National Debate on Education recognised the importance of action to improve the outcomes of early secondary education for pupils. <P>We will bring forward proposals to reduce class sizes and improve pupil/teacher ratios at cri…
4 Dec 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the working group on possible legislation to tackle religious hatred.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The group's report is being published today. In line with its recommendations, the Executive will be supporting legislation to create a statutory aggravation of religious prejudice, as tabled for consideration in the current Criminal Justice Bill by Donald Go…
26 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will be taking to tackle youth crime and disorder.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: On 26 June, Cabinet agreed a 10 point action plan to tackle the problem of persistent offending, to enhance community safety and to improve the effectiveness of Scotland's youth justice systems.<P>The review recommends a tiered approach in tackling youth crim…
5 Jun 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any new developments in its community regeneration policies.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Community Regeneration Statement - <I>Better Communities in Scotland: Closing the Gap </I>- which was published on 25 June, signals a number of important shifts in our approach to regeneration. These include the placing of regeneration within the communit…
16 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what business targets it has set for the Scottish Prison Service for 2002-03.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have taken the opportunity to review the targets that I set for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) for 2001-02. Many of the targets remain relevant to the business of the service. I have, however, decided to make minor adjustments to some of the targets to b…
2 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the next electronic service delivery progress report.
Answer · Andy Kerr: We have today published the 2nd Electronic Service Delivery Progress Report. Over all, more than 67% of services are now available online. Copies of the report have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre, and it is also available on the <A HREF="htt…
12 Apr 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a duty of Best Value will be extended across the public sector.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The duty of Best Value has been extended across the public sector - placing a duty on all Accountable Officers to seek best value from resources. This is being implemented using powers under the Public Finance and Accountability Act 2000.
10 Apr 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what future improvements in Glasgow's housing stock can be expected following the vote in favour of the transfer of the stock to the Glasgow Housing Association.
Answer · Iain Gray: The transfer will bring real benefits to tenants in the form of fully modernised, secure houses and guaranteed rent levels. The investment programme will include affordable central heating, new windows and modern kitchens and bathrooms as well as external and…
8 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the effect will be on current council tenants' existing entitlement to discounts under the Right to Buy provision should there be a yes vote in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot.
Answer · Margaret Curran: If tenants vote yes in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot, there will no change to their existing entitlements to discount under the Right to Buy provision and any discount level will transfer.
8 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether existing council tenants in Glasgow will still have the opportunity to buy their home should there be a yes vote in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot
Answer · Margaret Curran: If tenants vote yes in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot, they will retain their Right to Buy in relation to the home that they occupy at the time of transfer.
8 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how Glasgow Housing Association will deal with anti-social neighbours should there be a yes vote in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) has devised a Neighbourhood Nuisance Policy. If tenants vote yes in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot, the GHA will take firm action in response to complaints, placing the emphasis on early action at a local level…