Parliamentary questions
Richard Lochhead
2,448 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of Communities Scotland's funding has been allocated in each of the last three years for the purpose of (a) building and (b) conducting research and development into innovative and sustainable housing, shown also as a percentage of total Communities Scotland funding in each yea…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p> <p>Communities Scotland does not classify individual projects as innovative and/or sustainable, as the agency encourages the incorporation of s…
16 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all telephone information lines and helplines that it funded in each of the last three years, giving information on the relevant organisations and showing the number of calls made each year and staff numbers and costs in each case.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p>
11 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage share of (a) GDP and (b) employment levels was accounted for by the public sector in each of the last 10 years, showing the year-on-year and cumulative changes.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The industry breakdown of gross value added (GVA) presented in Table 1 is based on the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC) system. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at basic prices is commonly referred to as GVA.</p> <p>This time series…
11 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the employment levels in the aquaculture sector are currently and have been in each of the last six years.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is provided in the following table.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Salmon Production</p></td> <td> <p align=center>1998</p></td> <td> <p align=center>1999</p></td> <td> <…
11 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the potential impact on the marine environment of offshore wind farms has been assessed.
Answer · Jim Wallace: We aim to commence a Strategic Environmental Assessment of parts of Scotland’s coastline this summer. The assessment will provide valuable information on environmental considerations which will steer our decisions on the future development of offshore renewab…
11 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements have been made to the A96 in each of the last six years and what improvements are scheduled to be carried out in the future.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: A significant number of projects have been undertaken to improve the A96 during the last six years and further improvements to the A96 are being prepared. These various improvements are listed in the following tables split between major construction works com…
11 May 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to assess the impact on rural areas and industries such as agriculture and fisheries of rising road fuel prices.
Answer · Ross Finnie: No detailed impact analysis of a rise in fuel prices has been carried out for specific industries or areas of Scotland. With regard to the agricultural and fisheries industries, both sectors benefit from reduced duty applied to the use of red diesel. This is …
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any studies have been made of the effects of exposure to advertising on children; whether any action is planned as a result of such studies, and, if no such studies have been undertaken, whether any are planned.
Answer · Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive has not undertaken any studies of the effects of exposure to advertising on children.</p>
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to police forces regarding the recruitment of female police officers.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Responsibility for the recruitment and appointment of police officers rests with chief constables. In April last year, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) launched a Diversity Strategy for the Police Service in Scotland. This strategy…
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to police forces regarding the recruitment of police officers from minority backgrounds.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recruitment and appointment of police officers is the responsibility of chief constables. The Scottish police service is committed to encouraging people from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible to join the service. In April 2004, the Association of…
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male and (b) female police officers were employed by each police force in each of the last five years, showing the year-on-year percentage change and the percentage of the total number represented by each group.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is set out in the follwoingtables .</p> <p>1999-2000 (Headcount)</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan="2"> <p>Force</p></td> <td rowspan="2"> <p align=center>Male</p></td> …
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new police recruits were (a) male and (b) female in each of the last five years, broken down by police force, showing the year-on-year percentage change and the percentage of each year's intake represented by each group.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is set out in the following table.</p> <p>1999-2000</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan="2"> <p> </p></td> <td rowspan="2"> <p align=center>Male</p></td> <td rowspan=…
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) white and (b) non-white police officers were employed by each police force in each of the last five years, showing the year-on-year percentage change and the percentage of the total number represented by each group.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is set out in the following tables.</p> <p>1999-2000</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan="2"> <p> </p></td> <td rowspan="2"> <p align=center>White</p></td> <td rowspa…
10 May 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new police recruits were from a (a) white and (b) non-white background in each of the last five years, broken down by police force, showing the year-on-year percentage change and the percentage of each year's intake represented by each group.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is set out in the following tables.</p> <p>1999-2000</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan="2"> <p> </p></td> <td rowspan="2"> <p align=center>White</p></td> <td rowspa…
27 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which responsibilities in relation to the regulation of carbon sequestration and capture are (a) devolved and (b) reserved.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive does not currently regulate carbon sequestration and capture.</p> <p>There is a mixture of reserved and devolved responsibilities for policies and functions that have an influence on carbon sequestration. In general terms, fiscal polici…
21 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many fisheries officer posts there were in each of the last five years, broken down by port and taking into account unfilled and new vacancies, also showing year-on-year percentage changes and expressed where possible as a ratio of the number of relevant registered vessels.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The figures requested are shown as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td colspan=2> <p>Eastern Area</p> </td> <td> <p>Aberdeen</p> </td> <td> <p>Buckie</p> </td> <td> <p>Eyemouth</p> </td> <td> …
20 Apr 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to address the shortage of skills in the oil and gas industry.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive is committed to addressing skills issues within the sector in close partnership with all key stakeholders.</p> <p>We are contributing to the work that PILOT, the government and industry taskforce for the oil and gas industry, is undertaking to d…
19 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that its Environment and Rural Affairs Department's information systems are compatible with those of the British Cattle Movement Service.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Information is transferred electronically between the systems on a regular basis for disease control and public health purposes, subsidy cross checks and to support policy decisions. This process is currently being reviewed to identify improvements which can …
19 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any economic impact assessment of the impact of rising fuel costs on the agriculture sector has been carried out, or is under way, and, if so, whether it will provide details of the findings.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Whilst the agriculture sector benefits from reduced duty on red diesel, worth over 40 pence per litre compared to most other industries and private motorists, the Executive is aware of the issues surrounding the rising cost of fuel, as it impacts on both the …
19 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any analysis into appeals lodged through the agricultural subsidies appeals procedure has been carried out and, if so, what the findings were.
Answer · Ross Finnie: My officials record and monitor appeals lodged by scheme, scheme issues (e.g. livestock record keeping) and the grounds of appeal. They also monitor appeal outcomes. This information allows them to determine whether any changes are required to our scheme mana…
19 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals were (a) lodged with the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure in each year since it was adopted and (b) successful in each year following the (i) internal and (ii) external review, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of appeals.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The information requested is set out in the following tables. In stage 2 appeals the external panel make a recommendation to me with its findings.</p> <p>Number of Appeals Lodged:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> …
19 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any changes to the EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure are planned and, if so, whether it will provide details and the likely timescale for such changes.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The EU agricultural subsidies appeals procedure has been in operation since November 2000 and I have no plans to make any changes to the structure of the procedure itself. In March this year, the legislation was amended to extend coverage of the procedure to …
18 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its fisheries-related priorities are for the United Kingdom's forthcoming presidency of the European Union and how it intends to pursue them.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Scottish Executive ministers and officials will play a full part, in both a Presidency and member state role, in the UK team working to ensure a successful Presidency that delivers our fisheries-related objectives. It is not possible to be precise at this sta…
18 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests have been submitted to each minister under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and whether it will provide details for each minister in respect of the percentage (a) disclosed, (b) refused, (c) where the initial appeal was successful and (d) where a subsequen…
Answer · Margaret Curran: Most requests for information are handled routinely and not all are recorded or counted centrally. The information is therefore not available in the format requested.</p> <p>Some general information about freedom of information (FOI) requests received and res…
14 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what costs it has incurred in respect of the nuclear industry in each of the last five years, broken down by department and showing also the year-on-year percentage change.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has not incurred any programme costs in respect of the nuclear industry in the last five years. As regards running costs, a small team of staff in Environment and Rural Affairs Department deal with policy on radioactive waste matters in…
14 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all overseas posts maintained by (a) it and (b) each of its agencies, broken down by location and giving the employment status of each post.
Answer · Tom McCabe: A list of overseas posts maintainedby the Scottish Executive is provided in the following table. This includes directappointments and secondments for which the Executive is meeting the full costs,but not staff on loan where the receiving organisation is meeti…
14 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to build on Tartan Week 2005.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The work of promoting Scotland in theUSis carried out all year round through our Scottish Affairs office in Washington andTartan Week is an important element of that work. The Tartan Day Working Group establishedin the lead up to Tartan Week 2004 and the eval…
14 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the success of Tartan Week 2005.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The programme for Tartan Week2005 was the most extensive and ambitious to date. More Scottish organisations thanever before were involved through events such as the Scotland Village and ScotlandRun in New York and the Life Sciences seminar in Boston. </p><p>I…
14 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that Scotland benefits from the events that took place during Tartan Week 2005.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The range of events for TartanWeek 2005 was the most extensive yet. An evaluation of these events is being preparedby the Executive’s Analytical Services Division and this will help assess the impactof this year’s programme.</p><p>Tartan Week is one element o…
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for podiatry has been in each NHS board in each year since 1999, showing year-on-year changes.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested isnot collected centrally.</p>