Richard Lochhead

18 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints of corruption were made against each housing association in each of the last five years and how many such complaints were subsequently investigated.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive, Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested is not held centrally.</p><p>The information requested may be available from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.</…

18 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints were made against each housing association in each of the last five years and how many such complaints were subsequently investigated.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive, Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested is not held centrally.</p><p>The information requested may be available from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.</…

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the staff turnover was in each of the last three years at HM Prison Aberdeen, broken down by category of employee.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>Information in the form requested is not available.</p><p>The turnover in total in the last three years was:</p><table border=1 cellspacing…

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff vacancies there have been and what the level of staff sickness has been at HM Prison Aberdeen in each of the last 12 months, broken down by category of employee.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The available information for HM Prison Aberdeen in 2003-04 is as set out in the following table: </p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpad…

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the (a) health centre and (b) visiting facilities at HM Prison Aberdeen are satisfactory and whether there are any plans to upgrade these facilities.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>Capital investment overall in the SPS is at record levels. Priority is currently being given to upgrading facilities to end slopping …

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice has any plans to visit HM Prison Aberdeen and, if so, when.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I visited HM Prison Aberdeen on Monday 23 August 2004.</p>

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of investment there was in each prison in each of the last five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The investment levels are recorded in the SPS Annual Report and Accounts whichprovide the following breakdown by type of expenditure.…

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of prison officers to inmates has been in each of the last six months at each remand prison.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>SPS Establishments are complemented according to the security classification of the prisoner population. There are no exclusively rem…

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the development plan for the prison estate at HM Prison Aberdeen was submitted; what response has been made by ministers and Scottish Prison Service management, and whether there are any plans to adopt the plan.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>There is no development plan for HM Prison Aberdeen. The SPS is currently updating its estate strategy. This exercise will include HM…

12 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it took to ensure that the report into openness at Scottish Water, commissioned in 2002 and sent to the Executive in November 2003, was placed in the public domain.

Answer · Ross Finnie: None. That is a matter for those who commissioned the report, the Water Customer Consultation Panels.</p>

12 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, it will seek to justify the continued existence of the principle of relative stability in terms of conservation and sustainable exploitation objectives.

Answer · Ross Finnie: No. The principle of relative stability is not being reviewed. Following working group discussions in 2003-04, it was agreed that the Article 19 review shall be limited to include the Shetland Box, the Plaice Box and certain access restrictions in the outermo…

12 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, it will seek to justify the continued existence of the Shetland Box in terms of conservation and sustainable exploitation objectives.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Yes, the Scottish Executive agrees that the Shetland Box access conditions should be strengthened and updated but considers the Shetland Box arrangement to be a vital protection for an important ecosystem – and also believes its continuation is also justified…

12 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any submissions or representations to the European Commission in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive have made no direct submissions or representations to the European Commission in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19. The UK Government have, after oral and written representations from the Scottish Executiv…

12 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any submissions or representations to Her Majesty's Government in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.

Answer · Ross Finnie: In the course of routine business the Scottish Executive has made numerous written and oral representations to Department for Environment Food andRural Affairs (DEFRA) on several aspects of the Article 19 review, concentrating on the implications of the revie…

12 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the European Commission in completing the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and what the latest anticipated timescale is for the completion of this review.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Commission has sought and secured a delay in the production of a report into the effectiveness of access restrictions, which was originally intended to be made available by 31 December 2003. During 2003 and 2004, the Commission secured agreement on the sc…

7 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what percentage of applications to Disclosure Scotland no charge was levied in each of the last six months and in each year since its establishment.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Disclosure Scotland may only issue disclosures where the appropriate fee is paid. Scottish ministers have, however, made available funding to cover the cost of disclosures applied for by volunteers working unpaid with children and vulnerable adults. The follo…

7 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to Disclosure Scotland were returned to the applicants due to errors in each of the last six months and in each year since its establishment, in each case expressed also as a percentage of the total number of applications in each category of disclosure.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Information relating to applications returned to applicants is only available from January 2004 and a breakdown by category of disclosure is not available. The available information is shown in the following table:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding…

7 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed by Disclosure Scotland and how many were employed in each year since its establishment.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The number of staff (full time equivalents) employed at Disclosure Scotland, including staff employed directly by BT, at April each year since 2002 and at mid-uly 2004, was as follows: </p><p>April 2002, 47.5 (including 22 by BT).</p><p>April 2003, 85.5 (incl…

7 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of applications to Disclosure Scotland has fallen outwith the turnaround times stipulated by each service agreement for (a) basic, (b) standard and (c) enhanced disclosures in each year since its establishment and in each of the last six months.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The service level agreement (SLA)for standard and enhanced applications is to deal with 90% in 14 calendar days and for basic applications it is to deal with 90% in six calendar weeks. The SLA relates to applications which do not require the correction of err…

7 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications there were to Disclosure Scotland for (a) basic, (b) standard and (c) enhanced disclosures in each year since its establishment and in each of the last 12 months.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested is set out in the following table:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p>Period/Month </p> </td> <td> <p>Number of Applications</p> </td> <td> <p>Period/Month </p> </td> <td> <p>Number of Applicat…

7 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average turnaround times for applications to Disclosure Scotland for (a) basic, (b) standard and (c) enhanced disclosures are currently and were in each of the last 12 months.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The estimated average turnaround time for all levels of disclosures processed in the week ending 25 July 2004 was 11 calendar days.</p><p>The times for the earlier periods are set out in the following table:</p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing…

25 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4172 by Mr Tom McCabe on 1 December 2003, how many delayed discharges there were in each local authority area and NHS partnership as of April 2004 and, if this data is not available, when these figures will be published.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown in the following tables 1 and 2:</p><p>Table 1</p><p>NHS – Patients Ready for Discharge – Numbers by Local Authority Area¹; as at April 2004 </p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=616> <thead> <tr…

16 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why it did not inform the European and External Relations Committee of the plans by the European Union to establish a defence agency in the letter from the Minister for Finance and Public Services to the committee of 7 June 2004, which states that, outwith the agencies created during the…

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Defence Agency was not mentioned in the letter of 7 June 2004 from the Minister for Finance and Public Services, as that letter was a response to a letter dated 31 March from the Committee, which asked for “further information on agencies not yet establis…

16 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or plans to make, any representations to Her Majesty's Government in respect of locating the new EU Defence Agency in Scotland.

Answer · Tavish Scott: No. It was agreed at an early stage in the planning of the agency that it should be located in Brussels, for the practical reason of its need to work closely with EU structures, military staff and NATO.</p>

10 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many United Kingdom companies have been approached to fund, and take part in, the trade fair in Paris on 17 June 2004 organised by the British Embassy; how many have accepted, and, of these, how many are Scottish companies.

Answer · Jim Wallace: UK Trade & Investment have provided information regarding the participants at the “Great! Britain” exhibition which was held by the UK Embassy in Paris on 17 June 2004.  Ninety companies and organisations were approached, including Scottish firms suggested by…

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the findings of Project Galore and subsequent research into people's perception of Scotland including the campaign about Scotland's international image.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Findings from the recent consultation and research on Scotland’s international image, commissioned by the Executive, are being published today. Copies have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 33112). I have also arranged for a copy t…

9 Jun 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to create new direct international air links.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive, through its Route Development Fund, has made 21 offers on potential new routes from Scotland. The airports which have benefited to date are:</p><p>Edinburgh International</p><p>Glasgow Prestwick </p><p>Aberdeen</p><p>Inverness</p><p>Gl…

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that the circumstances surrounding the invitation to the First Minister to visit Normandy on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings are not repeated.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The procedures for handling suchmatters are under constant review.</p>

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5591 by Mr Andy Kerr on 28 January 2004, why the outcome of the review of the police funding formula has not been published and what its findings were with specific reference to the impact of the review on funding for Grampian Police.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Police GAE Working Group decided to delay submitting the report in order that their recommendations could be informed by additional data which became available in May. As I said in answer to question S2O-2646 on 17 June 2004, I expect to receive the repor…

7 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was made aware of Lech Walesa's recent visit to Scotland House in Brussels and why no minister was in attendance.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Lech Walesa was attending the formal opening of the Pomeranian Region Office within Scotland House on 1 June 2004. I was not aware of his visit in advance. Indeed, I understand that his attendance was only confirmed on the day of the event itself. Although it…