Parliamentary questions

Richard Lochhead

2,448 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) current average waiting times are and (b) si'e of each waiting list is for prescriptions for (i) methadone and (ii) other drug substitutes in each NHS board and what the equivalent figures were in each of the last five years.

Answer · Richard Simpson: The information requested is not held centrally.Waiting time information for drug misuse treatment is not held consistently by drug services across Scotland. We are, however, currently seeking from Drug Action Teams some local information on waiting times …

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the recidivism rates are for each prison and how such rates are measured.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Recidivism figures were published by the Scottish Executive in February 2001. The study, which looked at a cohort of offenders released in 1995, recorded that 45% were reconvicted within two years.The Scottish Prison Service publishes return to custody fig…

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the success of each prison is measured with regard to rehabilitation.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:It is not possible to measure rehabilitation directly and future behaviour is affected by many factors, many of which occur outwith the p…

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the Scottish Environment Protection Agency monitoring sites located in the proposed Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in the North-east Scotland parliamentary region.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The locations of Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) monitoring sites in the north-east Scotland parliamentary region, can be found from the SEPA maps entitled SEPA Groundwater Monitoring (Parliament's Reference Centre, Bib. number 20139) and…

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on the basis of how many samples taken in each catchment area in the proposed Strathmore Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, designation of the 'one was proposed.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Detailed information about sample numbers and distribution can be found in the report Groundwater nitrate vulnerable zones for Scotland (Parliament's Reference Centre, Bib. number 18567), as detailed in the answer to question S1W-23978 today.

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on the basis of how many samples taken in each catchment area in the proposed Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, designation of the 'one was proposed.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The British Geological Survey (BGS) collated nitrate data from 809 sources in the proposed Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan NVZ, including private water supplies, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) groundwater monitoring network, public water su…

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what issues were discussed at the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on 7 March 2002, who attended the meeting and what the outcome was.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-4899 on 21 March 2002. I attended the meeting on behalf of the Scottish Executive; the meeting was chaired by the Foreign Secretary, and was also attended by other ministers and officials from the UK Gove…

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many people are employed at the (a) headquarters and (b) other offices of each European Union agency based in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Information on agencies of European Union is given at:www.europa.eu.int. There are no EU agencies based in Scotland.

11 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of commissioning the review by PricewaterhouseCoopers of non-clinical services in NHS Grampian.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS Grampian, who commissioned the review in order to improve services for patients.

8 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts have been made to secure the location of new European Union agencies in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the location of new European Agencies.

4 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22493 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 February 2002, whether the percentage of EU Council of Ministers meetings attended refers to the proportion of the total of all formal and informal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Since the figure for councils attended by Scottish ministers, given in answer to question S1W-22493, included two informal meetings of EU Ministers, the percentage given should have referred to the proportion of the total of all formal meetings of the EU Coun…

1 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fishing vessel owners to date have accepted decommissioning funds; how many vessels these funds applied to; how many vessels have been subsequently scrapped, and in what location these vessels were scrapped.

Answer · Ross Finnie: As of 4 March, the owners of 80 fishing vessels have accepted decommissioning grant offers under the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001, out of 102 vessels currently subject to grant offers. Of these vessels, 70 have submitted, and had a…

21 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times its Ministerial Committee on Rural Development has met, what the date of each meeting was, what items were discussed at each meeting and who attended each meeting.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Thirteen meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Rural Development were held during the period from 1 September 1999 to November 2001: on 1 September, 5 October, and 25 November 1999; 31 January, 13 March, 5 April, 6 September and 8 November 2000; 30 January…

21 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to establish a rural version of the Social Inclusion Partnerships initiative and what the reason is for its position on this matter.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The network of 48 Social Inclusion Partnership's which has been established across Scotland includes both urban and rural areas. Rural areas such as Moray are being supported as well as traditional urban areas, such as Glasgow.

21 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22004 by Cathy Jamieson on 31 January 2002, whether it will give a breakdown of the #6.4 million rural weighting by local authority and per school place in each local authority.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Twelve local authorities are considered as delivering pre-school education in "very rural" areas, i.e. areas where more than 15% of the population live in communities of less than 1,000. The "rural" allocations which form part of the 20…

20 Feb 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to tackle delayed discharges in the NHS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: On 9 January 2002, we announced a £20 million package for local authorities and NHSScotland to make a significant reduction in the number of patients experiencing delayed discharge from hospitals across Scotland. This is over and above the £10 million already…

13 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the dedicated post of Fisheries Secretary in its Environment and Rural Affairs Department still exists and whether there have been any recent changes to the post's responsibilities.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This post has recently been expanded to include rural development matters as part of a reorganisation of senior management responsibilities within the department. However, the Scottish Executive continues to give high priority to fisheries matters and both st…

13 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what projects have been funded by the New Futures Fund in each (a) constituency and (b) parliamentary region in each year since 1998, giving (i) the total amount of funding received by, (ii) the name of and (iii) the location of each such project.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: This information is not held centrally. Allocation of funding to individual projects is an operational matter and as such is the responsibility of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

11 Feb 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what plans the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has to celebrate the Parliament's visit to Aberdeen and to maximise the involvement of the people of the north east.

Answer · David Steel: The first day of the visit will be marked by an address to the Parliament by Her Majesty The Queen. During the three days that the Parliament will sit in Aberdeen, a full programme of business will be taken which will enable local people to observe proceeding…

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated impact is on the budget of each further education college of the new measures of student activity announced by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council on 8 February 2002.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The estimated impact on each college will not be known until the council has developed a detailed implementation plan. The council has indicated that there will be no consequential changes to funding until academic year 2003-04 at the earliest.

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what models were set up to estimate the impact on further education establishments of the new measures of student activity on which the Scottish Further Education Funding Council's (SFEFC) funding formula will be based and which were announced by the SFEFC on 8 February 2002.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Given the large number of matters under consideration and potential outcome permutations, it was not practical for SFEFC to estimate the impact of everything being consulted on.The council has indicated that it now proposes to work closely with colleges in…

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has had with further education establishments over the new measures of student activity on which the Scottish Further Education Funding Council's (SFEFC) funding formula will be based and which were announced by the SFEFC on 8 February 2002.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Further Education Funding Council, which is responsible for these matters, developed the new approach to measuring student activity.

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to celebrate the Parliament's visit to Aberdeen and to maximise the involvement of the people of the north east.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive's arrangements for the period when the Parliament is in Aberdeen have not yet been finalised.

7 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance (a) is currently available and (b) will be available in 2002-03 to all farmers whose operations are affected by nitrate vulnerable 'one designations.

Answer · Ross Finnie: None. There is no specific financial assistance available at present but carrying out conservation management proposals which meet the objectives of a nitrate vulnerable zone is one of the criteria used to prioritise applications to join the Rural Stewardship…

7 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many official engagements the First Minister has carried out in the north east Scotland parliamentary region since his appointment and whether it will detail these engagements.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I held a meeting with the Leader of Aberdeen City Council when I visited Aberdeen on 26 January 2002. I will be attending Parliament when it sits in Aberdeen in May and intend to carry out a number of official engagements in and around the region at that time.

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sheriff court cases in (a) Scotland and (b) each court have been postponed on the day of commencement due to technicalities or other reasons and what the estimated cost was resulting from such postponements in each case, in each of the past three years and in the current year.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The table which follows sets out the number of summary criminal trials which were called in court for trial, and the number which were adjourned to another trial date for a variety of reasons.No information on the costs of postponements is collected.The…

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many High Court cases in (a) Scotland and (b) each court have been postponed on the day of commencement due to technicalities or other reasons and what the estimated cost was resulting from such postponements in each case, in each of the past three years and in the current year.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Postponement of cases in the High Court is a statutory procedure which takes place before the start of a trial and no statistics of such postponements are collected.However, the table which follows sets out the number of indictments registered in the High …

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many official speeches have been made outwith the Parliament in (a) Scotland and (b) elsewhere concerning Europe and external relations by (i) the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice and (ii) former ministers with responsibility for Europe and external relations; what the …

Answer · Jim Wallace: Scottish ministers have made speeches in full or in part concerning Europe and external relations on a very wide range of occasions. Major speeches outwith Parliament concentrating on Europe and external relations have included those listed in the following t…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the operating costs of its Brussels office have been in each of the last four years and in the current year to date.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Since establishing the Scottish Executive EU Office on 1 July 1999, its operating costs have been:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=247><TR><TD WIDTH="73%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16>July 1999 - March 200…

30 Jan 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken in response to the placing of Aberdeen-based textiles group Richards in receivership.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive and its agencies are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to assist the company and its workforce as appropriate.