Parliamentary questions

Scott Barrie

275 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

7 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the report of the Historical Abuse Systemic Review: Residential Care for Children and Young People in Scotland 1950-1995 will be completed.

Answer · Hugh Henry: On 30 June 2005, the Minister forEducation and Young People announced the appointment of Mr Tom Shaw to lead theindependent historical abuse systemic review. It was hoped that the review wouldconclude its work by February 2007. Mr Tom Shaw has requested an ex…

1 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance in answering ministerial correspondence was in the third and fourth quarters of 2006.

Answer · Margaret Curran: In the answer to questionS1W-24583 on 28 March 2002, I undertook to continue to report quarterly on the numbersof letters received by ministers and our performance in answering them.In the quarter July to September2006, 5,378 letters were received by m…

22 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make its formal response to the Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems (Arbuthnott Commission) Report, Putting Citizens First: Boundaries, Voting and Representation in Scotland, published on 19 January 2006.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Executive has separate responsesto four recommendations of the Arbuthnott Report, which are set out as follows:The majority of the other recommendationsof the Arbuthnott Report relate to reserved matters, and the Scotland Office istoday responding …

18 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the draft legislation to implement Getting it right for every child, announced by the Minister for Parliamentary Business on 22 June 2006, will be published.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I am pleased to announce today,19 December, the publication of the Draft Children’s Services (Scotland) Billconsultation, copies of which are available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 41238). The draft bill is intended to support the…

13 Dec 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to community sports initiatives, such as the Fife Soccer Sevens Development Association.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: All Executive funding forsport is routed through sportscotland who operate a number of fundingprogrammes specifically for local community organisations. Decisions on whichapplications are successful are a matter for the board of sportscotland.

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what legislative consent motions it will lodge in the Parliament in connection with the legislative programme of the UK Government that will be announced in the Queen’s Speech on 15 November 2006.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Under the Sewel Convention,the UK Government does not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters inScotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.This is an important part of the devolution settlement, signifying respect for therole of the Sc…

6 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will begin the consultation on the National Fostering Strategy and who will be consulted.

Answer · Peter Peacock: I plan to launch the consultationon the National Fostering Strategy in December 2006. This will be a standard publicconsultation, open for all to respond. In addition, a reference group has been setup to ensure that key stakeholders have an early input to the…

1 Nov 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will support the work of voluntary organisations over the next 12 months.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive’s Visionfor the Voluntary Sector, published in December 2005, sets out our clear recognitionof the importance of the voluntary sector. We work closely with the sector and providea wide range of support for voluntary organisations…

24 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance in answering ministerial correspondence was in the first and second quarters of 2006.

Answer · Margaret Curran: In the answer to question S1W-24583,I undertook to continue to report quarterly on the numbers of letters received byministers and our performance in answering them.In the quarter January to March2006, 8,144 letters were received by ministers of which …

29 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish proposals for the reform of the Scottish NHS and Teachers’ Pension Schemes.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Consultation papers setting outproposals for the reform of the Scottish NHS and Teachers’ Superannuation Schemesare being published today, with a closing date for responses of 5 January 2007. Copiesof each consultation paper are available in the Scottish Parl…

26 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioner households are estimated to be living in fuel poverty as a result of gas and electricity price rises since 2003, in light of Communities Scotland’s estimate that 30,000 households go into fuel poverty for every 5% increase in energy prices.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish House ConditionSurvey (SCHS) estimates that, in 2002, there were around 168,000 pensioner householdsin fuel poverty. This is the most recent figure available for this group. More upto date estimates will be sought from the SHCS 2004-05 data which…

26 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many lone parent households are estimated to be living in fuel poverty as a result of gas and electricity price rises since 2003, in light of Communities Scotland’s estimate that 30,000 households go into fuel poverty for every 5% increase in energy prices.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish House ConditionSurvey (SCHS) estimates that, in 2002, there were around 9,000 lone parent householdsin fuel poverty. This is the most recent figure available for this group. More upto date estimates will be sought from the SHCS 2004-05 data which…

26 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households with children under five are estimated to be living in fuel poverty as a result of gas and electricity price rises since 2003, in light of Communities Scotland’s estimate that 30,000 households go into fuel poverty for every 5% increase in energy prices.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish House ConditionSurvey (SCHS) estimates that in 2002 there were around 9,000 households with childrenunder the age of five in fuel poverty. This is the most recent figure availablefor this group. More up to date estimates will be sought from the S…

26 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households are estimated to be living in fuel poverty as a result of gas and electricity price rises since 2003, in light of Communities Scotland’s estimate that 30,000 households go into fuel poverty for every 5% increase in energy prices.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The most recent estimates forthe whole population are contained in the Scottish House Condition Survey (SCHS)2003 -04. It indicates that around 328,000 households (14.5%) were in fuel poverty.This does not represent a statistically significant change from the…

22 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Superfast Ferries regarding the future of the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry route.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has hadno recent discussions with Superfast Ferries regarding the future of the Rosythto Zeebrugge ferry route. Officialsmet Scottish Enterprise on 29 August 2006 following a Scottish Enterprise discussionwith the Attica Group on 7 Augu…

30 Aug 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is available to public authorities on dealing with actual or suspected outbreaks of E. coli O157.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We published guidanceon Managing Incidents Presenting Actual or Potential Risks to the Public Healthin 2003. This guidance indicates how NHS boards and other organisations should manageincidents such as outbreaks of E. coli O157.

31 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider increasing the level of non-domestic rates paid by out-of-town retailers in order to encourage town centre retail development.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Rateable values for non-domesticproperties are set independently by the Scottish Assessors. Wider issues aroundlocal taxation are being considered as part of the independent review of local governmentfinance which is due to report later this year. However, we…

31 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to regenerate traditional town centres.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive’s planningpolicy on town centres and retailing is contained in National Planning PolicyGuidance (NPPG) 8: Town Centres and Retailing. The policy contains aclear commitment to the enhancement and protection of town centres by lookingto imp…

31 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2006-07.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Scottish ministers have set Registersof Scotland the following key targets for 2006-07:Financial1. To achieve a return of 15%on net capital employed over the three-year period ending 31 March 2007.2. Limit the increase in thestandard prod…

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the final evaluation of the drug court pilots in Glasgow and Fife and what plans there are for the future of these courts.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The final evaluation of the Glasgow and Fife drugcourts will be published today and can be accessed at the following weblinks:Report.<a href="http://sh45inta/Resource/Doc/100021/0024203.pdf">http://sh45inta/Resource/Doc/100021/0024203.pdf</a>.Re…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases considered by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission convictions have been overturned because the police did not inform either the Crown or the court of all material facts relating to their investigation.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24504 on 13 April 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases considered by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission convictions have been overturned because of doubts over the police investigation into the original offence.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot readily available in the form requested. The circumstances mentioned in thequestion would normally be classified by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission(SCCRC) as “disclosure of evidence” or “new evidence”, but these c…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases referred to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission have resulted in a convicted person having their conviction overturned.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Criminal Cases ReviewCommission (SCCRC) was established by statute on 1 April 1999. The following tableprovides information on all applications received by the SCCRC since its establishmentuntil 31 March 2006 for review of convictions and sentenc…

8 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop the skills of the older members of Scotland's workforce.

Answer · Allan Wilson: A new older learners programme- Experience Counts’ - will be available from today. This programme aims to improvethe skills and learning capacity of older workers (age 50 and over) through encouragingSector Skills Councils to collaborate with colleges and lea…

2 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance in answering ministerial correspondence was in the third and fourth quarter of 2005.

Answer · Margaret Curran: In the answer to question S1W-24583 on 28 March 2002, I undertook to continue to report quarterly on the number of letters received by ministers and our performance in answering them. In the quarter July to September 2005, 2,539 letters were received f…

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20893 by Ms Margaret Curran on 6 December 2005, whether the booklet by the Office of the Scottish Parliamentary Counsel on the use of plain language in legislation has been published.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I am pleased to announce that we are today publishing the booklet in electronic form. It is available on <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/17093804">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/17093804</a>.</p…

27 Feb 2006 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action across the relevant agencies is being considered to provide better protection for vulnerable young people and children.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Additional actions includeclear lines of accountability; proposals to introduce a duty on professionalsfor them to share information where this is required to protect children andyoung people and retraining front line professionals, including social workersin…

13 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what costs it will reimburse to local authorities following the G8 summit and related events.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Additional funding will be provided to three councils to meet the full cost of agreed additional expenditure incurred in connection with measures put in place in connection with the G8 summit. The councils and the amounts involved are shown in the following t…

13 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the economic impacts of the G8 summit and related events.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive commissioned an independent study to estimate the summit’s economic impact, including benefits and costs. I am publishing the study today. Copies of the study have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 3…

12 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance was in answering ministerial correspondence in the second quarter of 2005.

Answer · Margaret Curran: In the answer to question S1W-24583 on 28 March 2002, I undertook to continue to report quarterly on the numbers of letters received by ministers and our performance in answering them. In the quarter April to June 2005, 3,116 letters were received for …