Parliamentary questions

Tommy Sheridan

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

24 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans, as part of targets to reduce cancer deaths, to develop a nationwide policy of retention of all cancer patients' records until five years after death and invest more resources in clerical and IT staff to update, computerise and access these records.

Answer · Andy Kerr: A working group of interested parties, including patients, is currently reviewing retention and destruction of all types of health records, and a national consultation on the Retention and Disposal of Health Records is currently underway. Further infor…

17 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route website still shows only the Murtle route through the Camphill communities on the front page, seven months after the consultation on five possible routes, and whether this gives website visitors the impression that Murtle is the chosen route.

Answer · Tavish Scott: While the website provides full details of all the routes under consideration I accept the outline plan on the front page could cause confusion. I have asked officials to update the website immediately.

17 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the explanation is for variations in the projected costs of the route options for the southern leg of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, particularly the Milltimber, Murtle and Pitfodels routes which are of similar length but have different cost ranges.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The cost of each of the options reflect not just length but costs associated with the engineering complexity and land prices, all of which differ between routes.

17 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial benefit, associated with the opening up of land to new development, has been factored into the evaluation and comparison of route options for the southern leg of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and, if so, how.

Answer · Tavish Scott: No.

12 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 have been fully answered since the Act came into force in January 2005; how many requests for information have not been answered and for what reasons; how many requests have been answered within the 20-…

Answer · Margaret Curran: A report on informationrequests handling in the Scottish Executive for requests recorded centrally andreceived during the period 1 January 2005 to 1 July 2005; is available inthe Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37868) and on the freedomof …

13 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts it is making to bring to a successful conclusion the current dispute between First Bus and the Transport and General Workers' Union in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Central Scotland.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The current dispute between First Bus and the Transport and General Workers’ Union in Edinburgh, the Lothians and central Scotland is a matter for the company and union involved and the Scottish Executive has no locus to intervene.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the pay protection for station managers in the fire service will be guaranteed until they retire.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Conditions of service for employees of fire and rescue authorities, including pay, are primarily a matter for negotiation between the local authority employers and the relevant staff representative bodies under the auspices of the National Joint Council for L…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a fully independent police complaints body similar to that now operating in England and, if so, when.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I will bring forward proposals to establish a new Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland in the forthcoming Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. In developing our thinking, we have looked at arrangements south of the Border, …

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) pensioner households and (b) single pensioners live on an annual income of (i) up to £10,000, (ii) £10,001 to £15,000, (iii) £15,001 to £20,000, (ic) £20,001 to £30,000, (v) £30,001 to £50,000 and (vi) more than £50,000.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is set out in the following two tables. The figures in the tables are estimates derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). Due to the small sample sizes in the FRS in Scotland, the latest three years of data have been use…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average salary is and what proportion of workers earns less than that amount.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The average salary can be estimated using both the mean gross salary and themedian gross salary for full-time employees1 in Scotland. The mean gross salarywas £23,836 in 2004, with 61.1 per cent of full-time employees in Scotland earningless than t…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) households and (b) individual citizens live on an annual income of (i) up to £5,000, (ii) £5,001 to £10,000, (iii) £10,001 to £20,000, (iv) £20,001 to £30,000, (v) £30,001 to £40,000, (vi) £40,001 to £50,000, (vii) £50,001 to £60,000, (viii) £60,001 to £80,000, (ix)…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is set out in the following two tables. The proportions in the tables are estimates derived from (a) the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and (b) the FRS’s Individual Incomes Analysis. Due to the small sample sizes in the FRS in …

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce or support the introduction of an offence of corporate killing.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In April I established an Expert Group on Corporate Homicide to review the law in Scotland on corporate liability for culpable homicide. The group have provided me with an interim report. I hope to receive their final report by the end of October. As I have p…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will end the diligence power of arresting the whole bank account of an actual or alleged debtor as part of its reform of personal bankruptcy and diligence law and, if so, when such a proposal will be presented.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill, to be introduced during this session, will introduce a protected minimum balance when funds in bank and similar accounts are arrested. That balance will be exempt from arrestment, and therefore any amount in an ac…

7 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are of implementing the ban on smoking in public places.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The estimated costs of funding public information activity, guidance to businesses, monitoring and evaluation and enforcement preparation in this financial year is £3 million. In addition, an additional £5 million has been allocated to NHS boards to allow the…

7 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the licence holder, event organiser or security firm would be liable for enforcing a public smoking ban at events such as big concerts.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: If an event takes place in wholly or substantially enclosed premises, (as defined in schedule 1 of the draft Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Premises (Scotland) Regulations 2006), the employer, manager or person in control of those premises will be required…

7 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will rule out the provision of purpose-built shelters, or sealed-off smoking areas, in clubs and pubs such as exist in Ireland and Italy in the context of the ban on smoking in public places.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Yes, if they fall within the definition of “wholly or substantially enclosed”. Pubs and clubs are classified as no smoking premises under Schedule 1 of the draft Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Premises (Scotland) Regulations 2006. When these come into forc…

3 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government, train operating companies and other relevant rail industry bodies, including trade unions, concerning additional security and safety measures following the bombings in London in July 2005.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Safety and counter-terrorism security on the rail network are reserved matters. The Department for Transport maintains close contacts with the rail industry and the British Transport Police on a range of issues including the potential threat to the network an…

3 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the terms of the current ScotRail franchise agreement on staffing levels for stations, including any required under the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989, have been met.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The ScotRail franchise agreement does not specify staffing levels for stations, though there are other requirements on staffing issues. Staffing requirements at stations form part of the franchisee’s Railway Safety Case which is approved and monitored by Her …

3 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister regarding the retention of the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989.

Answer · Hugh Henry: During the drafting of the Fire (Scotland) Bill and its subsequent introduction to the Scottish Parliament and scrutiny, Scottish Executive officials liaised with colleagues in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) regarding the reform of fire safety…

3 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which railway stations and premises in Scotland are covered by the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Regulation 3(1) of the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/1401) (as amended) states that the regulations are applicable to “any premises used as a railway station to which members of the public have access (whether on …

3 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on discussions with the Office of the Rail Regulator to ensure that disaggregated costs for Scotland can be identified by Network Rail.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Office of Rail Regulation is currently consulting on methodology for disaggregating Network Rail’s existing network-wide expenditure and revenue allowances to Scotland which will allow Network Rail to identify and report information separately for Scotlan…

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14906 by Nicol Stephen on 5 May 2005, whether the Strategic Rail Authority has provided the information originally requested.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Strategic Rail Authority has provided the information requested. However, the Scottish Executive now considers this information to be commercially sensitive and cannot release it.

24 May 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the average price paid by MSPs who used allowances to purchase property has been and what information it has on how much each property is now worth.

Answer · Duncan McNeil: As the SPCB does not hold all information on the prices paid by the 48 MSPs who used allowances to pay interest on property purchased, it cannot supply an average price. The SPCB does not hold information on how much each property is now worth.

24 May 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assessment it has made of the personal financial gain to MSPs who have (a) used the Edinburgh accommodation allowance to facilitate the purchase of private properties before selling them on at a higher price or (b) borrowed on the basis of a value significantly inc…

Answer · Duncan McNeil: In answer to (a), none. This is personal information which the Allowances Office does not require to have to administer the Allowances Scheme as approved by the Parliament.In answer to (b), the Allowances Office checks annually the mortgage statement o…

24 May 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it was originally envisaged that MSPs could access the Edinburgh accommodation allowance to facilitate the purchase of private property for themselves.

Answer · Duncan McNeil: Yes. The Allowances Schemes made provision for qualifying members to claim, (a) rent payable for accommodation, (b) overnight hotel costs or, (c) the interest on capital borrowed to purchase a property, all within the prescribed financed limits.

24 May 2005 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many MSPs have used public money through the Edinburgh accommodation allowance to purchase privately property in Edinburgh since 1999.

Answer · Duncan McNeil: The Allowances Schemes approved by the Parliament, the most recent of which was approved on 21 June 2001, made provision for the payment of interest due on capital borrowed by a member in order to purchase a property in accordance with the Scheme. It is not …

8 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reverse any moves towards prison privatisation and bring HM Prison Kilmarnock into the state sector in light of the BBC Frontline Scotland programme's account of the operation of the prison.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: No.The SPS do not consider that this would be justified or necessary. Premier Prison Service is carrying out an investigation into…

1 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be assuming powers previously employed by the Strategic Rail Authority in respect of authorising pay and conditions agreements in the last 12 months of a franchise.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Authorisation of pay and conditions agreements in the last 12 months of a franchise is an element of the ScotRail franchise agreement. Following the enactment of the Railways Bill the responsibility for the ScotRail franchise will pass from the Strategic Rail…

1 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be assuming powers previously employed by the Strategic Rail Authority in respect of waiving penalty payments for train operators involved in industrial disputes.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-14910 answered on 22 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish…

1 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be assuming powers previously employed by the Strategic Rail Authority in respect of providing compensation for loss of revenue arising from industrial disputes.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Compensation to train operating companies is an element of the ScotRail franchise agreement. Following the enactment of the Railways Bill the responsibility for the ScotRail franchise will pass from the Strategic Rail Authority to the Scottish ministers.