Parliamentary questions

Mr Andrew Arbuckle

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

8 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how and at what frequency inspection of home education is carried out.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Section 37 of the Education (Scotland) Act1980 does not give an education authority a power of inspection of home education.Where an authority is not satisfied that a parent is providing a home educated childwith efficient and suitable education it may serve …

8 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been home educated in each of the last five years.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The numbers of children knownby local authorities to have been home educated in each of the last five years areset out in table 1 of the Scottish Executive Statistics Publication Notice, Children Educated Outwith S…

25 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average weekly cost is of feeding prisoners.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:The serving of meals toprisoners includes many overheads – staff, utilities, rates etc which are noteasily calculated. However, the average s…

25 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any common themes have emerged from complaints made under the NHS Complaints Procedure from 2004 to 2006.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Statistical information on thenumber of complaints submitted under the NHS Complaints Procedure, broken down bybroad category groups such as treatment issues, transport issues, waiting timesand others, is published annually and is available at:<ahref="…

25 Jan 2007 · Written Question

Answer · Andy Kerr: Statistical information on complaintsmade though the NHS Complaints Procedure, broken down by NHS board and other NHSbodies and by financial rather than calendar year, is published annually and canbe found at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4362.html"…

13 Sep 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether pressure can be put on statutory consultative bodies to reduce their response times with regard to planning applications.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Improving efficiency is a keyelement of our programme of modernisation of the planning system. To that end the Executive recognises the need for a culture change in the way people and statutorybodies engage with the planning system. I am therefore keen to enc…

25 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Registrar General will publish his annual report for 2005.

Answer · George Lyon: Scotland’s Population 2005: the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends’ ispublished today. The Report contains information about births, deaths andmarriages during the year, together with other demographic information. Th…

28 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the length of time taken to refer objections to compulsory purchase orders to the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit and for the subsequent decisions to be made.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive looks toprogress compulsory purchases orders timeously and without undue delay.In coming to a decision onthe confirmation of a Compulsory Purchase Order, Ministers must carefullyassess each case to ensure that a purchase by compulsory pow…

28 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the time which it takes to process compulsory purchase orders referred to it by local authorities.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We are considering whetherthere is scope for improvement of the procedures within the Executive for theconfirmation of compulsory purchase orders. We will also consider as part ofthat process whether there are steps that acquiring authorities might usefullyta…

30 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in possession of a valid (a) standard or (b) enhanced disclosure were convicted for a crime under child and adult protection legislation in the last year for which figures are available.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot held centrally.However, the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act2003 came into force on 10 January 2005. To date no-one disqualified from working with childrenhas been convicted of an offence under that legislation i.e.…

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the treatment of myasthenia gravis and how it can support those who are diagnosed with this disease.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards and their planningpartners are expected to meet the care needs of people with myasthenia gravis. Themanagement of any individual case is a matter for clinical judgement. We welcomethe support which the Myasthenia Gravis Association in Scotland prov…

26 Apr 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what economic initiatives it will implement to help the biofuel industry, with particular reference to crop production.

Answer · Tavish Scott: We are considering the most appropriatesupport mechanisms for the whole biomass sector, including the biofuel industry,as part of the development of a Scottish Biomass Action Plan, which we are committedto developing by the end of 2006, as set out in our rece…

22 Mar 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to implement recommendations arising from recent report on conditions at Perth prison.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Her Majesty’s Chief Inspectorof Prisons recommendations related mainly to work that was currently planned includingbuilding work underway. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) produced an actionplan in response to these recommendations. A copy has been published…

22 Feb 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will give to enforce existing legislation on roadside litter.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Responsibility for the enforcementof anti-littering procedures and the clearance of litter from all roadsides, apartfrom motorways and special roads, lies with the relevant local authority. The ScottishExecutive has provided £3.6 million over this and the nex…

6 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on the review of the Rural Challenge Fund.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no plans at present to extend or replace the Rural Challenge Fund. We are considering the outcome of the review process and the fit of the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund in the context of our wider rural policy and range of support mechanis…

11 Jan 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate how other countries have repaired or replaced suspension bridges like the Forth Road Bridge when problems have emerged.

Answer · Tavish Scott: We have commissioned an independent assessment of the testing workdone on the bridge cables, from the Flint & Neill Partnership, one of the UK’s leading consultants with international experience oncable supported bridges, and will receive its report this …

5 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been take tackle any concerns of local police and others in respect of traffic management proposals in connection with resurfacing the Broxden roundabout.

Answer · Tavish Scott: To reduce the overall disruption to traffic the proposed road safety improvements at Broxden roundabout have been included within the second phase of maintenance works on the Perth Southern Bypass, currently programmed for spring 2006. A number of meet…

5 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on proposals to carry out major resurfacing works on the Broxden roundabout in February/March 2006.

Answer · Tavish Scott: BEAR Scotland Ltd has completed its study into road safety at Broxden roundabout and has recommended a number of proposals to improve road safety at this location. These improvements will be carried out as part of the second phase of maintenance works on the …

28 Sep 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing guidelines on the removal of roadside memorials and shrines following a suitable period for mourning.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive, workingin conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS)and the Society for Chief Officers in Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), has developedguidelines on roadside memorials. A copy of the guidelines, w…

16 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers are claiming their Single Farm Payment entitlement based on land outwith Scotland.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), a mandatory EC requirement for the control of CAP agricultural subsidies, defines a farm business as all the production units managed by a farmer situated within the same member state’s territory. Certa…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the Broxden roundabout on the outskirts of Perth where there has been a number of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles overturning.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A study by BEAR Scotland Ltd is currently being carried out to identify any appropriate measures to improve safety and rationalise traffic movements at the A9 Broxden roundabout. BEAR will submit their findings and recommendations to the Executive by t…

18 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to support the rebate for red diesel for fishermen and farmers, in light of the current HM Customs and Excise consultation, Hydrocarbon Oil Duty: Consultation on Changes to Excepted Vehicle Schedule.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Excise duties are a reserved matter. The Executive recognises the value to fishermen and farmers of the concession on the use of red diesel and supports its retention for the purposes for which it was originally granted.

18 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to achieve the EU 2% target of energy creation from biofuel by 2010.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: This issue is reserved to the UK Government. EU Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable transport fuels requires member states to set targets for biofuel sales in 2005 and 2010. The Directive also set non-binding “refer…

18 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will deal with those cattle on farms that do not have a passport.

11 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will deal with those cattle on farms that do not have a passport.

Answer · Ross Finnie: These cattle are registered on the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) database and issued with a Notice of Registration (NoR). These cattle can only be used for breeding purposes and milking if appropriate. Any properly registered offspring will be issued with cattl…

21 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will complete phase two of the Tolled Bridges Review.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Our aim is to complete phase two during summer 2005.

21 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the results of its Environment and Rural Affairs Department's consultation on the draft rural development regulation.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The results of the consultation were published on 10 December 2004 on the ScottishExecutive website. Hard copies of the report, and the individual responses, are available to the public in the Scottish Executive library.