John Scott

2 May 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA and local authorities about the reducing availability of supply teachers in certain areas.

16 Apr 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with NHS Ayrshire and Arran about allegations of criminal deception by members of its staff.

11 Apr 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the grounds of appeal process for those seeking Chartered Teacher status.

21 Feb 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve rail services in the west of Scotland.

8 Feb 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of backlog maintenance of the NHS Ayrshire and Arran estate is assessed to be of a high or significant risk.

23 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have received incorrect home energy reports from the Energy Saving Trust as a result of a computer malfunction and when the problem will be resolved.

Answer · Alex Neil: To date, the Energy Saving Trust have received around 90 complaints from customers about obvious inaccuracies in their Home Energy Checks (HECs) that are due primarily to the computer malfunction. This is out of a total of 54,000 HECs issued. The problem, wh…

16 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times police officers have raided domestic homes in error since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

13 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to abolish the Home Report system.

Answer · Keith Brown: There are no plans to abolish the Home Report system. The Scottish Government believes that the benefits of Home Reports remain valid, particularly in encouraging buyers to make confident decisions in a difficult market.

7 Dec 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the UK Government has replied to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice's letter of 1 December 2011 regarding the Criminal Cases (Punishment and Review) (Scotland) Bill.

28 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether members of the public can contribute to the development of a Victims and Witnesses Bill at the pre-legislative stage.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a Victims and Witnesses Bill during this parliamentary term and will publish a consultation document to assist the development of a bill.

28 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether and, if so, when members of the public will be consulted on a Victims and Witnesses Bill.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a Victims and Witnesses Bill during this parliamentary term and intends to publish a consultation document to assist the development of a bill. No decision has been made on the specific timing of the bill.

28 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in discussing a Victims and Witnesses Bill with stakeholders.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There is an ongoing process of engagement with key stakeholders on proposals that may be pursued in a Victims and Witnesses Bill. Most recently, stakeholders attended an event on 4 October 2011 and further meetings have been held with various stakeholders. Su…

28 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward legislation to improve the rights of victims.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03022 on 19 October 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

23 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to tackle the increase in dropout rate at some Scottish universities.

16 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the European Commission and what issues were discussed.

9 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making on the provision of insulin pump therapy across the country.

19 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage the provision of after-school clubs and out-of-school care.

25 May 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make further capital investment in the school estate.

17 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to update Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 75, Epithelial ovarian cancer, in light of the new National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), guideline, Ovarian cancer: the recognition and initial management of ovarian cancer, issued in …

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is anticipated that Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 75, Epithelial Ovarian Cancer will be updated in winter 2012 as part of their extant processes. NICE Clinical Guidelines have no formal status in NHS Scotland.

4 Mar 2011 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S3W-39203 by Alex Johnstone on 9 February 2011, whether any of the assured farms that supplied it with milk and dairy products in 2010 were paid below (a) 24.36 pence per litre or (b) their production cost.

Answer · Alex Johnstone: The farms that supplied the milk and dairy products in 2010 were paid above 24.36 pence per litre and their production cost.</p>

4 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its contracts with milk suppliers require that all supplies must be provided at above the cost of production.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not contract directly with milk suppliers; we have a contract with Sodexo to provide a range of catering services across the government estate. Whilst we expect our contractor to pay a fair price, the arrangements between our cont…

4 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the EU Council decision not to take forward plans to label meat from animals that are is slaughtered without stunning in different ways from meat that is slaughtered after stunning, what further measures can be taken in Scotland to deliver clear labelling on this issue.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government intends to consult with our stakeholders on the implementation of the EU Regulation 1099/2009, which introduces new controls on the protection of animals at slaughter. The issue of slaughter without pre-stunning is one of the areas on …

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the cost of production for dairy farmers supplying cheese to the public sector and the price that they receive.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39205 on 10 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p> <p >www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bus…

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of milk produced in Scotland is (a) purchased by (i) supermarkets, (ii) caterers and (iii) public sector organisations in Scotland and (b) sold in the (i) United Kingdom and (ii) rest of the European Union.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not collate data on the market utilisation and final sale point of milk produced in Scotland.</p>

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has produced guidance for public bodies on purchasing milk produced in Scotland and how much of the milk procured for the public sector is labelled with the (a) country of origin and (b) name of the supplying farm.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: There is no guidance that has been produced specifically for milk as it is not possible to specify in contracts milk from Scotland or similar. New guidance has been produced, Catering for Change - January 2011, which shows how to make full use of the flexibil…

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how much milk is purchased annually by (a) the NHS and (b) each local authority and how much each spends on (i) milk and (ii) other dairy products.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The total annual expenditure on dairy produce, including milk, through the health sector is estimated to be £4,220,000.</p> <p >The total annual expenditure by local authorities on dairy produce, including milk, through the education and social work sectors…

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the cost of production for dairy farmers supplying milk to the public sector and the price that they receive.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government collects milk data on (i) utilisation and (ii) average price in order to meet the requirements of EU Regulation 479/2010. This data shows that for 2010 the average price per litre was 24.36 pence for all types of milk and dairy product…

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the farmers who produce the milk that it purchases and how much they are paid on average per litre.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The contract to supply milk to the Scottish Government was awarded to Sodexo in 2010 who procure milk from Graham''s Dairy, its supplier in Scotland, in accordance with competitive practise. Sodexo''s contractual relationship with their suppliers is commercia…

28 Jan 2011 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much milk it purchases annually; by whom it is supplied; what the farms of origin are, and what average price is paid per litre.

Answer · Alex Johnstone: From January 2010 to December 2010, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body purchased 26,197 litres of milk. The milk is supplied by Graham''s Family Dairy, which is based in Bridge of Allan. The milk supplied is procured from 70 Farm Assured farms all loca…

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) milk and (b) other dairy produce it purchases annually; by whom it is supplied, and what the farms of origin are.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government''s in-house contract was awarded to Sodexo in 2010. Last year Sodexo supplied just under 107,000 litres of liquid milk and 17,176 litres of dairy products, all of which was supplied by a network of 70 assured Scottish farms through the…