Parliamentary questions

Murdo Fraser

2,062 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the reported statement of a spokeswoman from Transport Scotland on 20 January 2011 that “if Parliament had thrown out the trams project, ministers would have brought forward alternative budget proposals to target early dualling of the A9” contradicts the reported…

Answer · Keith Brown: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38962 on 4 February 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/Apps2/Bus…

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the statement by the First Minister’s official spokesman reported on the BBC News website on 30 May 2007 in reference to the Edinburgh trams project that “The government intends all expenditure planned for these projects or any alterations will continue to be used for public trans…

Answer · Keith Brown: In May 2007 we were faced with the budgets set by the outgoing administration. Had the Parliament supported our plans to stop the tram project and use the funds for more pressing transport priorities then we could have easily reallocated budgets and brought …

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the dual carriageway on the A9 at Killiecrankie was constructed.

Answer · Keith Brown: The A9 dual carriageway improvement was opened to traffic in November 1983.

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will upgrade the A9 Moy 2+1 overtaking lane to dual carriageway status following its closure in November 2010 due to safety concerns.

Answer · Keith Brown: As part of normal procedures, a road safety audit of the A9 Moy improvement was carried out shortly after opening and this identified some driver behaviour which could produce a potentially dangerous situation. The overtaking lane was closed to protect safety…

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out a full timetable for the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness also showing construction costs.

Answer · Keith Brown: As I confirmed in the Members'' Business debate in the Chamber on the A9 on 20 January 2011, although it would clearly never have been possible to design, authorise, procure and complete major dualling of the A9 in the lifetime of this Parliament, the Scottis…

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements were carried out to the A9 trunk road (a) from May 1979 to May 1997, (b) from May 1997 to May 2007 and (c) since May 2007; what the cost of each was expressed in today's terms, and when each improvement was first announced.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following table represents the information currently available in Transport Scotland''s records. May 1979 to May 1997 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td valign=top > Scheme …

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is to (a) it, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies of employing (i) press officers, (ii) communications officers, (iii) strategy officers and (iv) other positions with a similar remit.

21 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) press officers, (b) communications officers, (c) strategy officers and (d) other positions with a similar remit are employed by (i) it, (ii) its agencies and (iii) other public bodies.

19 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the termination of statistical reporting by the UK-wide Home Accident Surveillance System and the Leisure Accident Surveillance System in 2003, for what reason Scotland has no official body that collates injury statistics, including for sporting activities.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38871 on 2 February 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

19 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to further develop Scotland’s sports-injury reporting system.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is currently funding ISD to run a project which will gather relevant data on injuries presenting through accident and emergency (A&E) services in Scotland in order to develop a better evidence base on the size and nature of the pro…

19 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many under-18s sustained sports-related injuries in 2009-10 and how this compares with the European Union average per head of population.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Complete data on the number of people of who have sustained sports-related injuries in Scotland is not collected centrally. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38871 on 2 February 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are …

10 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact prolonged and severe wintry weather, including snow and ice, has on onshore wind turbines performance.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government, which does not monitor the performance of individual wind turbines. Energy statistics for the United Kingdom are collated and published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.…

10 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at what temperatures large-scale onshore wind turbines are unable to operate.

Answer · Jim Mather: Turbine selection is a matter for developers and technical information on the parameters within which specific models are designed to operate is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This may vary from model to model. Turbine manufacturers can genera…

10 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has invested in studies on the effects of milder winters.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has not commissioned any studies looking specifically at the effects of milder winters. Climate change is one of three cross-cutting themes embedded in the Scottish Government''s £50 million annual investment in strategic research prog…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it has done to promote farmers’ markets in order to reduce food miles.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the growth of farmers markets in Scotland. We have funded the Scottish Farmers Market Partnership with around £200,000 over three years to help them support farmers markets throughout Scotland. Since the proj…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what schemes it has piloted for agencies to work together to ensure that they carry out inspections of farms in a single visits.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Since launching in June 2008, Scotland''s Environmental and Rural Services (SEARS) - a partnership of eight delivery-focused bodies within the Environment and Rural Affairs portfolio - has looked for opportunities to combine inspections where appropriate.…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has replaced regulations with new versions rather than add to existing regulations since May 2007.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Most of the regulation impacting on Scotland''s farmers and land managers comes from Europe and to ensure they fully meet its obligations under the terms of the Scotland Act, Scottish ministers must implement relevant EU rules. Since 2007, a total of 105 SSI'…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many regulations Scottish Environment Protection Agency has advised should be withdrawn since May 2007.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38225 on 16 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new regulations the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has recommended since May 2007.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: None. The Scottish Government works with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on an ongoing basis on the development of legislation affecting the environment. A good number of environmental regulations are introduced to implement European legisla…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has brought in to reduce regulation on the farming community.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-11876 on 11 November 2010. All answers to oral/written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.p…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) children and (b) adults in Tayside has access to an NHS dentist.

Answer · Shona Robison: At 30 September 2010, 79.8% of children and 66.6% of adults living in Tayside were registered with an NHS dentist.

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct a review of ambulance provision in Perthshire.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The provision of ambulance services in specific localities across Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it and its agencies are taking to promote whisky tourism in Perthshire.

Answer · Jim Mather: VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise work extensively with whisky attractions and retailers to help promote whisky tourism in Perthshire and across Scotland. Whisky features across a great range of VisitScotland''s …

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken in 2011 to promote Perthshire as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Answer · Jim Mather: VisitScotland is committed to driving tourism growth in Perthshire and will continue to do so in 2011 by promoting Perthshire in key national and local marketing campaigns and communications with consumers at home and abroad. VisitScotland will do t…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what commitments in the Strategic Transport Projects Review it will (a) take forward and (b) prioritise in 2011.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Strategic Transport Projects Review sets out 29 investment priorities over the period to 2032 and this government is committed to delivering these projects subject to the transport allocation within future spending reviews and affordability. Our …

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the use of the term, sexmas, and whether it considers that this might cause offence to Christians.

Answer · Shona Robison: The word Sexmas was used in one image as part of last year''s digital public health information drive to reduce rates of sexually transmitted diseases in Scotland, and absolutely no offence was intended. The word is not used in any of this year''s material.</…

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to run a sexual health campaign in the run-up to Christmas using the name, Sexmas Survival Guide.

Answer · Shona Robison: There will be no sexual health campaign of that name. It is important, however, that young people get the right advice on sexual health issues at this time of year, when we know high risk behaviour takes place. We will, therefore, be refreshing and enhancing …

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the comment by John Swinney in motion S2M-3155 that the A9 “will remain fundamentally unsafe until it is reconstructed as a dual carriageway from Perth to Inverness.”

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government remains committed to the phased dualling of the route from Perth to Inverness to further improve safety and reduce journey times on this key transport corridor. This ongoing commitment is reflected in the recent commencement of a £10.4…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the standards at Stirling Royal Infirmary following the publication of its inspection report by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) report on Stirling Royal Infirmary raised some issues for attention and also identified some important areas of good practice. NHS Forth Valley accepted the findings of the report and identified a series of action…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the standards at Queen Margaret Hospital following the publication of its inspection report by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) inspection report on the Queen Margaret Hospital raised some serious issues and also identified some important areas of good practice. NHS Fife accepted the findings of the report and identified a series of action…