Parliamentary questions
Murdo Fraser
2,062 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many retired teachers are (a) on supply lists and (b) working as supply teachers, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally.</p>
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been injured in vehicle accidents on the A9 between Perth and Inverness in each year since 1985.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The number of people injured on the A9 between Perth (Inveralmond Roundabout) and Inverness (Longman Roundabout) in each year since 1985 is shown in the following table:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=41 now…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many fatal accidents there have been on the A9 between Perth and Inverness in each year since 1985.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The number of fatal accidents on the A9 between Perth (Inveralmond Roundabout) and Inverness (Longman Roundabout) in each year since 1985 is shown in the following table:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=42 nowrap valign…
8 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an assurance to whisky distilleries that offer guided tours of their distillery that the proposals in the Scottish Government’s forthcoming alcohol strategy will not include the barring of distilleries from offering a free dram with the tour and promotion of their goo…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have already given such an assurance in respect of drams provided as part of a distillery tour when I met the Scotch Whisky Association and toured Dewar''s World of Whisky on 21 July 2008. Wider issues concerning the promotion of alcohol are being considere…
17 Sep 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when waste disposal contracts for local authorities will be renewed and under what process.
Answer · Michael Russell: Local authorities are each responsible for their own waste disposal contracts and therefore the Scottish Government does not hold details of when contracts will be re‘tendered.</p> <p >The main statutory instrument that governs the procurement process for la…
17 Sep 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds information for each local authority on where waste is disposed of when it has been collected from the kerbside.
Answer · Michael Russell: Each local authority is responsible for making its own waste disposal arrangements and this information is not held centrally.</p>
17 Sep 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how each local authority is managing its green and brown waste outputs and whether these arrangements are set against national targets.
Answer · Michael Russell: Management of municipal waste is a matter for each local authority. Green waste (household garden waste) is collected by local authorities for composting and the outputs can be used for soil conditioning or land restoration. Where compost is used in this mann…
11 Sep 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what average length of time it takes to serve an antisocial behaviour order after the original complaint is made against the offender.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: While the information requested is not routinely collected, the DTZ/Pieda report <i >Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland</i> examined the key issues around the use of ASBOs in Scotland, including the time taken to prepare them. This report was publ…
11 Sep 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of investigation time is to process an antisocial behaviour order complaint, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
18 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the operation of the Patient Transport Service.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has no plans to review the operation of the Patient Transport Service (PTS). However, the PTS will be discussed as part of the public annual review of the Scottish Ambulance Service on 24 September. In addition, the Scottish Ambulance …
18 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been received about the Patient Transport Service in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46483).</p>
18 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cancellations there have been of travel arrangements made by the Patient Transport Service in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Cancellations of Patient Transport Service (PTS) journeys can be made for a variety of reasons and are made by GPs, hospitals, patients or the Scottish Ambulance Service. The service continues to try and reduce cancellations and they work closely with NHS boa…
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) crimes and (b) offences were prosecuted in court in each of the last 10 years and, of these, what percentage resulted in a conviction.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <p >Persons Prosecuted and Persons Convicted of Crimes in Scottish Courts<sup>1</sup>, 1997-98 to 2006-07</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap valig…
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, crimes resulted in a person being found guilty in court in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) main crime and (b) offence category.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following tables. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. A person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one…
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were given a prison sentence of (a) less than one week, (b) one to two weeks, (c) two to three weeks, (d) three to four weeks, (e) four to five weeks, (f) five to six weeks, (g) six to seven weeks and (h) seven to eight weeks in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <p >Persons given Custodial Sentences in Scottish Courts by Selected Sentence Length, 1997-98 to 2006-07</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td rowspan=2 val…
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops until research on their impact on the honeybee population has been carried out.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish ministers have no plans to request the suspension of the approvals for neonicotinoid pesticides.</p>
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops, following their ban in Germany due to evidence that their use is connected to the reduction of the honeybee population.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: All pesticides are subjected to a rigorous approval process before they are approved by ministers for use. In the case of neonicotinoid pesticides the risks posed to insects and bees were researched and assessed as part of that approval process.</p> <p >The …
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the list of species prohibited from being released into the wild, as set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, was last updated.
Answer · Michael Russell: Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was last updated by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule) (Scotland) Order 2005 (SSI 2005 No. 308), which was made and laid before the Scottish Parliament on 7 June 2005 and came into…
24 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the list of species prohibited from being released into the wild, as set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, has not been updated since the end of the last consultation on its content.
Answer · Michael Russell: Since the consultation on amendments to Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 closed in 2007, discussions have been continuing with stakeholders and scientific advisors to ensure that any changes to the schedule are appropriate and effective.</p…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much each parliamentary question costs, on average, to answer.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: A review of the calculation of the average cost of answering a parliamentary question is currently underway. The last time such an exercise was conducted, in 2002, the average cost was calculated to be £65.18.</p>
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to put pressure on the G8 leaders to keep their promises made at the G8 summit in Gleneagles on 8 July 2005.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: We have highlighted the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals within the scope of our current devolved powers.</p> <p >We have also ensured that our international development policy, launched on 7 May 2008, places achievement of the Millen…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits it expects that the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games will bring to Tayside.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government has a very clear commitment to ensuring that the whole of Scotland benefits and has a lasting legacy from the Commonwealth Games in 2014.</p> <p >We want to maximise opportunities such as ensuring Scottish businesses are well-placed t…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to reach a decision on the Beauly to Denny power line application.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Beauly Denny public inquiry, the largest in Scotland since devolution, started on 6 February 2007 with public hearings concluding in 20 December 2007.</p> <p >The inquiry reporters are now preparing their report, which is not expected until the end of 2…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which communities in Tayside will not be broadband-enabled by the end of 2008.
Answer · Jim Mather: Under the government’s broadband reach contract, a service will be delivered to those eligible households and businesses out of reach of broadband who have registered their demand with the government. Deployment will commence this month and should be complete…
25 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13021 by Shona Robison on 2 June 2008, why the answer states that no conditions were placed on the new practice as far as out-of-hours services were concerned, when paragraph 9 of the NHS Tayside medical practice vacancy specification document for th…
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards are under a statutory duty to ensure the provision of primary medical services throughout their areas. It is open to NHS boards to offer contracts for the performance of such services. The vacancy specification document stated that NHS Tayside woul…
25 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which GPs practices on the mainland still provide out-of-hours service cover.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following mainland practices still provide out-of-hours cover:</p> <p >NHS Grampian</p> <p >Braemar Health Clinic, St Andrews Terrace, Braemar</p> <p >NHS Highland</p> <p >Pines Medical Practice, Acharacle</p> <p >The Surgery, Applecross</p> <p >Arm…
18 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many documents containing instructions, guidance, regulation and any other sort of direction it has issued to Chief Constables in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government issues guidance to all police forces and police boards in the form of police circulars. These cover a range of topics including the impact of new legislation and changes to police pay and allowances. During each of the last five years …
18 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pages of instruction, guidance, regulation and any other sort of direction it has issued to chief constables in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14326 on 15 July 2008. 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/webapp/…
18 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many documents containing instructions, guidance, regulation and any other sort of direction it has issued to hospital managers in each of the last five years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government Health Directorates issue a weekly bulletin containing a digest of their recent publications and this is available on the Scottish Health on the Web (SHOW) website at <a href="http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/">http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/<…
18 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pages of instruction, guidance, regulation and any other sort of direction it has issued to hospital managers in each of the last five years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14324 on 9 July 2008. 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/webapp/wa…