Parliamentary questions

Murdo Fraser

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

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its business suppliers' invoices have been paid within 30 days of receipt since 1 January 2004.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Between1 January 2004 and 31 May 2004, 86.2% of the suppliers’ invoices processed by the Scottish Executive’s Accounting System were paid within 30 days of the date of receipt, orwithin the terms of specific contracts. This compares with 74.8% for the same pe…

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much interest it (a) has paid (i) in each of the last three years and (ii) this year so far and (b) is liable for in relation to late payments of business suppliers' invoices.

Answer · Andy Kerr: No late payments have resulted in interest being added to unpaid bills over the last three years or in the current year, and the Executive is not aware of any current liability for such interest payments.

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to reach its target of paying 100% of undisputed bills within 30 days.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive seeks to pay every invoice promptly. I amtherefore today setting a target that by December 2004, over 98% of undisputed invoiceswill be paid consistently within 30 days of receipt or within the terms of specificcontracts. This level of …

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that all its business suppliers' invoices are paid on time.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Considerable effort is being undertaken within the Executive to ensure that all supplier invoices are processed promptly. For example, the use of the Government procurement card for low value ad hoc purchases means that suppliers who are paid by that m…

17 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many graduates from universities outwith Scotland are living in Scotland (a) one year (b) five years and (c) 10 years after graduation.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested isnot available. The only regularly collected source of annual data on graduate destinationsis the Examination Results and First Destination Survey (FDS). This survey is runby the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and collect…

17 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many graduates from Scottish universities are living in Scotland (a) one year (b) five years and (c) 10 years after graduation.

6 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish-domiciled students attending English universities will be required to pay top-up fees if they are introduced and, if so, whether these will have to be paid up front.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Legislation which will allowEnglish universities to charge fees of up to £3,000 is currently being consideredat Westminster. The fees will apply to students who commence coursesat English universities from 2006, regardless of where in the UK they are ordinari…

5 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the assessment of the Royal Academy of Engineering that wind power generation, with the necessary back-up, is two and a half times more expensive than the cheapest conventional alternative.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Research conducted by OXERA forthe DTI Renewables Innovation Review, published in March this year, cites currentprices for onshore wind of 3.1 pence per unit (per KiloWatt hour), dropping to 2.7pence per unit (per KiloWatt hour) by 2010. Our policy is …

5 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the argument in Professor David Simpson's report for the David Hume Institute, Tilting at Windmills: The Economics of Wind Power, that wind power generation is more expensive than nuclear generation.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The report recognises thatcapital costs account for a significant proportion of the cost of generatingwind power, at between 75%- 90% of the total costs. Such costs are predicted tofall significantly as the global wind energy market expands.The full co…

29 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Deputy First Minister will reply to my letter of 26 February 2004 in connection with MW Stephens Ltd and Art Enterprises Ltd.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I replied to your letter on 13 May 2004 and regretthe delay in responding.

26 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consents for hydro schemes under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 it has granted to (a) public limited companies and (b) private companies and other bodies since 1999.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Five such projects have beengranted consent. All these applications were made by public limited companies.The details are as follows:<table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=210> <tr> <td> Cuileig </td> <td>…

26 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 have been made to it for hydro schemes from (a) public limited companies and (b) private companies and other bodies since 1999.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Fourteen applications for consentunder Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 have been received since 1999 in respectof hydro schemes. Of these, 11 were made by public limited companies and three byprivate companies. The following applications havebee…

26 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when a copy of the A9 junctions safety review of Keir and Inveralmond roundabouts will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: BEAR Scotland Ltd has completedtheir review of all of the junctions on the A9 between Keir Roundabout, Dunblaneand Broxden Roundabout, Perth and their strategy report is currently being finalised.A summary of the recommendations contained in the report will b…

16 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how the percentage of gross domestic product generated from private sector business compares to that in (a) England and (b) the UK as a whole.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Scottish GDP estimates are compiled using an industry breakdown and it is not therefore possible to provide a sectoral split of GDP. The table below provides some alternative information on the sectoral split of businesses and organisations in Scotland and th…

16 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what types of business premise and installation are assessed for non-domestic rates on the same basis as England.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The valuation of non domesticsubjects in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish assessors. the Scottish Assessors liaise with their counterparts in England and Wales, theValuation Office Agency, to ensure, where practical, harmonisation of valuationtr…

4 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5577 by Ms Margaret Curran on 27 February 2004, what sources of funding are available for the urgent repair of places of worship where, for religious reasons, congregations or denominational bodies have reservations about applying for lottery funding.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Repair Grants for Placesof Worship Grant Scheme is run in partnership by Historic Scotland and theHeritage Lottery Fund. However, grants are offered by the two organisationsseparately. Accordingly, congregations and denominational bodies can choose toseek…

12 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the generation of energy from biomass is renewable and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We do consider the generation of energy from biomass to be renewable. Electricity generated from biomass sources qualifies for support under the Renewables Obligation Scotland. This is wholly consistent with Article 2 of European Directive 2001/77/EC on the p…

12 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider a variation to the rules governing PFI/PPP contracts for the construction of public buildings to encourage the use of bioenergy heating systems.

Answer · Andy Kerr: EC public procurementdirectives apply to most purchasing contracts let by the public sector wherethe value exceeds certain thresholds. The EC public procurement directivesprovide scope for reflecting environmental considerations in procurement, whereit is rel…

12 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to include heating systems powered by bioenergy as eligible to benefit from renewable obligation certificates.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We have no such plans. Thereare no legislative powers available which would allow heating systems poweredby bioenergy to benefit from renewable obligation certificates. Our ScottishCommunity and Householder Renewables Initiative has supported a number of smal…

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives towards attracting international cruise ships to call at Scottish ports.

Answer · Frank McAveety: This is an operationalmatter for VisitScotland, which is responsible for maximising the economicbenefits of tourism to Scotland.VisitScotland does recognisethe importance of the cruise market. It provided start up funding forCruiseScotland to attract m…

29 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether private membership golf clubs will be eligible for the mandatory rate relief for community amateur sports clubs announced by the Minister for Finance and Public Services.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Amateur sports clubs whichare registered as Community Amateur Sports Clubs with the Inland Revenue will -on introduction of the necessary enabling legislation - be eligible for 80%mandatory rate relief. The granting or otherwise of community amateur sportsclu…

28 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to encourage the growth of indigenous businesses in the small and medium-si'ed enterprise sector.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive, and its economic development agencies – Scottish Enterprise andHighlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) - have a range of support in place toassist the growth of indigenous businesses these include measures to helpbusinesses to innovate,…

19 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it receives value for money for Scottish Enterprise's investment in the Institute for System Level Integration given the number of students enrolling in 2002-03 who were from the United Kingdom.

Answer · Jim Wallace: As part of project Alba, theInstitute for System Level Integration has been supported in line with thecommitment in Smart Successful Scotland to move to a technologicallyinnovative, knowledge based economy.Funding issues in relationto the Institute its…

14 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what compensation will be payable to property owners whose properties are adversely affected by the construction of wind farms in their vicinity.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: It would be for individualproperty owners to consider whether a situation has arisen that gives scope forpursuing a compensation claim.

14 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the construction of wind farms on Forestry Commission land.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Our planning policy guidanceis given in National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable EnergyDevelopments. Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Executive’s forestrydepartment. The corporate plan for the Forestry Commission in Scotlandrecognises that “E…

6 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether low pay in a particular area is taken into account when it identifies sites for the relocation of civil service agency jobs outwith Edinburgh.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Executive advises bodiescarrying out relocation reviews that low pay should be one of severalsocio-economic factors taken into account when carrying out the qualitativeassessment of prospective locations.

6 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what economic factors it takes into consideration when identifying sites for the relocation of civil service agency jobs outwith Edinburgh.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Executive advises bodiescarrying out relocation reviews that several socio-economic factors should be takeninto consideration when carrying out the qualitative assessment of prospectivelocations. The factors include income and employment deprivation, heal…

17 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of staff and staff costs within its Environment and Rural Affairs Department will decrease over the next three years as a result of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and, if so, by how much in each case.

Answer · Ross Finnie: It is too early to estimateto what extent staff costs within the Environment and Rural Affairs Departmentwill change as a consequence of CAP reform because we have not yet decided howthe reforms will apply in Scotland. The consultation exercise on CAP reform …

17 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30714 by Mr Andy Kerr on 11 November 2002, how much has been spent on staff costs in its Environment and Rural Affairs Department in 2002-03 and 2003-04 to date and what percentage of the department's total budget staff costs represented in each year…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested on expenditure by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) is set out in the following tables:Table 1: SEERAD Staff Costs Spend<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=454> <tr> <t…

17 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30714 by Mr Andy Kerr on 11 November 2002, how many people have been employed in its Environment and Rural Affairs Department in 2002 and in 2003.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The following table shows thenumber of staff (headcount) and the number of full-time equivalent staff inpost in the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department as at thedate given.Number of Staff in the Scottish Executive Environment an…