Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects work on the Scottish Crime Campus to be completed and whether the work is currently (a) on budget and (b) on time.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Work on the Scottish Crime Campus is expected to complete in mid-2013 and remains on budget and on time.
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will extend its Energy Assistance Package to people on Carer’s Allowance and how much new funding it will allocate for this purpose.
Answer · Alex Neil: I intend to begin consultation over the summer with a view to introducing any amending regulations that might be required as soon as possible when the Parliament returns after the summer recess. Funding will be met from within the Energy Assistance Package, f…
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the second phase of HMP Shotts to be completed.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: It is anticipated that the second phase of HMP Shotts will be completed by summer 2012.
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38805 by Kenny MacAskill on 24 January 2011, whether it remains its position that the construction of HMP Low Moss will be completed in autumn 2011.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Yes, the construction of HMP Low Moss is scheduled for completion in autumn 2011 and is on programme to achieve this.
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the East of Scotland Investment Fund in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.
Answer · John Swinney: The East of Scotland Investment Fund (ESIF) provides loan finance to new and growing small to medium sized enterprises within the east of Scotland. ESIF secured funding of £5 million over five years, 1 April 2010 to 21 December 2015, from the consortium of ni…
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will roll out the Family Nurse Partnership across Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Family Nurse Partnership programme is delivered under a licensing agreement with the University of Colorado, Denver. As part of this licensing agreement, we need to take a phased approach to roll out. There are four phases, and we are currently in phase t…
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on introducing a new minimum standard for MRSA screening.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All NHS boards in Scotland have introduced targeted screening for MRSA since January 2010. Building on this, on 23 February 2011, the Scottish Government announced new minimum standards for MRSA screening in Scottish hospitals, based on the recommendations of…
15 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost to roll out the Family Nurse Partnership across Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There will be a phased approach to roll out of the Family Nurse Partnership across Scotland. If every pregnant teenage mother was supported on the programme, there would be around 3,300 clients per year. The programme costs £3,000 per client, per year and the…
15 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support sports development across Scotland.
14 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget was for the (a) Energy Assistance Package, (b) Home Insulation Scheme, (c) Universal Home Insulation Scheme in each of the last four years.
Answer · Alex Neil: None of the schemes has operated throughout the last four years. The Energy Assistance Package (EAP) has run since 2009-10. The Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) ran in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) has run since 2010-11. The bu…
14 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on the (a) Energy Assistance Package, (b) Home Insulation Scheme and (c) Universal Home Insulation Scheme is in the 2011-12.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Home Insulation Scheme is not running in 2011-12. The Energy Assistance Package, Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) and Boiler Scrappage Scheme will be supported by a budget of £48 million in 2011-12. Of this, UHIS funding will be £12.5 million, wit…
14 Jun 2011 · Written Question
to ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure was for the (a) Energy Assistance Package, (b) Home Insulation Scheme, (c) Universal Home Insulation Scheme in each of the last four years.
Answer · Alex Neil: None of the schemes has operated throughout the last four years. The Energy Assistance Package (EAP) has run since 2009-10. The Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) ran in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) has run since 2010-11. The ex…
13 Jun 2011 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will review its changes to the fuel poverty budget in light of the announcement of price increases by Scottish Power.
8 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will work with the fishing industry and the Scottish Funding Council to promote skills development.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is engaged in work led by the fishing industry itself to consider a coherent offer of skills interventions for both new entrants and those wishing to upskill within the fishing sector. As a result of this work, two significant skills …
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector employees have taken voluntary redundancy since 1 April 2010.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-301 on 9 June 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/Business/PQA/D…
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector posts (a) have become vacant and (b) remain unfilled since 1 April 2010.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally.
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will rule out compulsory redundancies in the public sector for the remainder of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to providing economic security for the public service workforce in these challenging times. In March 2011 it announced the continuation of the existing no compulsory redundancies agreement for a further year, to 31 March 2…
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies in local government and across the public sector will be implemented and, if so, on what basis.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-329 on 9 June 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/Business/PQA/D…
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ruled out a public sector pay freeze beyond 2011-12.
Answer · John Swinney: The public sector pay policy for 2011-12 includes a pay freeze for all staff earning more than £21,000 and runs until 31 March 2012. An announcement about future pay policy will be made in autumn 2011 as part of the Spending Review 2011. I have already made c…
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can guarantee that it can achieve three per cent efficiency savings in the public sector without the need for compulsory redundancies.
Answer · John Swinney: In 2011-12, individual public sector organisations are expected to report publicly on how they achieve their efficiencies and we believe they can do so without the need to resort to compulsory redundancies. The Scottish public sector has consistently exceed…
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on voluntary redundancy and severance packages in the public sector since 1 April 2010.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-301 on 9 June 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/Business/PQA/D…
26 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the average voluntary redundancy payment in the public sector is £51,000.
Answer · John Swinney: Information regarding voluntary redundancy payments across the whole of the public sector in Scotland is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of staff who have taken early retirement/severance in 2010-11 whose costs will be paid for by th…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there were under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on charges proved with religious offence aggravations, under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, have been published and classified as data being developed alongside the 2009-10 Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistical bull…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-sectarianism events were attended by the First Minister in the 2003 to 2007 parliamentary session and have been attended in the current parliamentary session, broken down by (a) date and (b) event.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In addition to the numerous anti-sectarian events which I and other Scottish Government ministers have attended, the First Minister hosted a reception to celebrate the achievement of those working to tackle sectarianism at Edinburgh castle on 19 June 2007; at…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many football banning orders have been applied for in respect of (a) sectarianism, (b) racism and (c) other forms of disorder since 2006, broken down by police force.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is as follows.</p> <div align=center> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=192 valign=top > <p align=left >Force</p> </td> <td width=72 > <p align=center >Sectarian Offences</p…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of full-time equivalent staff working specifically on anti-sectarianism projects has been in each year since 2005.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29200 on 4 December 2009. Further records of the information requested are not held by the Scottish Government. Work to tackle sectarianism continues to be part of a broader strategy of work to tackle all forms…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on anti-sectarianism programmes in schools in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has provided funding over the period in question to a wide range of organisations to deliver projects to tackle sectarianism and all forms of religious intolerance across all aspects of Scottish society, including in schools. The total…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on anti-sectarianism programmes in each year since 1999.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answers to questions S3W-16055 on 2 October 2008 and S3W-39060 on 8 February 2011. Further information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> <p >All answers to written parliamentar…
3 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to issue an estimate of how many additional cases might be dropped as a result of the Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate ruling.
Answer · Frank Mulholland: Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service provided data on the number of cases that have had to be discontinued or where the Crown has been unable to commence proceedings due to there being insufficient evidence following the decision in Her Majesty''s A…
3 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the ruling by the Appeal Court on the case of Morris Petch and Robert Foye v Her Majesty’s Advocate and whether it plans action.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The judgment of an Appeal Court comprising a bench of 7 Judges was issued on Tuesday 1 March 2011 in the cases of Foye and Petch appealing against the punishment part of their discretionary life sentences. The punishment part of a sentence is the part that a …