Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Jan 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of any increased travelling costs for (a) Aberdeen City Council, (b) Police Scotland Aberdeen City Division and (c) local voluntary agencies as a result of the closure of HMP Aberdeen and the relocation of prisoners to HMP Grampian.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.
6 Jan 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector jobs are based in Aberdeen and how this compares with other cities in Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: The Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) provides estimates of employment by industry sector, including a breakdown of the public and private sector at local authority level. The latest data cover 2012. Public sector employment in Scottish cities, …
16 Dec 2013 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of representations to NHS Grampian by consultants regarding what they describe as a "critical" situation in relation to services provided to patients.
5 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally.
5 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many officers Police Scotland has recruited in the former Grampian police area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This is an operational matter for Police Scotland.
5 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for support under the Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme have been (a) made and (b) granted in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: The number of applications under the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire as at 10 December 2013 are set out in the following table: Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Applications 85 49 Approved applications 79 46
5 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes were considered to be in fuel poverty in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Figures for each of the last five years are not available. Fuel poverty estimates for local authorities are only available for three year aggregated periods, as the sample sizes in the Scottish House Conditions Survey are too small to produce reliable annual…
5 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many boilers were replaced in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire under the boiler scrappage scheme in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The numbers of boilers replaced under the boiler scrappage scheme are as follows: 2011-12 2012-13 Total Aberdeen 581 845 1,426 Aberdeenshire 541 789 1,330 The year refers to the financial year in which the voucher was issued.
21 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average response time is for an ambulance in the NHS Grampian area.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17297 on 1 October 2013. 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…
21 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many support staff in the former Grampian Police area have taken (a) voluntary severance and (b) early retirement since April 2013.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally, it is a matter for Police Scotland. We are committed to our pledge of no compulsory redundancies, and reductions in support staff are being delivered by not replacing people who leave, retirements and voluntary exit sc…
21 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many support staff in the Grampian Police area took (a) voluntary severance and (b) early retirement in 2012-13.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally, it is a matter for Police Scotland. We are committed to our pledge of no compulsory redundancies, and reductions in support staff are being delivered by not replacing people who leave, retirements and voluntary exit sc…
21 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the areas formerly covered by Grampian Police receive from Police Scotland’s budget; what proportion of the budget this represents, and how this compares with 2012-13.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is a matter for the chief constable who is responsible for the day to day operation of the police service, including the allocation and deployment of resources received from the Scottish Police Authority. The establishment of a single service will safeg…
21 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the areas formerly covered by the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service receive from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s budget; what proportion of the budget this represents, and how this compares with 2012-13.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). I have asked the SFRS to respond to you directly on this matter.
29 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that owners of listed buildings have a duty of care for the buildings that can be enforced prior to the need for urgent repairs.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All building owners have a general responsibility to maintain their property. Set against the total number of listed buildings, a very small number are at risk. There is no specific obligation on the owner of a listed building to maintain their buildings, bu…
29 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Grampian regarding building a replacement maternity hospital.
Answer · Alex Neil: NHS Grampian has no current plans to build a replacement for Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. However, a longer term aim to relocate the hospital, on the same site, was included within a proposal put forward in 2011 for the development of a Grampian-wide single m…
29 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate's recent report on Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
Answer · Alex Neil: We are working closely with NHS Grampian to ensure progress against the implementation of its action plan to ensure it delivers real improvements on the standard of care provided across NHS Grampian. We asked Health Protection Scotland (HPS) to visit Aberdeen…
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many racist incidents have been recorded in the former Grampian Police force area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The statistical bulletin Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2011-12 was published by the Scottish Government on 11 December 2012 and is available via the following web link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/…
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many offences of wasting police time have been recorded in the former Grampian Police force area in each of the last three years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The following table shows the number of offences of public mischief (which includes wasting police time) for the legacy Grampian Police force area between 2010-11 and 2012-13. 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Public mischief (including wasting police time) 93…
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many police support staff were employed in the Grampian area in each of the last three years, expressed as (a) headcount and (b) whole-time equivalent.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Statistics relating to the number police support staff (headcount and full-time equivalent) employed in the Grampian legacy police force area for the last three years, are available in Table 4.7.2 of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework Annual Report 2…
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people injured as a result of (a) alcohol and (b) other substance abuse were treated in NHS Grampian hospitals in each of the last five years.
Answer · Alex Neil: It is not possible from centrally held information to reliably identify how many people were treated in hospital after being injured as a result of alcohol or other substance abuse. From acute hospital discharges, it is possible to provide information on the …
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) temporary and (b) agency staff it employed in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) directorate and (ii) cost.
Answer · John Swinney: The following information relates to the core Scottish Government. Temporary and agency workers give the Scottish Government the flexibility to bring specific professional skills and experience into the organisation when they are needed. They are used to co…
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding for bursaries it has allocated to (a) colleges and (b) universities in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years, broken down by institution.
Answer · Michael Russell: Bursary funding for higher education students is not allocated to institutions; it is awarded by SAAS to the individual student directly. Bursary funding for further education (FE) students at colleges is allocated to institutions by the Scottish Funding Cou…
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will apply for a Trunk Road Order for the improvements to the Haudagain roundabout.
Answer · Keith Brown: Subject to confirming the preferred route option in spring 2014, the provisional programme estimates publication of draft road orders in summer 2015.
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a legally binding written guarantee that it will fund the cost of the Haudagain roundabout improvements in the event that a Trunk Road Order is granted and what its reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Keith Brown: There is no requirement for a legally binding guarantee to progress the design work. The Scottish Government have been clear on a number of occasions that it will pay for completion of the Haudagain roundabout improvement.
17 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the latest cost estimate is for improvements to the Haudagain roundabout.
Answer · Keith Brown: The STAG Report prepared by Aberdeen City Council estimated that Option 5 would cost in the region of £14.5 million (May 2007 prices, and excluding VAT). An early part of the preparatory work is to ensure that Option 5 continues to work effectively with the …
15 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on securing its share of the funding for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: Future provision has been made within revenue forecasts to fund the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty project.
15 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to local authorities if they have difficulties in securing their share of the funding for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has consented to both Councils borrowing the funds which they have agreed to provide towards the cost of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty project. Under this arrangement, repayment of the loan can be spread ov…
15 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that any funding difficulties for partners in the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project will not result in further delays to the project.
Answer · Keith Brown: In February 2013, the Scottish Government consented to both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils borrowing up to £70 million to directly fund their contribution to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR). Subsequently, Scottish Ministers have agreed…
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many fire service staff have accepted voluntary severance from the (a) Grampian Fire and Rescue Service since 1 April 2012 and (b) Scottish Fire and Rescue Service since 1 April 2013.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. I will ask the chairman to write with the information you have requested.
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers have accepted voluntary severance from (a) Grampian Police since 1 April 2012 and (b) Police Scotland since 1 April 2013.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is a matter for Police Scotland. There is however no Voluntary Severance/Voluntary Early Retirement scheme for police officers.