Parliamentary questions

Richard Baker

2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change has yet received the STAG 2 report on the Aberdeen Crossrail project which was due at the end of summer 2007 and, if not, what the reasons are for the delay.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-8313 on 24 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.Scottish Parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change expects to receive the STAG 2 report on the Aberdeen Crossrail project which was due at the end of summer 2007.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotlandofficials have been involved in discussions with NESTRANS on the emergingconclusions from the STAG 2 report on the Aberdeen Crossrail project which hasbeen received in draft format only. As a result of this dialogue, it wasjointly agreed tha…

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct a consultation on the proposed Aberdeen Crossrail project and, if so, when it anticipates that such a consultation will take place.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-8313 on 24 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding in the spending review will be allocated to developing rail projects in Grampian.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8310 on 17 January. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.sea…

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding in the spending review will be allocated to developing transport projects in Grampian.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The spending plans set out inthe Scottish Budget have not yet been approved by the Scottish Parliament. The draftScottish Budget proposes the overall funding allocated for transport, but this hasnot been broken down for each local authority area.

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will move from assessing proposals for Aberdeen Crossrail to construction of the project and what timescale it anticipates for the construction.

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change will next meet Nestrans to discuss the Aberdeen Crossrail project.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I have no plans to meetNESTRANS. However Transport Scotland officials have been involved in discussions withNESTRANS on the emerging conclusions from the STAG 2 report.

10 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for the new drug treatment and testing orders model pilot in the Lothian and Borders Community Justice Authority area and, if the pilot shows signs of early success, whether it will roll out the scheme across Scotland earlier than the proposed timescale.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In relation to the issue of targets,I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-7252 on 13 December 2007. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website,the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref…

9 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to lift the cap on student numbers in higher education.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are currently no plansto lift the cap on student numbers in higher education. The Scottish Government is satisfied that opportunitiesto enter higher education in Scotland exist for all suitably qualified Scottish applicants.

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that every Scottish university should be encouraged to operate widening access schemes.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is fullycommitted to widening access to all of our higher education institutions for everyonewho has the ability to benefit. This is a commitment that is shared by all our highereducation institutions and each has programmes and activi…

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that every Scottish university should be involved in the work to widen access to higher education

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All higher education institutionsare already involved in work to widen access. The government both supports and expectsthis. Each institution is active in promoting access initiatives in accordance withits own priorities. Additionally, each institution is rep…

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor the success of widening access to university programmes over the next year.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is fullycommitted to ensuring that access to higher education is available to all on thebasis of ability to learn rather than ability to pay. There are already a numberof access initiatives in place both by individual institutions and …

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities will publish its conclusions and when it is expected to do so.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The taskforce intends to meetmonthly during the first half of 2008 with a view to finalising its conclusionsby the summer and determining how the taskforce will publish its conclusions.

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether representatives of the STUC, University and College Union and National Union of Students in Scotland will be included in the membership of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I have decided that a comprehensiveand labour-intensive independent review which can take years to produce resultswas not appropriate in this case. I have deliberately restricted membership of thetaskforce to university Principals and Scottish Government to e…

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations were consulted to inform the decision on who should be represented on the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government establishedthe Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities and its membership in agreementwith Universities Scotland. Representation on the taskforce is from these two parties.

13 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the publication of the new study of potential improvements in the new year, a flyover will be one of the options for consultation on potential improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Haudagain STAG Steering Group is expected to meet early in the New Year when they will take a view onwhether other options may have to be considered once the implications of therenot being a Third Don Crossing are better understood.Beyond this the …

13 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the new study into options for improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen will be completed.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The timescales for theconclusion of the Haudagain STAG assessment are currently under reviewfollowing the implications for the third Don crossing in light of the finalisedAberdeen local plan inquiry outcomes.

13 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council on the timescale for work to begin on improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-7803 on 14 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

13 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the publication of the new study of potential improvements in the new year, when it now expects construction to begin on improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: No decision on which is the mostappropriate intervention at the Haudagain Roundabout will be reached until the STAGprocess is complete. Consequently, no discussions about how to proceed beyond thishave been held.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding has been requested by Aberdeen City Council for education services as part of the funding settlement intended to achieve a council tax freeze.

Answer · Maureen Watt: No request for additionalfunding for education services has been received from Aberdeen City Council.It is for local authoritiesto allocate their total available to individual services on the basis of local needsand priorities.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding has been requested by Aberdeen City Council for social work services as part of the funding settlement intended to achieve a council tax freeze.

Answer · Adam Ingram: No request foradditional funding for social work services has been received from AberdeenCity Council.

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent on piloting the extension of the drug treatment and testing order approach in Grampian.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-7252 on 13 December 2007. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website,the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The following tableshows the level of criminal justice social work grant allocations issued to therelevant local authorities within the Grampian area for the delivery of drug treatmentand testing orders in financial years 2003-04 to 2006-07 inclusive. Drug tr…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for its extension of the drug treatment and testing order approach.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The extension of drugtreatment and testing orders to deal with lower tariff offenders will be the subjectof a pilot exercise. Given that decisions on sentencing in individual cases area matter for the courts, it would not be appropriate to set targets for the…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders in Grampian were on drug treatment programmes and have been subject to testing orders in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06 and (d) 2006-07 and, of these, how many would have fallen under the extension of the drug treatment and testing order approach.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Data is not held centrallyfor the Grampian area. Information is shown below for the local authorities whichcomprise the Northern Community Justice Authority (CJA) area. These are AberdeenCity, Aberdeenshire, Eilean Siar, Highland, Moray, OrkneyIslands and She…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders in Grampian are on drug treatment programmes and have been subject to testing orders.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Data is not held centrallyon the numbers of offenders in the Grampian area currently engaged in treatmentprogrammes. In the period 2003-07, 114 drug treatment and testing orders were imposedby courts situated within the Northern Community Justice Authority (C…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities will benefit from the pilot of extending the drug treatment and testing order approach to a wider range of offenders.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer to the answer to question S3W-7248 on 13 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questionsare available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search">…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Grampian will benefit from the pilot of extending the drug treatment and testing order approach to a wider range of offenders.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Extending use of DrugTreatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) to lower tariff offenders poses a number ofopportunities and challenges and we will therefore undertake a pilot exercise inthe first instance. An announcement on the location of the pilot will be made …

27 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what dialogue it has had with the board of the Scottish Funding Council following the announcement of the funding settlement for universities in the spending review.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: ScottishGovernment officials from the Lifelong Learning Directorate provided a briefingto the full Council on Friday 23 November 2007.

27 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with university principals on staff numbers following the announcement of the funding settlement for universities in the spending review.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There have beenno specific discussions on the issue of staff numbers. However I have had anumber of wide ranging discussions on the funding settlement for universities.