Richard Baker

5 Jun 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executivehow many convictions for possession of an offensive weapon there were in the Grampian Police area in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Persons in Grampian Police ForceArea with a Charge Proved in Court for Carrying Knives or Possessing an OffensiveWeapon¹, 2001-02 to 2005-06</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpaddi…

22 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount of revenue from business rates was lost in 2005-06 as a result of hardship relief being granted to businesses under the provisions of section 25A (remission of rates on the ground of hardship) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966 (as amended).

Answer · Tom McCabe: The total amount of hardshiprelief for which local authorities budgeted in 2005-06, as reported in auditedreturns they made to the Scottish Executive, was £192,092.</p>

23 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what services are being provided to support people in the Grampian area whose drug misuse involves crack cocaine to end their addiction.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: £2.2 million per annum overthe period 2005-06 to 2007-08 is made available to Grampian Health Board toprovide drug treatment and care services. It is the responsibility of alcoholand drug action teams to decide what services are required at a local level,acco…

23 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what services are being provided to support people whose drug misuse involves crack cocaine to end their addiction.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: £23.7 million per annum overthe period 2005-06 to 2007-08 is made available to health boards to providedrug treatment and care services. Planning of drug treatment services is doneat a local level rather than a national level. It is the responsibility oflocal…

10 Jan 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote awareness of the dangers of the misuse of airguns.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive launchedan air weapon publicity campaign on 23 March 2005, including a leaflet explainingthe dangers of air weapons in the wrong hands and encouraging people to hand themin to the police if they were no longer required. This will be upd…

6 Dec 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the number of incidents involving the misuse of airguns in the Grampian Police area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have worked closely with UK ministersto strengthen the law, including the introduction of a new offence of possessingan air weapon in a public place without reasonable cause and banning the importand sale of certain weapons.</p><p>Next year the Violent Crim…

1 Nov 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to provide voluntary sector organisations with three-year funding settlements.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Strategic Funding Review,established jointly by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Conventionof Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Executive, accepted, in February2003, the general principle that the funding of the voluntary se…

18 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-23392 and S2W-23393 by Johann Lamont on 2 March 2006, what progress is being made towards making it compulsory for all new or replacement boilers to be condensing boilers.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>In analysing the recentpublic consultation on proposed revisions to the energy standards, it was foundthat there was s…

7 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve and enhance the recreational and educational experiences of deaf people visiting the countryside.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28197 on 20 September 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.se…

7 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve access to the countryside for deaf people.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Section 15 of the Land Reform(Scotland) Act 2003 gives a power to local authorities and national park authoritiesto install and maintain means of contributing to the comfort and convenience ofthose exercising access rights, and in exercising this power they a…

4 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring the use of new powers given to licensing boards in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Answer · George Lyon: The Scottish Executive alreadypublishes statistics on liquor licensing with regards to the presentlegislation, these are being reassessed as to how the new act might best be monitoredfollowing its full implementation in 2009.</p>

4 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is ensuring that agencies working in areas particularly affected by binge drinking and its consequences, such as those in Grampian, receive the appropriate resources designed to help them reduce the levels, and negative effects, of binge drinking.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards and local alcoholand drug action teams are best placed to ensure that activities and servicesbeing taken forward at a local level are supporting delivery of our overallpriorities for reducing alcohol related harm.</p><p>To support this, the Scottis…

4 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is assisting agencies in the Grampian area to deal with binge drinking and its effects.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executiveprovides support for a network of local alcohol and drug action teams made upof key partners and agencies which identify, prioritise and co-ordinateactivities at a local level to reduce alcohol related harm, including addressingexcessive…

4 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring the impact of new licensing laws on binge drinking.

Answer · George Lyon: As part of the implementationof the new licensing legislation consideration is being given to how its effectsmight best be monitored following the act’s full implementation in 2009.</p>

4 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend the pilot scheme on alcohol sales to underage customers currently operating in Fife to other parts of the country.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executiverecognises alcohol test purchasing is an effective means of enforcing liquorlicensing law and we are keen to extend the scheme to other areas as soon aspracticable. However, the welfare of the children and young people taking partin the …

18 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent to support parental involvement and representation in schools in each of the last two years, broken down by type of support and local authority and excluding expenditure to support the school board system.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The information requested isnot available centrally, as the relevant information supplied to the Scottish Executiveby local authorities in their Local Financial Returns only specifies their spendingon school boards.</p><p>However, in 2004-05 £565,300and in 20…

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the current position with regard to the release of foreign prisoners from Scottish prisons and the deportation of such prisoners.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Home Secretary announcedon 26 April 2006 that 1,023 prisoners who should have been consideredfor deportation at the end of their sentence were instead released into the community.The announcement did not indicate whether these were UK figures orfigures on…

5 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2W-23179 by Tavish Scott on 10 March 2006, whether it anticipates that Network Rail's new infrastructure investment plans will impact on the completion date for the Aberdeen Crossrail project.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The proposals for the AberdeenCrossrail scheme are still at feasibility stage. The decision on implementationand delivery of this scheme will be dependant firstly on successful completion ofSTAG2 and then subject to the outcome of the Strategic Projects Revie…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any independent assessment has been made of the Scottish Energy Rating Tool (SERT), particularly whether SERT will comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The work on the ScottishEnergy Rating Tool is currently in progress. Development work has not yetreached a stage where…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefit will accrue from devising its own methodology to comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer.His response is as follows:</p><p>The work on the ScottishEnergy Rating Tool (SERT) is currently in progress. If the research work issuccessful then SER…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been to the taxpayer to date of developing the Scottish Energy Rating Tool.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>Development of the ScottishEnergy Rating Tool has come from the SBSA research budget at a fixed sum of £30,000.When in…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology that it will use to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will require any input from unqualified or non-accredited individuals.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>No. The Article 3methodologies adopted will not require any input from unqualified ornon-accredited individuals. Howev…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any independent assessment has been made of the cost of using different methodologies to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>No independent assessmentshave been undertaken regarding the cost of using the different methodologies ashourly and da…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of non-domestic buildings in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using the Simplified Building Energy Model for non-domesticbuildings, although it is li…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of existing social housing in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool forexisting social housing. N…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of newly built privately-owned dwellings in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using SAP 2005, SBEM, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool fornewly-constructed pr…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of existing privately-owned dwellings in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool forexisting privately-owned d…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of non-domestic buildings to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using the Simplified Building Energy Model for non-domesticbuildings, although it is li…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of newly built social housing to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using SAP 2005, SBEM, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool fornewly-constructed so…

30 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of existing social housing to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SBSA has to dateconsidered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool forexisting social housing. F…