Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on rebranding the (a) Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and (b) Police Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service went live on 1 April this year and will deliver estimated annual savings of £130 million. Rebranding is an operational matter for the services.
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost will be of transporting prisoners to the new HMP Grampian, compared to the current arrangements.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Escorts are not paid for individually nor do they vary depending on the location of prisoner therefore there is no change to the cost profil…
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths per 1,000 of population were attributable to (a) alcohol and (b) other substance misuse in each of the last five years in NHS Grampian and how this compares to the national average.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Data on deaths per 1,000 population attributable to (a) alcohol and (b) other substance misuse are provided in the following tables. Deaths per 1,000 Population, by Underlying Cause (a) Alcohol-related NHS Grampian Scotland 2008 0.18 0.27 2009 0.19 …
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many engagements have been undertaken by ministers in Aberdeen in each of the last three years and how this compares with visits to other cities in Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: Ministers have carried out engagements in Aberdeen on 302 occasions in the last three years. Engagements in other Scottish Cities are as follows: Edinburgh: 2,760 Glasgow: 1,284 Inverness: 210 Dundee: 151 Perth: 135 Stirling: 116
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the reported comments by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism in the Evening Express on 19 September 2013, what action it has taken to support Aberdeen City Council in improving the condition of roads in the last five years.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with over £10.3 billion in 2013-14. The vast majority of this funding, including that for roads maintenance, is being provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local…
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the funding available to Aberdeen City Council to improve the condition of roads, in light of the reported comments by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism in the Evening Express on 19 September 2013.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with over £10.3 billion in 2013-14. The vast majority of this funding, including that for roads maintenance, is being provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local…
11 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the maintenance of roads in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last three years.
Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16788 on 18 September 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/parliament…
3 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce further copies of its May 2010 booklet, Decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation – Information for patients, relatives and carers.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Decisions about Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - Information for patients, relatives and carers fact sheet is available for download on the Scottish Government website at the address below. It is available in this format to allow stocks to be printed local…
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that there is public consultation on the removal of public counter services at police stations in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The police in Scotland operate independently of Ministers and the provision of public counters is an operational matter for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. However, I am aware that Police Scotland commenced a four-week public consultation o…
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) discussions it has had with the Scottish Police Authority and (b) its position is on the removal of public counter services at police stations in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Government officials meet the Scottish Police Authority on a regular basis to discuss a range of matters. The police in Scotland operate independently of Ministers and public counter services is an operational matter for the Police Scotland and the S…
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the future of Aberdeen fire control room.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the board of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service.
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board on the future of Aberdeen fire control room.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Decisions on the allocation of its resources including control rooms, is a matter for the SFRS board.
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the possibility of no public consultation being held on the future of Aberdeen fire control room.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The proposed closure of fire control rooms is a matter for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS). SFRS is meeting with key stakeholders in areas which are affected by its strategic plans.
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the public is consulted on the future of Aberdeen fire control room.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The proposed closure of fire control rooms is a matter for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS). SFRS is meeting with key stakeholders in areas which are affected by its strategic plans.
2 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether and, if so, how many prisoners from HMP Aberdeen and HMP Peterhead will be moved to other parts of the country before being moved to HMP Grampian; at what cost; to which prisons, and for how long.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: In preparation for the opening of HMP Grampian on 3 March 2014 around 300 prisoners will be transferred to other establishments following th…
1 Oct 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what medical services the proposed new town of Chapelton of Elsick will have and what discussions it has had with NHS Grampian regarding the (a) provision and (b) financing of these and the building of the town’s medical facilities.
Answer · Alex Neil: There are no confirmed plans for medical facilities at the present time. However, NHS Grampian has been in discussion with the local authority on the matter, and those discussions will continue.
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take if companies in the consortia bidding for the contracts for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project have been identified as operating a blacklist.
Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15076 on 29 May 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/parliamentarybus…
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when an announcement will be made regarding the awarding of contracts for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: The contract award announcement for Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/ Balmedie to Tipperty is expected in autumn 2014. This date remains unchanged from the programme announcement made in October 2012. 10 smaller contracts for advanced works have already bee…
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what reasons Scotia Roads Group gave for withdrawing from the bidding process for work on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scotia Roads Group withdrew because they took the decision to pursue commercial interests elsewhere.
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the make-up is of each consortium bidding for work on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: The make-up of each consortium bidding for work on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is as follows Consortium Members Granite City Roads Macquarie Capital Vialia Kier Iridium North East Roads Partnership Cintra Infrastructures SA John Laing Inve…
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consortia are bidding for the work relating to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: The consortia bidding for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty project are Granite City Roads, North East Roads Partnership and Connect Roads.
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the outstanding student loan debt has been of students and graduates domiciled in Scotland in each of last five years.
Answer · Michael Russell: The information available is given in the table below and relates to students and graduates who originally took out loans while studying in Scotland. Total Public Debt Outstanding at the end of the Financial Year (£ Billion) 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-…
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on meeting the target of having an equivalent of 100% of the country’s electricity demand from renewables by 2020.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The most recent statistics, published on Thursday 26 September and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/energy-trends, confirm that renewable generation in Scotland during 2012 amounted to 14,75…
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to encourage participation in sports in (a) schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities and with what results.
Answer · Shona Robison: Physical education experiences and outcomes form a key element of the delivery of health and wellbeing within the Curriculum for Excellence. That is why the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that by 2014 all pupils across Scotland receive at least …
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to measures to tackle antisocial behaviour in Aberdeen.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with over £10.3 billion in 2013-14. The vast majority of this funding is being provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financi…
20 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much Housing Association Grant was awarded to each registered social landlord in (a) Aberdeenshire and (b) Aberdeen City in 2011-12.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: The amounts of Housing Association Grant spend for registered social landlords in (a) Aberdeenshire and (b) Aberdeen City in 2011-2012 was: Housing Association Aberdeenshire Aberdeen Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership £150,000 None Castlehill Housin…
17 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the provision of community policing by officers with limited local knowledge.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The training and deployment of police officers is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. Redeploying police officers according to operational need is not new. Within the former Strathclyde police force, for example, officers were redeployed between ur…
17 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements Police Scotland is putting in place to ensure effective policing cover on bank holidays in the former Grampian Police region.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The deployment of police officers throughout Scotland is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. Redeploying police officers according to operational need is not new. Within the former Strathclyde police force, for example, officers were redeployed bet…
10 Sep 2013 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent progress it has made in taking forward the business rates incentivisation scheme.
9 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the most recent Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland does not provide a regional breakdown of the number of serving officers; who decided not to provide this, and whether this information will be included in the next edition.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland publication is used to report the Government’s on-going commitment to provide 1,000 additional police officers nationally. Prior to 1 April 2013, data were collected from each of the legacy forces and …