Parliamentary questions

John Wilson

696 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-04254 on 7 December 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/parliamentary…

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has contributed to Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's Clydesmill Training Facility.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: To date the Scottish Government has contributed a total of £5.905 million top-sliced from the Fire Capital Grant in 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2011-12 to Strathclyde Fire and Rescue’s Clydesmill Training Facility.

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been identified for the Improvement Service in the draft budget for 2012-13.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government provides funding to the Improvement Service for the delivery of individual specific projects for which there is an agreed business case. Allocations to individual projects will be dependent on proposals that come forward following the …

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has made the following core funding grant to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) from 1 April 2006 onwards as follows: Year of Award Amount of Core Grant Funding 2006-07 £650,000 2007-08 £650,000 2008-09 £6…

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been identified for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations in the draft budget for 2012-13.

Answer · John Swinney: Level 4 budgets under which SCVO core grant funding is provided are currently under consideration. Discussions are being held with key third sector partners to inform decisions.

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not provide funding directly to COSLA. The funding to local government is provided directly to individual councils through the local government finance settlement as part of a package of measures, which includes working together i…

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: 2006-09 The grant was to be used as a contribution to core costs (the day-to-day costs of the organisation and all other necessary purposes and for no other purposes whatsoever). Funding on offer was subject to achieving the key outcomes and outputs SCVO ag…

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: All funding is awarded under the terms of the Scottish Public Finance Manual. In 2007-08, funding to the Improvement Service comprised both core funding and grants for specific projects. Since 2008-09, all funding has been for specific projects. Core funding …

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: In relation to parts (a) and (c), I refer the member to the answers to questions S3W-19966 and S3W-36122, on 27 January 2009 and 15 September 2010 respectively. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the sear…

16 Nov 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to reduce the number of quangos as part of the public sector reform agenda.

2 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in Scotland received (a) housing and (b) council tax benefit in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09, (iv) 2009-10 and (v) 2010-11.

Answer · John Swinney: The relevant National Statistics are published by the Department for Work and Pensions are available at: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc. The following below is extracted from this source and shows the number of recipi…

2 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the decrease in the number of homes built by the private house building sector has had on the operations of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has reported a reduction in the number of planning consultations it is involved in as a result of both the economic downturn and also as a result of planning reform changes. SEPA continues to provide valuable…

5 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Historic Scotland regarding future funding.

27 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many appointments have been (a) missed or (b) cancelled in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area due to patients not receiving their letter of notification of appointment in the period since TNT was awarded the board's postal contract.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally.

27 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what agencies have enforcement powers under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to tackle pernicious deep-rooted plants.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Enforcement in relation to offences connected with plants under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are a matter for the police. Offences under sections 14 (Introduction of new species etc.) and 14A (Prohibition on sale etc. of certain animals and plants) a…

27 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what public agencies have enforcement powers to deal with Japanese knotweed.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Japanese knotweed is listed on Part II of Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA), which makes it an offence (under Section 14 of that Act) for any person to plant or otherwise cause it to grow in the wild. Enforcement of the WCA is a matter…

27 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory duties local authorities have in relation to Japanese knotweed.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Local authorities have powers to take action against Japanese knotweed where it poses a threat to the local amenity of an area or if it is considered a statutory nuisance. Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 empowers local authori…

21 Sep 2011 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many incidents requiring action by the police have occurred in the Parliament since 2003.

14 Sep 2011 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the cost was of the acquisition and installation of the new voting consoles and sound system in the chamber.

Answer · David Stewart: The cost of purchasing and installing the new Chamber sound and voting system which included an upgrade to the public address system and the broadcasting sound booth to bring it up to broadcast standards, was £280,000.

10 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in relation to establishing enterprise zones.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is currently developing plans for the introduction of a number of enterprise zones in Scotland so as to maximise their economic impact. As part of this exercise, we are also engaging with the UK Government on the potential availability…

3 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Republic of Ireland Government regarding properties in Scotland subject to enforcement action by the National Asset Management Agency, given the potential impact on the Scottish Government's regeneration activities in the relevant areas.

Answer · Alex Neil: So far as the Scottish Government is aware, NAMA (National Asset Management Agency) is following normal commercial practice in relation to its enforcement action. Only one property concerned falls within a Scottish Urban Regeneration Company (URC) operational…

7 Jul 2011 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many (a) media and (b) publicity officers it has employed in each year since 1999.

Answer · Mary Scanlon: The Scottish Parliament employs media officers. Excluding the Head of Office please find below the number of full time media officer posts at the start of each year since 1999. This includes a number of posts which were fixed term and secondments. In Novemb…

22 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what NHS Lanarkshire's budget for the provision of optometry services is in 2011-12.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS Boards are not provided with allocations for General Ophthalmic Services (GOS). GOS is a demand led primary care service. The GOS budget is non-discretionary and NHS Boards are funded to the level of their expenditure in meeting the costs in their area o…

15 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS boards and local authorities regarding care home places for people with dementia.

2 Jun 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory duties local authorities have for the provision of education for those seeking refugee status.

31 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it provided to the Improvement Service in 2010–11.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-392 on 13 June 2011. It states, the Scottish Government provided no core funding to the Improvement Service in 2010-11. Grant funding of £704,920 was provided for specific projects. These projects cover shared …

31 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring progress on the shared services agenda in relation to the Clyde Valley Review of Joint Working and Shared Services.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has met regularly with representatives of the Clyde Valley Partnership most recently on 18 May 2011. The Clyde Valley programme lead provided an update on the work streams being progressed, and legal and procurement experts discussed t…

31 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the local authorities that agreed to participate in the Clyde Valley Shared Service Initiative are participating in the Clyde Valley Review of Joint Working and Shared Services.

Answer · John Swinney: Eight local authorities agreed to participate in the Clyde Valley Review of Shared Services. They are City of Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire. The Clyde Va…

31 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W–19965 by John Swinney on 27 January 2009, whether it will review the core funding to the Improvement Service.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not provide core funding to the Improvement Service. From 2008-09, core funding was transferred to local government and is included within the total funding package. A review of core funding is therefore a matter for local governm…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) medical and (b) physiological aftercare and support services are available to male victims of domestic violence in the NHS Lanarkshire area

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Lanarkshire does not provide gender-specific medical or physiological services for victims of domestic abuse. All patients presenting at accident and emergency and GP services receive appropriate medical attention. NHS Lanarkshire''s <strong>Ending Violen…