Parliamentary questions

John Wilson

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

19 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how local authorities differentiate between second homes and long-term empty properties for the purpose of collecting council tax.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. It is for local authorities to determine how they differentiate between second homes and long-term empty properties for the purpose of collecting council tax.

19 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses have been built as a result of additional income raised from council tax on second homes since local authorities were granted discretion to reduce council tax discount on second homes and long-term empty properties on 1 April 2005, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally.

19 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the additional income raised from council tax on second homes since local authorities were granted discretion to reduce council tax discount on second homes and long-term empty properties on 1 April 2005 was used for the provision of affordable housing.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally.

19 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional income has been raised by each local authority from council tax on second homes since local authorities were granted discretion to reduce council tax discount on second homes and long-term empty properties on 1 April 2005.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is shown in the following table. The additional income from the reduced discounts is collected as a single item for both types of properties and is not available separately for second homes and long-term empty properties. Co…

19 Nov 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA and local authorities on the tax increment financing scheme.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has ongoing discussions with local authorities and COSLA on the use of Tax Increment Financing to fund public infrastructure investment. The Scottish Futures Trust has set out in its 2009-10 Business Plan its aim, working with…

17 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much its estimated total contribution will be to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Answer · Shona Robison: On 16 November 2009, the Glasgow 2014 organising committee announced that the games budget would increase to £453.6 million. As a consequence, the total contribution from the Scottish Government over the period from 2007-08 to 2015-16 will be £295.8 million, …

17 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has contributed to the cost of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has contributed £8,202,332 towards the cost of staging the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The overall contribution, at 2007 prices, will be £275.8 million plus a £20 million reserve to be held in case of exceptional circumstances.</p…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will develop a Scottish community safety toolkit as an electronic resource for the fire and rescue services, as recommended in the report, Scotland Together: A study examining fire deaths and injuries in Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government welcomes the principle of a central resource and will work closely with the fire and rescue services to establish how we might support the hosting facilities for an online resource. But in doing so, we need to ensure the deli…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to develop common data-sharing protocols to facilitate information sharing among all agencies involved in community safety, as recommended in the report, Scotland Together: A study examining fire deaths and injuries in Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We support the principle of professionals from all disciplines, including fire, legally sharing relevant information which contributes to the safety of our communities. We would encourage local government to work towards an appropriate data-sharing solution t…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will initiate research to investigate the link between deprivation, including social trends, and fire, as recommended in the report, Scotland Together: A study examining fire deaths and injuries in Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Substantial evidence already exists of the links between a range of socio-economic factors and dwelling fires. The Scotland Together report highlights that those agencies already tackling such factors should consider how fire prevention can become an integral…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a safer Scotland unit to simplify and co-ordinate community safety as recommended in the report, Scotland Together: A study examining fire deaths and injuries in Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: It is the view of the Scottish Government that the report does not seek to establish a new quango, with all its associated costs. Instead, we are committed to reviewing the range of existing activities within the Scottish Government and its partners…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its financial contribution is to the Fairer Scotland Fund to support credit unions in the (a) South Lanarkshire, (b) North Lanarkshire, (c) Falkirk and (d) East Ayrshire local authority area.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government''s £435 million Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) has been allocated to all 32 local authorities and their community planning partners to regenerate communities, tackle poverty and improve employment prospects. Decisions on the investment of …

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of the North Lanarkshire’s Working partners are making a financial contribution to the initiative and how much each is contributing.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: A financial contribution towards North Lanarkshire''s Working funding package has been provided by the following partners: North Lanarkshire''s Working - CPP <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap valign=b…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is contributing to the £19 million two-year North Lanarkshire’s Working funding package.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government are contributing £6,147,695 towards North Lanarkshire''s Working two-year funding package. This contribution is being provided through the Fairer Scotland Funding (FSF).

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where the established Scottish Enterprise regional advisory boards are located.

Answer · Jim Mather: The location and other matters related to the administration of Scottish Enterprise''s (SE''s) regional advisory boards are an operational matter for that body. I have, therefore, written to SE''s Chief Executive, Lena Wilson, asking her to respond to you dir…

5 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the membership is of the established Scottish Enterprise regional advisory boards.

Answer · Jim Mather: The membership of Scottish Enterprise''s (SE''s) regional advisory boards is an operational matter for that body. I have, therefore, written to SE''s Chief Executive, Lena Wilson, asking her to respond to you directly on this issue.

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether and, if so, how well the well men initiative is operating in the NHS Lanarkshire area.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Well men initiatives previously funded by the Scottish Executive are no longer operating in the NHS Lanarkshire area. However, Keep Well and other funded services sensitive to men''s health needs are available to people in the area. Seven thousand, six hundre…

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the well men initiative is subject to continuous evaluation and, if so, where such evaluation is available.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Well Men Services initiative ran from 2004-06 and the policy was superseded by the more targeted Keep Well Anticipatory Care Programme. A link to the Well Men Health Service Pilots Evaluation is attached here <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Pu…

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether extra funding will be allocated to the well men initiative, in light of evidence that a significant number of men continue to show reluctance to seek medical attention.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Well Men Services initiative ran from 2004-06 when the policy was superseded by the more targeted Keep Well Anticipatory Care Programme. £33 million is available to Keep Well over a three year period (2008-11) and a proportion of this budget encourages me…

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to encourage men to seek medical attention when necessary, in light of the relevant article in Scotland on Sunday on 4 October 2009.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Well Men Services initiative ran from 2004-06, when the policy was superseded by the more targeted Keep Well Anticipatory Care Programme. The Scottish Government is now providing a range of health and supporting services which are particularly se…

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average rental cost is per housing unit for (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities.

Answer · Alex Neil: (a) In 2008-2009, the average weekly rent for Registered Social Landlords was £57.76. The data are available on the Scottish Housing Regulator''s website at: <a href="http://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpag…

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the management costs are per housing unit as a percentage of rental income for (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities.

Answer · Alex Neil: (a) The latest available data are for 2007‘08. During this year, management and maintenance administration costs as a percentage of gross rent receivable for registered social landlords were 36%. (b) The latest available data are for 2008-09. During …

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the management costs per housing unit are for (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities.

Answer · Alex Neil: (a) The latest available data are for 2007‘08. During this year, management and maintenance administration costs per housing unit for registered social landlords were £988. (b) The latest available data are for 2008-09. During this year, supervision …

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many construction companies fined by the Office of Fair Trading are working on Scottish Government funded procurement projects.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of fines of construction companies by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) amounting to £129.5 million, whether it made a submission to the OFT prior to the OFT issuing its Information note to procuring entities in the public and private sectors regarding the OFT’s decision on bid …

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27928 on 21 October. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bus…

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it made a detailed representation to the Office of Fair Trading’s investigation into the construction industry.

Answer · John Swinney: As noted in the answer to question S3W-13539 on 4 June 2009, the Scottish Government did not make a submission to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) prior to the issue of the OFT information note. OFT later confirmed that, in order to maintain strict confidenti…

1 Oct 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been an examination of the extradition treaty arrangements between the UK and United States of America in so far as they impact on Scotland.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1001-01.htm">http://www.scot…

18 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants are currently employed overseas, broken down by (a) directorate, (b) pay grade and (c) country in which they are employed.

Answer · John Swinney: We only hold information on civil servants employed by the Scottish Government. As at 31 August 2009 there were eight Scottish Government civil servants from the Directorate of Culture, External Affairs and Tourism employed overseas. <table border=1 cel…

18 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants are currently overseas on secondment, broken down by (a) directorate from which they are seconded, (b) pay grade and (c) country to which they are seconded.

Answer · John Swinney: We only hold information on civil servants employed by the Scottish Government. As at 31 August 2009 there were four Scottish Government civil servants on secondment overseas. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=588 > <thead> <tr > …

18 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25911 by Alex Neil on 3 August 2009, how local authorities are monitored to ensure that they adhere to their public sector equality duties on disability, race and gender, which require public authorities to involve, consult and engage with communitie…

Answer · Alex Neil: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is responsible for the enforcement of the public sector equality duties. Both the Scottish Government and councils are subject to the same public sector equality duties and we do expect all public bodies to take their …