Parliamentary questions

Dave Thompson

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

30 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on the provision of Gaelic-medium schools.

21 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made by the Police Service of Scotland to configure its backroom functions.

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to strengthen the role of (a) the Scots Language Centre and (b) Scottish Language Dictionaries as national agencies for developing Scots language (i) policy and (ii) projects in light of the recommendations in the Report of the Ministerial Working Group on the Sc…

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12342 on 29 January 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/parliamentar…

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to support a joint working approach between Creative Scotland, the Scots Language Centre and Scottish Language Dictionaries in developing support for the Scots language.

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Creative Scotland on developing support for artistic and creative activities using the Scots language.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government officials have met recently with Creative Scotland to discuss the role of Creative Scotland in supporting and promoting the Scots language. Discussions have been positive and Creative Scotland has provided a paper to…

3 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its estimate is of the value of aquaculture to the economy and the Highland economy in particular.

26 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in helping communities to benefit from the use of renewables.

29 Oct 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing the provisions of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

24 Sep 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has to reduce the number of speeding offences on trunk roads.

17 Sep 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the works to install the new barriers on the level crossings at Corpach, Brora, Kirkton and Dalchalm will be completed.

Answer · Keith Brown: Network Rail has advised that the works to install the new barriers on the level crossings at Corpach, Brora, Kirkton and Dalchalm will be completed within the two year timescale of the overall barrier fitment programme.

3 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to help HEROtsc secure new work for its Aviemore workforce.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Given HEROtsc’s range of contracts which are serviced from Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been in discussion with the company to ascertain if any of its alternative contracts, either current or in its pipeline, might be a match for this site a…

6 Jun 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to review the partnership information network policy on implementing and reviewing whistleblowing arrangements in the NHS.

30 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the investigative procedures of the police in relation to road accidents.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The handling of road accident investigations is an operational matter for the police. ACPOS have guidelines and processes which deal with all incidents on the public highways where police attendance is necessary. These range from minor non injury road acciden…

2 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available for GPs in remote and rural areas.

28 Mar 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on exhibiting local artefacts in the area in which they are found.

7 Mar 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to assist Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service following the recent Audit Scotland report, The Audit of Best Value: Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue.

25 Jan 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made with its plans for a single Scottish police service.

11 Jan 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the progress of Gaelic medium education in the Highlands.

21 Dec 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the safety of level crossings.

Answer · Keith Brown: Railway safety has not been devolved to Scottish Ministers and remains an issue that is reserved to the UK Government. It is for the Office of Rail Regulation to monitor the safety performance of the rail industry and to take enforcement action where it deem…

20 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to protect red squirrels.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government works with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), non-governmental organisations and landowners to protect red squirrels in Scotland. The Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) provides funding for red squirrel conservation such as habi…

5 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates an increase in penalties as a result of the 2011 sheep inspections relating to the electronic identity document.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not expect there to be a significant increase in cross-compliance penalties as a result of sheep farmers breaching the regulatory requirement to apply electronic identification (EID) devices. Electronic identification of sheep wa…

19 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise the status of Gaelic in the wider community.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the operation of the Post Office Diversification Fund in 2011-12.

Answer · Jim Mather: Following a review of the 2010-11 process which included discussions with stakeholders, I can confirm that the £1 million 2011-12 fund will operate along similar lines. The only exception is that those post offices which received funds under the 2010-11 schem…

14 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each police board has spent on fuel in each financial year since 2001 and how much it expects to spend in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The spend by each police board from 2007-08 to 2009-10 with an estimate of costs for 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in the following table. Information prior to 2007 is not held electronically by individual police boards. <table border=1 cellsp…

10 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been made to ensure the security and confidentiality of the personal information collected in the forthcoming census.

Answer · Jim Mather: Every householder has a legal duty to provide information about the people in the household on Census Day, which is 27 March 2011. There is also a legal duty, under the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991, which protects the confidentiality of the personal info…

20 May 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is provided for adult learners of Gaelic.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Adult Gaelic learning is a central element of the action plan to increase the numbers of Gaelic speakers. This plan was prepared by B²rd na G idhlig at the request of the Scottish Government. There is a wide range of support in place for adult learners of Gae…

22 Apr 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the development of Gaelic is progressing at a satisfactory pace.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Gaelic development is progressing well but there is still much to be accomplished before we would describe the achievements as satisfactory. The Scottish Government''s clear aim is to ensure that the measures we are putting in place are effective in increasin…

4 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional wiring, signalling and other equipment is required when an open level crossing is upgraded to include barriers.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: This will depend on the age and upgrade status of the particular level crossing being upgraded and will also vary considerably with the proposed type of barrier crossing. An Automatic [half] Barrier Crossing Locally monitored (ABCL) could include: Re…

4 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where each open level crossing is that has been upgraded in the last 20 years to include the addition of barriers; when it was upgraded; at what cost, and what information it has on how this compares with the relevant costs in the rest of (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Europe.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: This is a matter for Network Rail and I have requested them to answer your query.

29 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dermatology specialist nurses are working in Scotland and where they are based.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on staff in post is published annually by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland as part of the workforce census as at 30 September each year. Data for clinical nurse specialists by specialty, NHS region and NHS b…