Parliamentary questions
Jeremy Purvis
909 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many secondary school students have been enrolled in science subjects in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Keith Brown: The information about enrolments is not held centrally. Information on examinations by subject is available at: </p> <p > <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/03/09154229/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/03/09154229/0</a>.</p>…
23 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial visits outwith Scotland there have been since May 2007, broken down by visit and showing the (a) total cost, (b) breakdown of expenditure and (c) purpose of each visit.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is taking longer that anticipated to answer and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the response will be available from Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48095).</p>
23 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the occasions on which the First Minister travelled outwith Scotland on official business since May 2007, showing the (a) total cost, (b) breakdown of expenditure and (c) purpose of each visit.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is set out in the following table. Travel marked * was at zero cost to the Scottish Government. Travel to London which did not include government business has not been listed.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <th…
23 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs have been of the development of the planned independence referendum legislation, including staffing costs.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23202 on 1 July 2009. 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/B…
23 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff (a) have been and (b) are employed on the National Conversation coordination team and at what cost.
Answer · Michael Russell: The team which manages the National Conversation and referendum is responsible for the Government''s policy on developing Scotland''s constitution, and responding to related initiatives such as the UK Government''s Governance of Britain programme, the Commiss…
23 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs have been of the National Conversation, also broken down by (a) staffing, (b) holding and attending events, (c) publicity, (d) publication and design, (e) branding and staging materials and (f) other.
Answer · Michael Russell: The National Conversation is successfully engaging the people of Scotland in the debate about Scotland''s constitutional future. There have been nearly half a million hits on the National Conversation web pages; over 3,500 people have attended public events a…
23 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15794 by Bruce Crawford on 17 September 2009, what the final figures relating to the cost of the 2008 summer Cabinet programme were, broken down by (a) staff time, (b) staff travel, (c) staff accommodation, (d) ministerial accommodation, (e) venue hi…
Answer · Bruce Crawford: The total costs of the programme, and a breakdown by each of the four locations, are published on the Scottish Government website. This information can be accessed through the following link <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/costs/">http://www.…
23 Apr 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the bodies and emergency services authorised to lift and raise patients who have fallen at home but do not have an immediate life threatening condition.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon : <i> This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</i></p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0430-01.htm">http://www.scott…
24 Mar 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in what month it expects the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme to be available to first-time buyers in the Scottish Borders.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme will be expanded on a temporary basis throughout Scotland, including in the Scottish Borders, from 31 March 2009. With a budget of £60 million, the scheme is expected to help around 1,500 households to buy a home dur…
24 Mar 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the interest-free loans disbursed under the Low-cost Initiative for First-time Buyers housing scheme were provided to (a) individual first-time home buyers and (b) housing associations to fund affordable housing schemes.
Answer · Alex Neil: Since the announcement of the establishment of the Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers in October 2007, a total 1,217 interest free loans have been provided. Of this total, 736 people have been able to purchase a home through the Open Market Shared Equi…
24 Mar 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have benefited from the Low-cost Initiative for First-time Buyers housing scheme since its launch in October 2007.
Answer · Alex Neil: As at 31 March 2009, a total of 1,731 people have benefited from the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) since its launch in October 2007.</p>
19 Mar 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21202 by John Swinney on 12 March 2009, for what reason it does not hold information centrally on the number of conferences and other events that it has supported since May 2007 and at what cost; whether this information is held anywhere and, if so, …
Answer · John Swinney: Running conferences and events can be an effective way to consult on policy development. Such activity is undertaken routinely across government and central advice and good practice guidance is available to support it. The costs of such activity is monitored …
18 Mar 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that offenders begin community service orders within seven days.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill : <i > This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</i></p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0326-01.htm">http://www.scot…
26 Feb 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the NHS is supporting people with arthritis.
Answer · Shona Robison: Arthritis in all its forms is a very important long-term condition. People living with arthritis will therefore benefit from the wide range of work we are taking forward on long term conditions management, especially self management.</p> <p >The GMS contract…
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the socio-economic impact of the Scottish Procurement Directorate’s tender criteria.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Procurement Directorate has issued detailed guidance on the scope to include social issues within public procurement procedures. Tender criteria will vary according to the particular requirement, as will the scope to consider socio-economic impac…
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) conferences and (b) other events have been supported by it since May 2007 and at what cost.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) public and (b) private sector conferences and events cabinet secretaries and ministers have spoken at since May 2007, also broken down by event and speaker.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost of responding to freedom of information requests has been in each year since 2006.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: We do not hold information on the average cost of responding to FOI requests.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many letters that it received (a) between one and three months and (b) over three months ago have not been answered or have received a holding reply.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: Currently the number of letters outstanding that were received (a) between one and three months ago is 78, and (b) over three months ago is two.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what average length of time it has taken to respond to correspondence from (a) parliamentarians and (b) members of the public in the last 12 months.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: During the period 1 March 2008 to 28 February 2009 the average length of time taken for the Scottish Executive to respond to (a) parliamentarians was 12 working days, and (b) members of the public was 13 working days.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many freedom of information requests it (a) received and (b) responded to in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008 and at what cost.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Government inherited a system from the previous administration that did not record all requests centrally. In particular, only the more complex requests tended to be recorded centrally. This means that the information held in relation to the numb…
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the official engagements were of the First Minister and cabinet secretaries in each month of 2008, broken down by (a) engagement, (c) minister and (c) cost.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is published proactively and can be found on the Scottish Government Website. The information for the remainder of 2008 will be published by the end of April 2009. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/MinisterialEngagements.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of maintaining the databases owned and managed by it and its agencies in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: The databases referred to in the answer to question S3W-21194 on 3 April 2009, are maintained by IT support staff as part of their total workload of supporting all IT systems operated by the Scottish Government (not only databases) as well as users and other …
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what databases are owned and managed by it and its agencies.
Answer · John Swinney: There are 260 databases listed in our records as developed and supported by the Scottish Government Information Technology division.</p> <p >This total does not include databases operated by agencies as no central record is kept by the Scottish Government of…
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it takes to ensure that its support for business is coordinated with that provided by local authorities and chambers of commerce.
Answer · Jim Mather: Business Gateway advice services are provided in lowland Scotland under contracts let by Scottish Enterprise in October 2007 to successful contractors following a competitive tender exercise. The management of these contracts was transferred to 12 lead local …
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it employed on (a) 1 January 2007, (b) 1 January 2008 and (c) 1 January 2009, broken down into (i) full-time, (ii) part-time and (iii) job share posts.
Answer · John Swinney: With regards to the question raised, the following table provides the relevant information.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td colspan=2 valign=top > <p align=center >1 January 2007</p> </td> <td colspan=2 v…
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were undertaking apprenticeships in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Skills Development Scotland, who have responsibility for collating statistics related to modern apprenticeships, do not break information down by parliamentary constituency across the whole of Scotland.</p> <p >I would refer the member instead to the answer …
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) which schools do not have broadband access.
Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not held centrally.</p>
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the number of households with (a) a computer, (b) internet access and (c) broadband, also showing connection speed.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government''s Scottish Household Survey 2007 reported that 57% of households have internet access, and 50% of households have broadband access. The survey does not collect data regarding computer ownership or broadband connection speeds.</p> <p …
20 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in each parliamentary constituency have access to (a) the internet and (b) broadband and what the connection speed is.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government does not collect or analyse such data on a constituency level.</p>