Parliamentary questions

Jeremy Purvis

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

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Northern Ireland Executive concerning broadband in rural areas.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Government Telecoms Policy officials participate in tri-annual formal meetings with their policy counterparts from both the Northern Irish and Welsh Devolved Administrations. The Scottish Government is aware, therefore, of the Northern Irela…

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many residential drugs services, including residential crisis and supported accommodation services, existed in 2006 and how many there are now.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In 2006, the Review of Residential Drug Detoxification and Rehabilitation Services in Scotland found there were 352 beds available for drug treatment in Scotland, situated across 22 services. These did not include residential crisis and supported accommodatio…

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the First Minister’s statement in the chamber on 10 December 2009 that accelerated capital spending was part of the recovery programme that generated 5,000 jobs (Official Report c. 22094), what the breakdown is of this figure by sector.

Answer · John Swinney: Estimates of the employment impacts of the accelerated capital spending programme have been produced using the Scottish Government input-output model. The budget for 2009-10 accelerates £293 million of capital spending into 2009-10, in addition to £53 million…

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs its Economic Recovery Plan is supporting, broken down by sector.

Answer · John Swinney: Through the Economic Recovery Plan the Scottish Government is ensuring that every area of Government activity supports our commitment to economic recovery and delivering long-term sustainable growth by: supporting jobs and our communities; strengthening Scotl…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3F-2071 by Alex Salmond on 3 December 2009 (Official Report c. 21869), from which lines of the 2011-12 budget the (a) £9 million for the House of Lords, (b) £32 million for the House of Commons and (c) £8 million for the Scotland Office are taken.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29823 on 8 January 2010. 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…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3F-2071 by Alex Salmond on 3 December 2009 (Official Report c. 21869), whether any of the (a) £9 million for the House of Lords, (b) £32 million for the House of Commons and (c) £8 million for the Scotland Office comes out of the Scottish Government’s b…

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister made clear that the costs referred to are all costs of the Union.

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which budget lines will not be cut to pay for its planned independence referendum.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29821 on 14 January 2010. 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/Apps…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much work has been carried out on identifying budget lines that could be cut to pay for its planned independence referendum.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The referendum will require no cut in Scotland''s budget. Spending next year will remain a planned £34 billion. The referendum will give the people the opportunity to express support for a future where money is released by removing the need to pay, for exampl…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, whether it had made a calculation of the possible savings before contacting the chairs of non-departmental public bodies and public corporations regarding waiving their bonuses.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29811 on 19 January 2010. 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/Apps…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of its total expenditure on staffing in public bodies.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government estimates that approximately 60% of the total Scottish budget is accounted for by staffing costs.

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to impose a pay or bonus restraint on public bodies and, if so, on which bodies and how.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish ministers have already taken a pay freeze, which will also apply to senior civil servants. The Scottish Government has agreed to extend that approach to the highest paid people across the public sector whose pay arrangements come under our control.</…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to gather detailed information on the staffing costs of all public bodies.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government holds information on the staffing costs of public bodies where it is necessary to do so.

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what calculations it has made of the amount of money that could be saved if the chairs of non-departmental public bodies and public corporations agreed to waive some or all of any bonuses proposed during 2009-10.

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, how much would be saved if the chairs of all (a) executive agencies, (b) non-ministerial directorates, (c) public corporations, (d) executive NDPBs, (e) advisory NDPBs, (f) tribunals, (g) commissioners and o…

Answer · John Swinney: Bonuses are not paid to chairs of the bodies listed in the question.

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, whether it has requested that all (a) executive agencies, (b) non-ministerial directorates, (c) public corporations, (d) executive NDPBs, (e) advisory NDPBs, (f) tribunals, (g) commissioners and ombudsmen, (…

Answer · John Swinney: In the current financial climate, we are wholly committed to ensuring that public sector pay settlements in Scotland remain moderate, affordable and sustainable, using the resources available in the best possible way. This is reflected in the Scottish Governm…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, how the chairs of the NDPBs and public corporations were selected.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29808 on 19 January 2010. 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/Apps…

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28849 by John Swinney on 18 November 2009, which public bodies were contacted regarding a waiver of bonuses.

Answer · John Swinney: On 5 June 2009, I wrote to all chairs of relevant public bodies, drawing attention to the Scottish Government''s Public Sector Pay Policy for Senior Appointments 2009-10. I also asked chairs, whose chief executives'' remuneration arrangements include consider…

1 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration was given to the needs of rural areas in applying Inland Revenue mileage rates to patient transport service drivers for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The aim of the guidance issued on the mileage rates payable to volunteers was to ensure consistency across the whole of NHSScotland. The guidance reflects HM Revenue and Customs guidelines on the non taxable mileage rate for volunteer drivers. We und…

1 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much quarterly staff salary costs have been at Skills Development Scotland since its inception.

Answer · Keith Brown: Quarterly staff costs for Skills Development Scotland since its inception in April 2008 are as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=78 valign=top > >  </td> <td …