Questions · Colin Fox · GB Politics

1 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service posts are currently under review for relocation.

Answer · George Lyon: Details of currentRelocation reviews are provided on the Scottish Executive’s Relocation webpage: <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Relocation/Introduction">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Relocation/Introduction</a>.

7 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £10 per day car parking charge in operation at Edinburgh’s new Royal Infirmary was waived for Gordon Brown MP during his recent visit for the birth of his child.

Answer · Andy Kerr: NHS Lothian advise me that parkingcharges were not waived for Gordon Brown MP during his recent attendance at thehospital for the birth of his son.

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is compulsory for elderly and disabled passengers to carry the National Entitlement Card in order to receive free travel across Scotland.

Answer · Tavish Scott: <a name="se_IndexHeading"></a>Enterprise, Transport andLifelong Learning Department Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive <a name=QuestionText>whetherit is compulsory for elderly and disabled passengers to carry the NationalE…

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is compulsory for elderly and disabled people to carry the National Entitlement Card at all times.

Answer · Tom McCabe: No it is not compulsory forelderly and disabled people to carry their National Entitlement Card at alltimes. However, if they wish to travel by bus free of charge, they will need topresent their card to the driver at the start of their journey.

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what personal information is held on the National Entitlement Card.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The only personalinformation held on the National Entitlement Card are those details that arenecessary to print or re-print a card for the cardholder. The details are apicture of the cardholder, forename, surname, date of birth, gender, housenumber, postcode …

21 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the case for a greater choice in legal representation in Scotland.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Executive’s announcementof its decision in principle to commence sections 25-29 of the Law Reform(Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 is a clear signal of itssupport for greater choice in legal representation in Scotland, subject toapprop…

21 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what comparative research it has conducted on legal rights of audience between Scotland and other countries.

Answer · Hugh Henry: A comparative review of theavailability of rights of audience and rights to conduct litigation in Scotland andother key jurisdictions is provided in Chapter 12 of the Executive’s Reportby the Research Working Group on the Legal Services Market in Scotland<…

21 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make legal provisions for “Mackenzie friends” or “people’s attorneys”.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive hasno current plans to make statutory provision for McKenzie friends or people’sattorneys.

21 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to enact sections 25 to 29 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Executive announced its decisionin principle to commence sections 25-29 of the LawReform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990on 2 March this year. Before commencing these sections, a statutory defect willhave to be corrected…

9 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for any changes to the type of vehicles that can use Greenways and what the criteria are for making any such changes.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Irefer the member to the answer to question S2W-25776 on12 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament's website the searchfacility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.searc…

9 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic regulations are in respect of the use of Greenways by private hire cabs.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Irefer the member to the answer to question S2W-25776 on12 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament's website the searchfacility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.searc…

9 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic regulations are in respect of the use of private hire cabs.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Irefer the member to the answer to question S2W-25776 on12 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament's website the searchfacility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.searc…

9 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for monitoring the use of Greenways.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Irefer the member to the answer to question S2W-25776 on12 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament's website the searchfacility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.searc…

9 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic regulations are in respect of the use of Greenways.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The regulation andmonitoring of Greenways in Edinburgh is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council as local roads authority.Under the Road TrafficRegulation Act 1984, the council has a general duty to secure the expeditious,convenient and safe moveme…

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what direction it is giving university principals and their negotiating body, the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association, regarding the need for urgent negotiations with the Association of University Teachers and other unions to resolve the current pay dispute.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25652 on 8 June 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.s…

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to encourage university principals to negotiate with the Association of University Teachers and other higher education unions to end the current pay dispute.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I am obviously concerned aboutthe impact that the pay dispute is having on students and on the higher education sector more generally. This issue was raised at the most recent roundtablemeeting with stakeholders from the higher education sector, where it was …

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding it will provide for higher education over the next three years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The 2004 Spending Review settlementprovided record levels of investment for higher education in Scotland. ScottishExecutive investment in higher education will exceed £1 billion per year by 2007-08,an increase of almost 28% in real terms since 2003-04. The ne…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available on the number of NHS staff who are unable to have meals or rest breaks during a shift owing to pressure of work or because they are covering for staff shortages.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not heldcentrally.

24 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people working in local government could have taken early retirement at 55 and qualified for full pension rights if the Rule of 85 had been calculated on a “Rule of 75” basis in each of the last five years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25377 on 5 May 2006. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the searchfacility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.sea…

24 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people working in local government could have taken early retirement at 55 and qualified for full pension rights if the Rule of 85 had been calculated on a “Rule of 80” basis in each of the last five years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25377 on 5 May 2006. All answers towritten PQs are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search">http://www.sco…

24 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people working in local government were able to take advantage of the Rule of 85 in order to retire at 55 in each of the last five years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not heldcentrally. The Local Government Pension Scheme is administered by fund administeringauthorities, who hold the data on scheme membership for each of their respectivefund areas.

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations will take place into the miscarriage of justice suffered by Steven Johnston and Billy Allison.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I can confirm that, in lightof concerns raised during the course of the appeal, Crown Counsel haveinstructed that a full investigation be carried out into the gathering andreporting of information to the Crown by Fife Constabulary. Fife Constabulary ha…

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons can be learned from the case against Steven Johnston and Billy Allison who spent 10 years in jail for a murder they did not commit.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24614 by the Lord Advocate on 4 April 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the searchfacility for which can be found at:<ahref="http://www.scotti…

31 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the (a) jobs and (b) employment sectors which the 3,000 former employees of Motorola entered following the closure of the electronics manufacturing plant in Bathgate.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The latest information that the Scottish Executive has on the employment outcomes for those made redundant by theMotorola closure at Bathgate was produced by the Motorola Task Force (MTF) and wasvalid as of 31 October 2002. Details for the 2,584 redundant emp…

16 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions Reliance has been unable to carry out requests from the Scottish Prison Service to escort prisoners in the last year.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17354 on 24 June 2004 which sets out what information the SPS and Reliance have agr…

16 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has recently been a change of policy in respect of imprisoning offenders under 21 in the adult estate.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The policy has not changed. We are moving Young Offenders to alternative accommodation to avoid potential difficulties with doubling up an…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many MSPs currently qualify for free NHS prescriptions.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Patient-specific information about NHS prescription charge exemption status is not held centrally.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of comments made by the former Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, about the reliability of key prosecution witness, Mr Tony Gauci, it still considers that a safe conviction was reached in the Lockerbie bombing case.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Lord Fraser of Carmyllie has publicly criticised the reporting of his views of the Lockerbie trial and in particular the evidence of Tony Gauci whom the trial court, having heard all the evidence in the trial, found to be credible and reliable. He has made it…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that comments by former Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, about the Lockerbie bombing case regarding the credibility of key prosecution witness, Mr Tony Gauci, should be passed to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body and operates, in reviewing and investigating a conviction, independently of the Scottish Executive. It is a matter for the commission to determine what material it shou…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support any moves for Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi to serve the remainder of his sentence in North Africa.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is serving a sentence of life imprisonment in HM Prison Greenock having been found guilty of the murder of 270 people. The Secretary General to the United Nations made it clear to the Libyans before the Lockerbie trial …