Parliamentary questions

Shirley-Anne Somerville

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

14 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance exists for voluntary organisations seeking to access enhanced or standard disclosure checks for staff and volunteers working with vulnerable adults.

Answer · Shona Robison: The bodies with operational responsibility for disclosure checks are Disclosure Scotland and the Central Registered Body for Scotland. Guidance for organisations seeking to access disclosure checks for staff and volunteers is therefore available on their webs…

19 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to include short-term and holiday lets within the definition of houses in multiple occupation that require HMO licensing under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is aware of concerns that the definition of an HMO (house in multiple occupation) may not be sufficiently closely drawn, and that in some cases landlords may be evading HMO licensing requirements by claiming that properties are being l…

19 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce incidences of antisocial behaviour among tenants in short-term or holiday lets.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Local agencies are using existing measures in the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 to reduce antisocial behaviour across all tenures, including among tenants in short-term or holidays lets. In line with our new framework “ Promoting Positive…

19 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour incidents have been recorded by Lothian and Borders Police as occurring in flats let on a short-term or holiday basis in each of the last five years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

19 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations govern the letting of property on a short-term or holiday accommodation basis.

Answer · Alex Neil: Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 covers the mandatory registration of private landlords. This includes short-term accommodation but not houses for holiday use. In addition, Part 7 of the act provides that a local authority…

18 Mar 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of assault in the last year involved unlicensed taxis or private hire cars illegally picking up passengers.

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/sor0326-01.htm">http://www.sco…

12 Mar 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support community enterprises.

Answer · Jim Mather: 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/sor0312-01.htm">http://www.scot…

9 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is on target to introduce the Carbon Reduction Commitment by 1 April 2010 and when the consultation on the draft regulations will be undertaken.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Yes, we are on schedule but timing is very tight and much work needs to be done. My officials are working very closely with Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to ensure that this happens. I am therefore pleased to announce that the Scottish Govern…

5 Mar 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase the availability of affordable housing in Edinburgh.

Answer · Alex Neil: 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/sor0305-01.htm">http://www.scot…

26 Feb 2009 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the Royal Bank of Scotland in light of its announcement that it plans to sell off around a fifth of its business.

Answer · Alex Salmond: 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/sor0226-01.htm">http://www.scot…

12 Feb 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on banning the privatisation of GP services.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: 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/sor0212-01.htm">http://www.scot…

6 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to lay before the Parliament the amendment order that will grant permitted development rights for microgeneration on domestic buildings.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I am pleased to announce that the relevant Amendment Order [the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Domestic Microgeneration) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009] was laid before the Scottish Parliament on Friday 6 February 2009 [SSI 2009/3…

15 Jan 2009 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to secure financial sector jobs in Scotland.

Answer · Alex Salmond: This PQ 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/sor0115-01.htm">http://www.scottish.p…

17 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome is of its review of rail fares policy in Scotland.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I am pleased to announce that the Scottish Government will continue its fares policy at RPI+1% for regulated fares and that there will be no change in balance between regulated and unregulated fares. In addition, we have looked at the position in the…

5 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of firework-related injuries occurred among (a) under-16s, (b) 16 to 20-year-olds and (c) over-20s, in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Answer · Shona Robison: Table 1 shows injuries caused by fireworks that required treatment in accident and emergency departments and burns/plastic surgery units in Scotland during the 33-day survey period around the fifth of November 2001 to 2005 (the most recent five years availab…

5 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many firework-related injuries were recorded in each of the last five years for which information is available, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. However, Scotland level results from the Department of Trade of Industry (DTI) Fireworks Injuries Enquiry for Great Britain are available up to 2005 at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/fireworks">w…

5 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour incidents involving misuse of fireworks there were (a) between 15 October and 10 November and (b) outwith this period, in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17546 on 19 November 2008. 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/Ap…

5 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of antisocial behaviour involving misuse of fireworks were recorded in each of the last five years for which information is available, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Police recorded crime statistics do not include information on the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour involving misuse of fireworks. Information is held on the number of antisocial behaviour offences, however it is not possible to determine …

5 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether further measures are being considered to reduce incidents involving misuse of fireworks.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There was an encouraging reduction of 37.1% in the number of fireworks or bonfire related incidents reported to the police in 2008 during the six weeks around 5 November. This follows a reduction of 26.7% in the previous year. Although there are currently no …

5 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to monitor the effectiveness of the Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004 in reducing incidents involving misuse of fireworks.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government receives details of the number of fireworks or bonfire related incidents reported to the police.

19 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how effective the Thistle Travel Card scheme has been and whether there are plans to increase awareness of it.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: An evaluation of the Thistle Travel Card Scheme in 2006 showed that, in large part, the scheme failed due to poor publicity and marketing. In September 2007 the government offered grant funding of £4,550 to ENABLE to allow them to re-launch the scheme. This o…

19 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to encourage home delivery and grocery services for elderly people in communities across Scotland, similar to the Food Train initiative currently being delivered in Dumfries and Galloway.

Answer · Shona Robison: Support for community-led health projects, including provision of home delivery and grocery services for older people along the lines of the food train is a matter for NHS boards and local authorities to decide based on the needs they have identified. <p…

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for underage tobacco sales there have been in each of the last five years and, of these, how many convictions resulted, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. Persons Proceeded Against for Selling Tobacco to Persons Under 161, by Police Force Area 2002-03 to 2006-07 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > …

20 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to investigate the reasons for the sudden decline in bee population in Scotland.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Where higher than normal losses of bees are found after the winter, beekeepers can seek advice from the Scottish Agriculture College apiculture specialist as to the possible causes. In the majority of cases reported to the college, it has been possible to lin…

19 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the incidence of selling knives to underage customers.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 has given ministers the power to introduce a licensing scheme for knife dealers. As part of the licensing scheme, dealers will be required to keep records of how proof of age was established. Di…

19 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been against retailers for selling knives to underage customers in each of the last five years broken down by (a) police board and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The available information is given in the following tables. Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selling Knives to Underage Persons1 by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2006-07 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 …

19 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been of retailers for selling knives to underage customers in each of the last five years broken down by (a) police board and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The available information is given in the following table. Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish courts for Selling Knives to Underage Persons1 by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2006-07. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > …

13 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether failed asylum seekers are able to access NHS treatment while they remain in Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Any course of NHS treatment which has begun while a person is in the asylum process must be completed or continued without charge until the person leaves the country. NHS treatment must be given in an emergency and for certain infectious and contagio…

13 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to improve opportunities for asylum seekers and their families in Scotland.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11560 on 17 April 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can found at <a href="http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.sear…

13 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of pupils left secondary school with a Higher level qualification in a second language in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The available information is given in the following table. Per Cent of School Leavers with a Qualification in a Second Language at SCQF Level 6 (Higher) or Better <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=556 > <thead> <tr > <td …