Parliamentary questions
Jamie Hepburn
761 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of local authority expenditure was spent on (a) former employee and (b) existing employee pension contributions in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority.
Answer · John Swinney: The information is contained in the following table. The column headed Basic Employer gives the percentage of total local authority expenditure relating to employers'' contributions for existing members. The column headed Additional Employer gives the percent…
7 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on average household expenditure on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each year since 1960 as a proportion of average household incomes.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish House Condition Survey provides survey estimates of household gas and electricity expenditure for the years 1996, 2002, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. </p> <p >The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform provides data for Scotlan…
7 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on average household expenditure on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each year since 1960.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish House Condition Survey (SCHS) provides survey estimates of household gas and electricity expenditure for the years 1996, 2002, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. </p> <p >The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) provides da…
7 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in a Scottish Government press release of 11 June 2007 that “the Scottish Government opposes illegal rendition flights” and his consultation with civil liberties groups on the matter, what progress has been made to ensure th…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the Foreign Secretary’s written statement to the House of Commons on 3 July (Hansard 58WS). The Scottish Government welcomes confirmation by the US Authorities that there has been no use of Scottish airports for rendition flights since S…
3 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs have been placed on the Index of Exempted Dogs in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information given in the following table has been provided from the Index of Exempted Dogs, which is maintained by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.</p> <p >Dogs in Scotland Placed on the Index of Exempted Dogs 1998-2007</p> <table…
3 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs have been seized under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of dogs seized is not held centrally.</p>
3 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has cost police forces to kennel any dogs which have been seized under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally and is a matter for individual police forces.</p>
19 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive from where private entities that operate car parks derive their authority to operate systems of fines against individuals that they deem to have improperly used their facilities.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The terms and conditions under which privately owned and run car parks operate are a matter for the owner and operator of the car park. </p> <p >Privately operated car parks are not subject to the provisions of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 but they d…
29 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what car mileage rates have been paid to staff by each Health Board, broken down by year since 1999.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
29 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it is having with NHS employers on reviewing the NHS staff car mileage rates to reflect continually changing fuel costs.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I can confirm that the up-rating of mileage allowances payable to staff who have to use their car for work purposes was discussed at a meeting of the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC) on 29 May. STAC is a partnership organisation which exists to …
29 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid in staff mileage expenses by each NHS board in each year since 1999.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
22 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation establishes the authority of the courts to restrict the identity of a child under prosecution being revealed to the media.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Section 47 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 prohibits the reporting of the name, address or school, or any particulars calculated to lead to the identification, of any accused under the age of 16 years during any proceedings against them without …
15 May 2008 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect it considers that global economic circumstances will have on the financial services industry in Scotland.
Answer · Jim Mather: As with any other modern, open economy, Scotland is not immune from global economic developments, such as the current turbulence in financial markets. The adverse developments in international financial markets will doubtless impact Scotland as they will in t…
2 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much profit has been made by rail franchise operators in each year since 1999, also showing the amounts provided in public subsidy to each operator in each year.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Ministers became responsible for the rail franchise in Scotland on 17 October 2004, and no details are held by Transport Scotland prior to that date. Since then, the net subsidy payments made to First ScotRail under the Franchise Agreement have been:…
2 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total operating costs of Scotrail have been in each year since 1999, also showing the amounts provided in public subsidy in each year.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Scottish ministers became responsible for the rail franchise in Scotland on 17 October 2004, and no details are held by Transport Scotland prior to that date. Since then, the net subsidy payments made by Transport Scotland to First ScotRail under the Franchis…
2 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist treatment is available in the NHS for people suffering from food allergies or intolerances.
Answer · Shona Robison: Specialist investigations, such as skin testing and the investigation of specialist antibodies and immune cell function are carried out at consultant-led immunology and allergy services in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow which also take referrals from…
2 May 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialists dealing with food allergies and intolerances are employed in each NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.</p> <p >Information from across NHS boards indicates that food allergies and intolerances are dealt with by many specialists including consultant dermatologists, immunologists, psychiatrists, gastroenterologists, dieti…
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what audit procedures there are for services delivered to individuals with autistic spectrum disorder.
Answer · Shona Robison: All regulated services, including those delivered to people on the autistic spectrum are monitored and inspected by regulatory bodies such as the Care Commission, the Social Work Inspection Agency, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and Her Majesty''s Inspector…
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a Scottish equivalent of the Welsh Assembly Government’s The Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Strategic Action Plan for Wales.
Answer · Shona Robison: On 2 April 2008, the Scottish Government issued policy and practice guidance on commissioning services for people on the autism spectrum. This marked completion of the work of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Reference (ASD) Group which took forward the recommend…
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many adults with (a) high-functioning and (b) low-functioning autistic spectrum disorder are living in (i) private households, (ii) residential care or (iii) hospital.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12379 on 13 May 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/webapp/…
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the estimated number of undiagnosed cases of autistic spectrum disorder.
Answer · Shona Robison: Estimated prevalence figures are detailed in the recent guidance for commissioners of services for people with autism spectrum disorder, published by the Scottish Government at <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/27085247/0">http://www.sc…
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been identified as having (a) high-functioning and (b) low-functioning autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1980.
Answer · Shona Robison: People with autism spectrum disorder are most likely to be diagnosed in an out-patient clinic and managed in the community or general practice. Diagnostic information for patients attending out-patient clinics is not available centrally.</p>
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the average lifetime cost of delivering services to an individual with (i) high-functioning and (ii) low-functioning autistic spectrum disorder.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has not estimated the average lifetime cost of delivering services to any particular client group, including autism spectrum disorder. UK research has estimated that the lifetime cost to society for someone with autism to be between £2…
28 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of delivering services for (a) children and (b) adults with (i) high-functioning and (ii) low-functioning autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1980.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the costs of health services treating specific conditions or diseases is not available centrally. Information on the costs of delivering other services such as social care or housing is not held centrally.</p>
18 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any Scottish higher education institution accepts students direct from sixth year of secondary school into the second year of an undergraduate programme.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I am aware that some higher education institutions do admit students with advanced highers into the second year of certain degree courses. Information on the particular institutions and courses is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Given that the …
11 Apr 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what total number of passenger miles have been travelled by train in each year since 1945.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The total number of passenger miles travelled by train each year since 1945 is not held centrally.</p> <p >However, table 1 shows the number of passenger miles travelled on First ScotRail services since 1996 onwards, which accounts for 96 per cent of the Sco…
7 Mar 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has had with UK Government ministers regarding operation and reform of the Renewables Obligation Scheme.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has written to the Minister of State for Energy to express support in principle for the proposed introduction of banding to the UK Obligations. The Scottish Government has made clear that any changes to the Obligation in Scotland will …
7 Mar 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many renewable energy development planning applications have been called in by Scottish ministers in each year since 1999, broken down by type of development.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is provided in the following table:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > <p align=center >Year</p> </td> <td valign=top > <p align=center >Applications Called In</p> </td> <td v…
7 Mar 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much energy in total has been generated from renewable sources in each year since 1999, broken down by generation method.
Answer · Jim Mather: The information in the following table shows the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources in Scotland, broken down by year and fuel source. This information is based on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform''s (BERR) Ener…
7 Mar 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value of Renewables Obligation Certificates issued in Scotland has been in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally. The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) (ROS) is administered by Ofgem, whose website, <a href="http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/">www.ofgem.gov.uk</a> has information about the number of Scottish Renewables Obligation Cer…