Stuart McMillan

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions are there to help people wanting to take a civil case forward but unable to obtain legal representation.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government provides funding through the legal aid scheme to assist people who might not otherwise be able to afford legal representation in civil litigation. The Scottish Legal Aid Board (“the Board”) has a statutory responsibility to monitor the…

3 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to promote tourism in West Scotland.

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the value was of office furniture that has been (a) scrapped and (b) recycled by each NHS board in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally. Zero Waste Scotland is currently taking forward a programme of support for NHSScotland and one of the tasks in relation to clarification of the NHS boards current policy for furniture and waste electrical equipment (WE…

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on (a) new and (b) used office furniture by each NHS board in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information as requested is not held centrally. The information in the following table is taken from NHS Board Annual Accounts and relates to total expenditure on office furniture and fittings. For consistency, information has been provided from 2004-05 a…

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidelines regarding surplus office furniture NHS boards have.

Answer · Alex Neil: Whilst there is no specific guidance relating to office furniture, NHS boards are required to apply best practice asset management in accordance with CEL (35) 2010 A Policy for Property and Asset Management in NHSScotland published on 27 September 2010. The t…

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the asset register of office furniture for each NHS board was last (a) updated and (b) published.

Answer · Alex Neil: Each NHS board is required to maintain an asset register, which is updated as additions and disposals take place. Details held in the boards' asset registers support the balance sheet disclosures in their annual accounts which are subject to external audit.

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanism allows NHS boards to transfer surplus office furniture between each other.

Answer · Alex Neil: There is no formal mechanism for the transfer of surplus office furniture between NHS boards. NHS boards will generally seek to reuse surplus office furniture within their own board area. Where this is not possible, contacts and networks are often used where …

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what joint procurement strategies for office furniture NHS boards have.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09280 on 21 September 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamenta…

27 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what are each NHS board's (a) procurement strategies for and (b) contract providers of office furniture.

Answer · Alex Neil: The management and procurement of office furniture is an operational matter for NHS boards. NHS National Services Scotland (National Procurement) has in place a national contract for furniture and which is available for all NHS boards to use. The scale and s…

20 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) concessionary and (b) bus companion travel cards were issued in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Keith Brown: The issuing of National Entitlement Cards is the responsibility of each Scottish local authority. Whilst information on the total number of National Entitlement Cards issued per year is not available, the table that has been placed in the Scottish Parliament…

19 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports there have been of lost blood samples in NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Where data is available, the following table indicates the recorded instances of lost blood samples in NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board. Nine boards do not routinely collect this information. Given that incident monitoring …

29 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibility (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations have for re-housing tenants who receive a repossession order.

Answer · Keith Brown: Tenants in this circumstance can apply to a local authority under homelessness legislation. The local authority will determine whether or not they are homeless or threatened with homelessness, in priority need and if they are unintentionally homeless. If this…

18 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a property must have a completion certificate for all works carried out on the property.

Answer · Derek Mackay: No. Only work that requires a building warrant must have a completion certificate. Generally, a building warrant is required to erect a new building, to alter or extend an existing building or to convert or demolish a building.

6 Jun 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations it has made to the UK Government regarding the future of Clyde Coastguard.

30 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote waste reduction and recycling.

24 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional insulin pumps will be provided to adults in 2012-13, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Chief Executive Letter issued on 27 February 2012 made it clear that we expect the number of insulin pumps for both adults and children to triple over the next three years. We have provided £2.5 million worth of funding to purchase insulin pumps and the …

23 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is providing to businesses in the west of Scotland.

19 Apr 2012 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2012-13.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Ministers have set the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland the financial targets of achieving: 3% increasing cash-releasing efficiency savings; 5% reduction in headcount, and 5% increase in commercial income. In addition, the Keeper has set the …

11 Apr 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with the refresh of the Scottish tourism strategy.

14 Mar 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the review of the provision of maternity services in West Scotland.

2 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides for people over the age of 50 to find employment.

Answer · John Swinney: Tackling unemployment for workless people of all ages is a priority for the Scottish Government. Within the scope of the powers we have, we are implementing an Economic Strategy for growth, targeting resources where they are needed most and working to better …

6 Feb 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how important offshore opportunities in the west of Scotland are in helping to meet the Scottish Government's renewables targets.

3 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had recent discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) regarding the agency outsourcing employment opportunities to Scotland.

Answer · Keith Brown: Yes; we last discussed the scope for outsourcing employment opportunities to Scotland with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on 14 February 2012.

30 Jan 2012 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will legislate to ensure that, where a person was diagnosed with pleural plaques and did not initiate a claim for damages within three years, a claim for damages for mesothelioma or other distinct asbestos-related diseases would not be time-barred if that condition was subseque…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In the course of the judicial review of the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009, it was suggested by the petitioners that “any person found to have asymptomatic plaques would be obliged to raise an action within three years, or risk losi…

14 Dec 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to people who are facing the prospect of bankruptcy and insolvency.

12 Dec 2011 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's assessment is of the economic impact on Scotland of the Prime Minister’s actions at the EU summit last week.

16 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the joint ministerial committee on Europe.

9 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle dementia in West Scotland.

5 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is regarding records of (a) burials and (b) monuments and headstones in cemeteries.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: (a) There is no statutory duty for the Registrar General for Scotland to maintain a register of burials or cremations. The Burial Grounds (Scotland) Act 1865 provides for the parochial board to maintain a register of burials in their grounds and therefore the…

5 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to develop a central search facility for burials and cremations with photos of each monument's inscription.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are no plans for the Scottish Executive to develop a central search facility for burials and cremations. Whilst there is a statutory duty for the Registrar General for Scotland to maintain a register of births, deaths and marriages under the Registratio…