Parliamentary questions

Stuart McMillan

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

13 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprenticeship places have been agreed in each local authority area for 2011-12.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to the member with the information he has requested.

13 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much Inverclyde Council will pay for schools built under PPP/PFI.

Answer · Michael Russell: The current estimated total unitary charge payable by Inverclyde Council for schools built under their PPP building project is £321.2 million.

13 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprenticeship places have been agreed in each sector for 2011-12.

8 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment will introduce to help the Scottish Government achieve its 100% renewable electricity target by 2020.

2 Jun 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available to members of the public who are unable to obtain legal representation in a civil law case.

26 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to improve governance in the further education sector.

25 May 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to improve governance in the further education sector.

Answer · Michael Russell: As a government we attach considerable importance to high standards of governance in our colleges. We have previously made plain our plans to take a fresh look at our colleges, and the issue of their governance arrangements is one we shall address as we bring…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in Scottish Territorial Waters will be published.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Offshore renewables represent a huge opportunity for Scotland; an opportunity to create new industries and to make great progress towards achieving our ambitious renewable energy targets. I am therefore pleased to announce that tomorrow we will publ…

1 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38738 by Shona Robison on 26 January 2011, what percentage of shops that underwent test purchasing failed on both the first and second exercises and what action was taken.

Answer · Shona Robison: The percentage of shops that underwent test purchasing and failed on both the first and second exercises were as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > Year </td> <td valign=top > <p…

12 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many shops have failed test purchasing for selling tobacco products since 2003, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. However, the information has been routinely collected by the Society for Chief Officers for Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) from 1 April 2008. The information is shown in the following table. Breakdo…

10 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools contain asbestos in their buildings, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information requested is not held centrally. Health and Safety Regulations, including The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, require duty holders who are responsible for the maintenance and repair of buildings in its control to manage the risks arising…

4 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is making available to local authorities for the control of seagulls.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not provide funding to local authorities for the specific purpose of controlling urban gulls. It is a matter for individual local authorities to determine priorities for the use of the resources available to them including the res…

21 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes involving a bladed or pointed instrument were recorded in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2009-10, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A table which includes crimes involving a bladed or pointed instrument recorded by the police in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2009-10, broken down by local authority area, has been prepared and a copy of this table will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information…

21 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes were recorded in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2009-10, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Crimes1 recorded by the police in 2006-07 and in 2009-10: <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=356 > <thead> <tr > <td width=180 valign=bottom > Local Authority Area </td> <td width=84 > …

13 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision has been taken regarding the renewal of the contracts for the management and maintenance of the trunk road network.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I am able to confirm today that the existing contracts for the north west and south west trunk road units will be extended from 31 March 2011 to 31 May 2012. As a result, I am also confirming today that the procurement of the new contracts for these two units…

10 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by (a) type of crime and (b) police board area of reported crimes listed as handling of an offensive weapon in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A table which includes the number of offensive weapons crimes reported to the police in the last 10 years has been prepared and a copy of this table will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51671).

26 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been convicted more than once of not having motor insurance when driving in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following tables. Following the summary justice reforms introduced in 2007 there has been an increase in cases being dealt with by district courts rather than sheriff courts. The following four tables presen…

26 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been convicted of not having motor insurance when driving in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following tables. Following the summary justice reforms introduced in 2007 there has been an increase in motor insurance offences being dealt with by district courts rather than sheriff courts. Persons Convic…

26 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been convicted of motoring offences in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information on persons convicted in Scottish courts is given in the following tables. Following the summary justice reforms introduced in December 2007 there has been an increase in cases involving motor vehicle offences being dealt with by dist…

11 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are receiving treatment from the NHS for Leber’s disease.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

11 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what treatment is offered by the NHS for people diagnosed with Leber’s disease.

Answer · Shona Robison: Diagnosis of Leber''s disease is made using the following methods: taking a history; identifying signs and symptoms; blood and urine tests; testing visual acuity and visual fields; electrophysiology studies, and fluorescein angiography. A CT or MRI scan is al…

11 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diagnosed with Leber’s disease in the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Government is aware of a study in the North East of England in 2002 which found the incidence of Leber''s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) to be around 3 per 100,000.

9 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it offers to voluntary organisations and services in the West of Scotland to expand their remit.

Answer · John Swinney: We provide core funding to the new third sector interfaces and those councils of voluntary service and volunteer centres that remain. The basic functions of these bodies include support to voluntary organisations, the promotion of volunteering and social ente…

9 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to local authorities in the West of Scotland for befriending services for (a) adults and (b) young people.

Answer · John Swinney: In the context of our agreement with local authorities that decisions on funding for local services are best made at a local level, no direct Scottish Government assistance is provided to local authorities specifically for befriending, or most other local, se…

8 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many further education institutions have had to reduce their bursary payments to students due to higher than expected retention figures.

Answer · Michael Russell: Colleges are autonomous bodies responsible for managing their own affairs, and for decisions on who receives support and at what level, subject to limits set by the Scottish Funding Council. Information on how different colleges apply their discretion to thes…

8 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether national targets on student retention figures are set for further education institutions and, if so, how these are measured.

Answer · Keith Brown: The performance of colleges, and any related targets, are matters for the Scottish Funding Council. I have asked the chief executive to write to the member with this information.

19 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to cultural and heritage events in the West of Scotland.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government provides assistance to cultural and heritage events in the West of Scotland in partnership with key agencies and organisations with responsibility for promoting Scotland internationally. Examples include: EventScotland - has s…

19 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance and support it provides to people who wish to work offshore.

Answer · Keith Brown: Since its introduction, OPITO (The Oil and Gas Academy) in partnership with the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board has trained over 770 modern apprentices under the Upstream Technician Training Programme for work in oil and gas. OPITO have also …

19 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31948 by Shona Robison on 10 March 2010, whether it will continue to fund the initiatives set up with the pump priming money.

Answer · Shona Robison: As the evaluation report being prepared for the Scottish Government on the various pilot projects is still being finalised, no decision has yet been taken on possible future funding arrangements.

2 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its future priorities are for economic recovery.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government''s efforts to address the economic downturn and steer Scotland''s economy towards recovery have evolved as the impacts of recession have unfolded. The Scottish Economic Recovery Plan: Accelerating Recovery, copies of w…