Parliamentary questions

George Foulkes

1,927 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent employees of the Scottish Investment Bank there were as of 1 July 2010.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Investment Bank has no full-time equivalent employees as of 1 July 2010. The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise have formed a joint project team to develop the Scottish Investment Bank which has until now been concentrating on the develo…

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal status of the Scottish Investment Bank is and with what regulatory bodies is it registered.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Investment Bank Ltd has been incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise. As initially constituted, the Scottish Investment Bank would not need to be registered with any regulatory bodies. We are, however, keeping this under …

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what non-departmental public bodies have been wound up in the last 12 months and which of its directorates is responsible in each case.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, both of which were sponsored by the Culture, External Affairs and Tourism Directorate, were wound up on 1 July 2010. A further six bodies will be wound up on 1 August 2010. These are the Advisory Committee on Sit…

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider encouraging higher and further education institutions to examine what savings can be made through mergers with neighbouring institutions.

Answer · Keith Brown: Ministers will continue to encourage institutions to look critically at the scope for efficiencies and other savings, whether through collaboration or merger or in other ways. Ministers engage closely with colleges and have a keen interest in all such initiat…

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to monitor the reduction or withdrawal of services to (a) local authorities and (b) NHS boards as a result of budget reductions in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There is extensive engagement between national and local government on the impact of budget changes, in line with the principles in the concordat. Supporting that engagement, a range of information is published on the budgets set by local authorities over tim…

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will lift any statutory requirement on legal authorities in relation to the provision of services to (a) children, (b) older people and (c) other groups.

Answer · John Swinney: Legislation, whether as primary legislation, secondary legislation or statutory guidance, is monitored routinely across the Scottish Government. However, Ministers have no plans to lift any statutory requirements on local authorities in relation to provision …

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what means the Borders railway project will be funded.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Borders railway line will be designed, built, financed and maintained by a newly created, Transport Scotland-backed company, using a design, build, finance and maintenance contract and will use the Scottish Government''s non-profit distributing procuremen…

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any compulsory purchase orders have been issued or are planned to be issued in relation to the Borders railway project.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Compulsory purchase orders relating to the Borders railway project as authorised by the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act 2006 have been issued. A final tranche of compulsory purchase orders relating to land/access rights required to maintain the railway will b…

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on consultants on the Borders railway project broken down by firm.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: As of June 2010, consultant costs for the Borders railway project were approximately £2.7 million with a breakdown of costs as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=192 valign=top > Consultancy …

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff are working on the Borders railway project.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland currently has four permanent staff allocated to the Borders railway project.

2 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been (a) spent, (b) committed and (c) not yet committed on the Borders railway project.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: £52 million has already been invested in developing the project to this stage, demonstrating the Government''s commitment to the project. This consists of approximately £45 million from Scottish Government, with the remainder from local council contributions …

24 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who provided the catering at the dinner for His Royal Highness, the Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, hosted by the First Minister during the Gathering 2009; whether the bill has been paid, and, if so, by whom.

Answer · John Swinney: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as this is available. A copy of the response will be placed in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. number 51531).