Parliamentary questions

George Foulkes

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

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place involving ministers regarding learning from the experience of the recent severe weather period and what action is proposed as a result.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has asked resilience contacts across Scotland to identify lessons which may be learned and applied from the recent period of prolonged winter weather. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scottish Government Resilience (CSC SGoR) will meet to …

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what visits the First Minister has made to (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) prisons since 1 October 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister has visited Montrose Academy, St Brigid''s Primary School, Cults Academy, Lauriston Nursery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and also officially opened the new Victoria Hospital and the new Stobhill Hospital, both in Glasgow. In addition …

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used in declaring which countries the First minister should visit; what consultation is undertaken with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or other UK Government departments regarding such visits, and who is responsible for authorising the expenditure.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The First Minister travels overseas in order to undertake activity which supports the Scottish Government''s purpose of creating a more successful country by increasing sustainable economic growth. All visits must represent good value for the Scottish Governm…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all advice that it has received from the Lord Advocate that has been put in the public domain.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: By long standing convention, advice from the Lord Advocate is not placed in the public domain and the Scottish Government does not reveal the sources or content of the legal advice which it obtains.

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to meet relatives of the people killed in the Lockerbie bombing.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have recently accepted a request for a meeting from members of the UK Families Flight 103 Group.

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to institute inquiries in areas other than planning and what consideration has been given to setting up an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the conviction of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and subsequent events relating to the Lockerbie bombing.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Ministers have powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 to establish an inquiry where it appears to them that particular events have caused, or are capable of causing, public concern. The terms of reference and powers of such an inquiry are restricted…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make public all medical reports submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi prior to the decision to release him.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Mr Al-Megrahi''s application for compassionate release, the medical report submitted to me and the associated advice have been published. They are available at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/lockerbie">www.scotland.gov.uk/lockerbie</a>.

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers or officials have had with East Renfrewshire Council regarding the condition of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Government officials are in contact with the supervising officer nominated by the Director of the Community Health and Care Partnership of East Renfrewshire Council. We are aware of the content of the monthly reports on Mr Al-Megrahi''s medical condi…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has contacted the Libyan authorities regarding the condition of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The conditions of his licence require him to provide a monthly report on his medical condition to his supervising officer, and I am aware of the content of those reports.

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the senior management structure of Transport Scotland is; how it compares with that before the retirement of Dr Malcolm Reed as chief executive, and what the comparative costs are.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23964 on 26 May 2009. 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/Apps2/Bu…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers or officials have had with (a) ScotRail, (b) East Coast and (c) CrossCountry about the rail service between Glasgow and Edinburgh and onward to England and what action it will take as a consequence.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I recently held an introductory meeting with the Managing Director of the East Coast Main Line Company during which we discussed the company''s planned changes to service provision on the East Coast Main Line, and the development of the SLC2 timetable. <…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what alterations to the Edinburgh tram project would require (a) ministerial and (b) parliamentary approval.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Edinburgh Tram (Line One and Line Two) Acts 2006 provide full Parliamentary powers to the City of Edinburgh Council to construct and operate a tram network in the city. Changes to the route of the tram outside the limits of deviation approved by Parliamen…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions officials and ministers have had with councillors or officials of the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the tram project in the last three months; what subjects were discussed, and whether any alterations to the scheme are envisaged as a result.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland officials regularly meet with City of Edinburgh Council officials to review the monthly progress reports. In addition, there have been further meetings within the last three months, covering project finance matters. The leader of the Counci…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the (a) First Minister, (b) Minister for Culture and External Affairs and (c) Minister for Public Health and Sport have had with the 2014 Commonwealth Games organisers since 1 January 2009; what topics were discussed, and what the arrangements are for co-ordinating plans …

Answer · Shona Robison: Both the First Minister and I meet the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee frequently as part of the governance arrangements that are in place to deliver the 2014 games. These meetings have a strong focus on important games issues such as financial scrutiny, ri…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings took place in 2009 between ministers and representatives of the (a) Royal Bank of Scotland, (b) Lloyds Banking Group and (c) Clydesdale Bank regarding their operations in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Mather: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 50187).

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what ministers of foreign governments, both national and regional, the First Minister had formal meetings with in 2009.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following table lists the Ministers of foreign governments that First Minister has met in 2009:-   <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=636 > <thead> <tr > <td width=144 valign=top > Date </td> <td …

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which ministerial journeys were made by public transport in 2009 that were made by car in 2008 and what plans there are for similar carbon saving transfers in 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: We are unable to make a comparison as ministerial journeys and engagements are not similar year-on-year. Our objective is to reduce our overall business travel related emissions by 20% between 2005-06 and 2010-11 and by 40% by 2019-20 against 2005-0…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what buildings occupied by it and its agencies have been fitted with (a) solar panels, (b) wind generators and (c) other renewable power sources since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: As part of a current refurbishment project at Saughton House, Edinburgh, solar panels are being installed to meet some of the hot water needs of the building. This project is due to be completed in June 2010. At the new Fish Veterinary and Aquaria fa…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for using a mobile phone while driving have been undertaken in each police board area and whether guidance is being considered for police forces on dealing with this issue.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The majority of mobile phone offences are dealt with by police conditional offers rather than court prosecutions. In 2007-08, the latest year for which information is available, an estimated 18,856 offences of driving while using a mobile phone were dealt wit…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of its employees earn less than £18,000 per annum.

Answer · John Swinney: As at 31 December 2009, there were 1,106 members of staff in the Scottish Government core departments with full-time equivalent salaries of less than £18,000 per annum. This represents 20% of all staff in the core departments.

20 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed and on what salary scales in its multimedia unit.

Answer · John Swinney: Four members of staff work in the Scottish Government''s Video Production and Broadcasting Unit (formally known as the Multimedia Unit). There is one C1; two B2 and one B1 grade. The 2009 salary scales for these grades are given in the following table: <…

20 Jan 2010 · Written Question

Answer · John Swinney: The Video Production and Broadcasting Unit (formally known as the Multimedia Unit), holds a specifically allocated budget which includes production, operational and training costs. In the financial years requested this budget was as follows: <table bord…

20 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its directorates were involved in the scripting and production of the Scotland’s Constitutional Timeline video.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The scripting and production of Scotland''s Constitutional Timeline video was carried out by the Communications Directorate.

20 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its multimedia unit's budget was spent on the Scotland’s Constitutional Timeline video.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30912 on 29 January 2010. 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/Apps…

20 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the production costs were of its Scotland’s Constitutional Timeline video.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: Costs incurred by the multimedia unit in the production of Scotland''s Constitutional Timeline video were £112.46 (0.35% of the unit''s budget). Further costs of £896.95 were met by the National Conversation team.

18 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27912 by Kenny MacAskill on 22 October 2009, what the name and occupations of each member of each prison visiting committee are.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The following table provides the names of the VC members for each prison. We do not hold detailed information on the occupa…

18 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27912 by Kenny MacAskill on 22 October 2009, what measures have been taken to ensure that the composition of prison visiting committees reflect the demographics of the prison population.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The constitution and composition of prison Visiting Committees (VC) is determined by the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 - Sect…

18 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimated start and completion dates are of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We expect construction of the scheme to start following the award of the first construction contract in the spring of 2011, with completion expected by the end of 2016.

18 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address any further detailed objections to plans for the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive will engage with objectors once the objection period to the Forth Crossing Bill has concluded and objections have been published on the parliamentary website. Objections will be addressed by means of correspondence supplemented by offer…

18 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimated cost is of the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Financial Memorandum to the FORTH CROSSING Bill advises that the estimated cost is between £1.7 and £2.3 billion at outturn cost in 2016.