Parliamentary questions

George Foulkes

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

5 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what further consideration it has given since April 2009 to alternatives to the council tax for funding local government.

Answer · John Swinney: As I said in Parliament on 11 February 2009 the Cabinet has decided not to introduce legislation to abolish the unfair council tax and replace it with a local income tax until after the election in 2011. However, the government will fight that election to wi…

5 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has met (a) officers of NHS Lothian, (b) councillors from West Lothian Council and (c) the St John’s Hospital stakeholders group since May 2007.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I have met regularly with officers of NHS Lothian and councillors from West Lothian Council to discuss a wide range of issues. I fully supported West Lothian Council''s and NHS Lothian''s decision in March 2008 to set up the St John''s Hospital Stak…

5 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister was first informed of the job losses planned by Diageo at Kilmarnock and when he first met with Paul Walsh, Group Chief Executive of Diageo.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister''s office was made aware on the evening of 30 June 2009 that there would be an announcement made by Diageo about the company''s review of its operations the next day. However, he was not informed of the nature of Diageo''s intentions until …

5 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is of renting rooms at Dover House in London and on how many occasions Dover House has been so used by (a) the Permanent Secretary, (b) the First Minister and (c) other ministers since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: Dover House is operated by the Scotland Office, and the Scottish Government pays a percentage share of the overall running costs incurred by the Scotland Office in relation to Dover House. The percentage is based on the proportion of floor area of the rooms t…

5 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official engagements in July of each Cabinet Secretary and the means of travel to each engagement.

Answer · John Swinney: The information you requested is listed in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=163 valign=bottom > Cabinet Secretary </td> <td width=96 valign=bottom > <p ali…

3 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many women suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome broken down by those aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 24, (c) 25 to 34, (d) 35 to 44, (e) 45 to 54, (f) 55 to 64 and (g) 65 and older

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

3 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25247 by Stewart Stevenson on 29 July 2009, whether it will guarantee that the setting of the reimbursement rate payable to bus operators will not result in any adverse changes in the eligibility criteria for the free bus travel scheme.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The work we have commissioned to improve the evidence for setting the reimbursement rate for operators under the Scotland-wide older and disabled persons concessionary bus scheme will not have an adverse impact on those who are currently eligible to make use …

3 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any member of the executive board of Transport Scotland (TS) has declared shareholdings in companies that have received contracts from TS in the last two years; if so, which companies were invovled, and whether a conflict of interest arose.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Shareholdings of members of the Transport Scotland board are declared and published in the Transport Scotland annual report and accounts which are available at: <a href="http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/reports/publications-and-guidance/corporate"…

3 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what process of competitive tendering was undertaken prior to the award to CG Cope of the contract for ongoing recruitment campaigns.

Answer · John Swinney: The Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise placed contracts with two separate service providers in 2008 to provide recruitment advertising services and to provide assessment centre services. Both contracts were awarded after a full competitive ten…

3 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been recruited to Transport Scotland as (a) engineers, (b) environmental specialists, (c) transport planners, (d) procurement specialists and (e) project managers since May 2007 and how in each category this compares with the previous two years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The available information is provided in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=101 valign=top > Date </td> <td width=122 valign=top > Engineers (includi…

29 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what further communication it has had with ASIApharm following the First Minister’s recent trip to China.

Answer · Michael Russell: Following the visit by the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop, to China in April, Ms Hyslop met with a delegation from Asiapharm and the Shandong Provincial Government Science and Technology Department t…

29 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what further communication it has had with the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine Science following the First Minister’s recent trip to China.

Answer · Michael Russell: The signing of the partnership agreement between Neogen Europe and the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quaratine (CAIQ) on 19 May to create a jointly funded laboratory followed the First Minister''s visit to China in April.

29 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what further communication it has had with Hong Kong Electric International regarding investment opportunities in Scotland following the First Minister’s recent trip to China.

Answer · Michael Russell: Following the First Minister''s visit to China in April Scottish Development International facilitated a teleconference between Hong Kong Electric International Ltd, the Energy Technology Partnership, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Electric on 6 July t…

2 Jul 2009 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total cost was to it of involvement in the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Parliament on 1 July 2009 and from which budget line the expenditure was taken.

Answer · Tricia Marwick: The event to mark the 10th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 1 July was agreed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in autumn 2008 and all costs associated with the event will be met from budgets already approved as part of the corpo…

2 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was to it of involvement in the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Scottish Parliament on 1 July 2009 and from which budget line the expenditure was taken.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Government incurred no additional expenditure as a result of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Scottish Parliament on 1 July 2009.

25 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken since May 2007 to disperse asylum seekers from Glasgow to other local authority areas.

Answer · Alex Neil: Glasgow is the only local authority in Scotland which has a contract with the UK Border Agency to accommodate asylum seekers, therefore no action can be taken by the Scottish Government to disperse asylum seekers from Glasgow to other local authority areas.</…

25 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what ministerial contributions were made to the drafting and publication of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2007-08.

Answer · John Swinney: Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2007-08 is a National Statistics publication. It is therefore produced independently of Scottish ministers in line with the National Statistics code of practice. The final publication had alread…

25 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of printing and publishing the Scottish Funding Council’s Corporate Plan 2009-2012; how many copies were printed, to whom they were circulated, and whether further such plans are envisaged.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The costs and distribution of the Scottish Funding Council Corporate Plan 2009-2012 are operational matters for that body. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council to write to the member with the information. The Scottish Fund…

25 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the reduction in the number of teachers in publicly funded schools from 54,375 in 2007 to 53,416 in 2008 and what effect this has had on class sizes.

Answer · Keith Brown: The employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. Between 2007 and 2008 the average primary class size fell from 23.3 to 23.2.

25 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average salary is for (a) primary and (b) secondary school head teachers, broken down by school size range.

Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not collated centrally. All head teacher posts are allocated a specific salary point on the common pay spine for both head teachers and deputes. Salaries for head teachers in all primary and secondary schools are determined on an individua…