Parliamentary questions
George Foulkes
1,927 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees offered to take a designated St Andrew’s Day holiday as one of their public holidays this year.
Answer · John Swinney: From 2008, staff in the Senior Civil Service and in the core Directorates and those Agencies which make up the Scottish Government Main bargaining unit received an extra holiday to celebrate St Andrew''s Day. As St Andrew''s Day fell on a Sunday, the holiday …
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which daily and weekly newspapers and magazines are purchased regularly for ministers.
Answer · John Swinney: The following daily and weekly newspapers and magazines are purchased regularly by ministers:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > <p ><i >Daily Record</i></p> </td> <td valign=top > <p ><i >The Big Issue<…
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what gifts the First Minister has received since January 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: All gifts received by ministers from January 2008 “ March 2008 have already been published and can be found at:</p> <p ><a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/FOI/Disclosures/2008/10/Gifts2008/Gifts12008">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/FOI/Disclosures/2…
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate has been made of the cost of dealing with snow on the roads this winter; what account has been taken of such cost in the local government settlement, and whether there is any contingency provision if the estimate is exceeded.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Responsibility for snow clearance on local roads is a matter for Scotland''s local authorities, in which the Scottish Government is investing record levels over the next three years, with overall funding to local government increasing by 13.1% over 2008-11. A…
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official engagements of each minister during the 20 December 2008 to 4 January 2009 parliamentary recess.
Answer · John Swinney: It is not possible to list official engagements of each minister as planned or scheduled ministerial events are subject to constant change, often at short notice.</p>
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish ministers have official engagements in Scotland on Hogmanay.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-18548 on 11 December 2008. 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/App…
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to celebrate Christmas.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has no corporate plans to celebrate Christmas. Christmas Day is a public holiday and Boxing Day a privilege holiday. In addition, and in keeping with previous years, the following has been or is in the process of being arranged:</p> <…
4 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what change will be made to its procurement practices in light of VAT rising to 21.5% in Ireland.
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list its directorates that have (a) responsibility for an aspect of and (b) a budget allocation for the National Conversation, also showing the amount and broken down by financial year.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Constitution, Law and Courts Directorate is responsible for co-ordinating the National Conversation. Costs of co-ordinating the National Conversation are met from within existing DG Justice and Communities allocations. All other directorates across the Sc…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that comment 126 on its National Conversation website satisfies the moderation criteria outlined in the answer to question S3W-11333 by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 March 2008.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The National Conversation website is a platform for free and open debate about Scotland''s future, with views expressed both for and against the constitutional options set out in the White Paper <i >Choosing Scotland''s Future</i>. The judgement of the websit…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of detail it retains regarding traffic to and from the National Conversation website.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government''s website employs a web analytics system that collates a range of web traffic information which is then compiled into reports as required, subject to data protection considerations. For example, the system can provide the number of pa…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hits to (a) the National Conversation home page and (b) National Conversation-themed web pages have been from a Scottish Parliament or Scottish Government server.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The IP addresses of individual contributions to the National Conversation are not captured as a matter of course.</p> <p >The general privacy statement on the Scottish Government''s main website, which includes the National Conversation pages, states that a…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what work is taking place to evaluate contributions to the National Conversation; who is conducting this work, and at what cost.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government and its officials are evaluating contributions to the National Conversation on an on-going basis. Work on the National Conversation is done by officials as part of their normal duties and no additional cost is incurred.</p>
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many unique visitors the National Conversation website has had.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The number of unique visitors to the National Conversation website up to 6 January, 2009 was 72,706. 460,000 hits on National Conversation themed pages; 35,000 online viewings of <i >Choosing Scotland''s Future</i>, and over 4,200 posted comments demonstrate …
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many comments have been removed from the National Conversation website after initially being published and what the reasons were for their removal.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11294 on 23 April 2008. The situation remains unchanged.</p> <p >All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a hre…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that staff in school kitchens and canteens are disclosure checked.
Answer · Adam Ingram: It is the responsibility of local authorities and independent schools to apply to Disclosure Scotland for enhanced disclosures for staff working in school kitchens and canteens. The reasons for this are set out below.</p> <p >The meaning of a child care posi…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-17245, which received a holding reply on 11 November 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17245 on 3 March 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/…
1 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-17253, which received a holding reply on 11 November 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17253 on 17 December 2008. 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/App…
27 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why some police boards are able to report on the incidence of fuel theft while others do not collect such information.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The detailed classification of crimes and offences used by the Scottish Government and the eight police forces across Scotland to collect criminal statistics records around 360 separate offences. This ensures consistency and uniformity in crime recording stan…
27 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reform the rules regarding crime reporting to improve consistency and the prospects for cross comparison across Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Crime Recording Standard (SCRS) was introduced throughout all Scottish Police Forces on 1 April 2004. The main aim of this was to provide a more victim-orientated approach that ensured uniformity in crime recording standards throughout Scotland. …
27 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the systems and codes used for capturing and recording crime figures are not generic across police boards.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Police forces in Scotland have their own reporting systems and structures in place that they use to capture and record crimes and offences reported to them. The systems that each police force use are at their own discretion.</p> <p >In terms of the actual re…
27 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address the fact that NHS Lothian has the highest number of delayed discharges of any NHS board as of October 2008.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Lothian NHS/local authority partnership, along with every partnership in Scotland, achieved the target to have no-one delayed outwith the agreed six week discharge planning period at April 2008. This has risen in Lothian, which had 27 such delays at Octob…
27 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the last offensive weapons amnesty took place in Scotland and how many weapons were collected in each police board area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The last offensive weapons amnesty (knives and sharp objects) was the Safer Scotland Knife Amnesty which was from 24 May 2006 and lasted until 30 June 2006. The total of 12,642 offensive weapons were collected. The following table gives a breakdown by police …
27 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to record incidents in local authority schools involving offensive weapons, in particular knives, or the possession of such weapons.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Recording mechanisms are a matter for individual local authorities. Each local authority has established its own system for collecting information about incidents of violence against local authority school staff based on guidance issued by the Scottish Execut…
25 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which of its contracts for services have been awarded for the first time to private contractors since May 2003.
Answer · John Swinney: In June 2003 the Scottish Executive awarded a response handling contract to a private contractor. The contract expired in March 2008 and the service is now provided by in-house resource.</p>
20 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the use of identity cards as proof-of-age cards for purchasing cigarettes or alcohol.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government supports the use of the voluntary Young Scot National Entitlement Card as a proof-of-age card. This card bears the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) hologram. The PASS scheme is approved by the Home Office. The Young Scot card is av…
20 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers or officials have had with the UK Border Agency regarding identity cards.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Neither ministers nor officials have discussed identity cards with the UK Border Agency.</p>
20 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the potential use of identity cards to prevent impersonation in voting at elections.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: No consideration has been given to the potential use of identity cards to prevent impersonation in voting at elections.</p>
20 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received on the subject of identity cards since May 2007.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has received several letters from citizens on the subject of identity cards since May 2007. The majority of these letters have sought clarification on the Scottish Government''s position on the UK Government''s proposals.</p>
20 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes arising from the parliamentary debate on identity cards on 19 November 2008.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The purpose of the debate was for members to discuss the UK Government''s plans for identity cards and to make clear the Scottish Government''s opposition to the scheme. There is no plan for any action arising directly as a result of the debate.</p>