Parliamentary questions
George Foulkes
1,927 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support is given for stem cell research in Scottish colleges or universities.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As part of the United Kingdom''s dual support system for research, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) distributes over £250 million per year to Scotland''s higher education institutions for research and knowledge transfer. Of that sum, around £220 million is …
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the First Minister has had with (a) Sir George Mathewson, (b) Sir Tom Farmer, (c) Brian Souter and (d) Crawford Beveridge since May 2007; what subjects were discussed, and who else was present in each case.
Answer · John Swinney: Since May 2007, the First Minister has met with Sir George Mathewson, Sir Tom Farmer, Brian Souter and Crawford Beveridge on the following occasions:</p> <p >Sir George Mathewson:</p> <p >29 June 2007:</p> <p >Dinner to mark the official opening of the Par…
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what projects it has drawn up approved lists of contractors and what the criteria are for deciding whom to include.
Answer · John Swinney: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p>
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-12149, which received a holding reply on 6 May 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the letter issued on 12 November 2008. A copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45492). </p>
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-13109, which received a holding reply on 3 June 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13109 on 13 November 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…
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide substantive answers to questions S3W-15898 to S3W-15908, which received holding replies on 12 September 2008.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to questions S3W-15898 to S3W-15908 on 5 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: </p> <p ><a href="http://www.sc…
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide substantive answers to questions S3W-15852 and S3W-15851, which received holding replies on 29 September 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: These questions were answered on 20 November 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.a…
29 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide substantive answers to questions S3W-16307 and S3W-15878, which received holding replies on 29 September 2008.
Answer · John Swinney: Information is currently being collated and answers to questions S3W-16307 and S3W-15878 will follow in due course.</p>
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on (a) estimated expenditure on council tax benefit for 2007-08 and (b) by which route the payment of this amount was made.
Answer · John Swinney: The estimated amount of council tax benefit subsidy for 2007-08 for Scotland was £353 million. This figure is a provisional estimate as the final figure is not yet available. The council tax benefit subsidies are paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) meetings and (b) correspondence it has had with representatives of Iceland, Ireland and Norway regarding the causes of, and action needed to resolve, current economic crises.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government places great importance on Scotland''s relationships in Europe, and engages on an ongoing basis with Ireland, Iceland and Norway, along with a range of European partners, across a variety of areas, including those relating to the econo…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when ministers last approved the award of contracts for new (a) schools and (b) hospitals and for which projects.
Answer · John Swinney: The schools and health projects which have reached contract signature using PPP/NPD structures since May 2007 are provided in the following tables:</p> <p >Schools Projects where Contract Signature has Been Approved Since May 2007</p> <table border=1 cells…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences involving guns in 2007-08 involved (a) shotguns, (b) handguns, (c) rifles and (d) airguns.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The latest statistics on firearm offences in Scotland are available in the annual publication <i >Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving Firearms, </i><i >Scotland</i><i >, 2007-08</i> which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. n…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all statements by ministers prior to 1 September 2008 calling for greater regulation of banks and other financial institutions.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not call for greater regulation in any sector but rather regulation that is proportionate, transparent and targeted.</p> <p >The Scottish Government has taken the view that the most appropriate route to discuss regulation of the…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the support it is giving to organisations that help pensioners and the low paid to access benefits to which they are entitled and how this compares with the previous three years.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: We are currently supporting a pilot campaign with Age Concern Scotland to encourage older people to take up the financial support, including benefits, tax credits, and other awards, such as help with heating costs, to which they are entitled. This is the firs…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many road fatalities there were in 2007-08 and how this compares with the previous three years.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The following table shows the number of casualties involved in injury accidents who were killed in the years 2004 to 2007. Data for 2008 are still being collected and will not be available until early next year.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many serving police officers there were in each force on 30 September 2008 and what the comparable figures were for the eqivalent day in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Figures on the number of police officers employed by each force on 30 September 2008 are expected to be published by the Scottish Government on 2 December 2008.</p> <p >For financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08, figures on the number of police officers employe…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) revenue and (b) capital expenditure and budget was for each police force in Scotland in real terms for each of the last three years and what the figures are anticipated to be for 2008-09.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Revenue and capital budgets for individual forces are not held centrally. Information on revenue and capital expenditure is shown in the following tables.</p> <p >Police Revenue Expenditure</p> <p >Actual Expenditure</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cell…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of drink-related offences was in the last year for (a) 10 to 20-year-olds, (b) 21 to 30-year-olds, (c) 31 to 40-year-olds, (d) 41 to 50-year-olds, (e) 51 to 60-year-olds and (f) those over 60-years old.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of drink-related offences in Scotland broken down by age is not held centrally. The following table, however, gives the total number of drink-related offences recorded by the police in 2007-08, broken down by crime/offence group.</p>…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new council houses can be provided for each million pounds of expenditure in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Inverness and (d) Glasgow.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The number of new council houses that can be provided for a given level of expenditure in these cities, as elsewhere in Scotland, will depend on the details of any projects taken forward by the local authorities in these areas.</p>
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to amend its payment policy in the Scottish Public Finance Manual to reflect its new commitment to pay contractors within 10 days.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Public Finance Manual will be amended to reflect the target of paying the bills of small businesses around Scotland within 10 days.</p>
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many accounts submitted to it by contractors had not been settled within a 10-day period as at 10 November 2008
Answer · John Swinney: Following the First Minister''s announcement on 9 October 2008 to aim to hit a 10-day target for payment of invoices to suppliers, the Scottish Government has been putting in place processes and systems to take forward the transition from the existing 30-day …
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what pension contribution it makes in respect of the Permanent Secretary and each Director General and what percentage of salary this represents.
Answer · John Swinney: Civil Service pension arrangements involve employer contributions to the pensions of all directly employed staff. These vary between 17.1% and 25.5% of salary. For the Permanent Secretary and the six Directors General the percentages of individual salary repr…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria the First Minister uses for assessing the competence of his ministers.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: The assessment of ministers'' performance is entirely a matter for the First Minister. Scottish ministers are appointed directly by the First Minister under the terms of Section 47 of the Scotland Act 1998.</p>
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what occasions since May 2007 the First Minister has met with (a) Cardinal Keith O’Brien, (b) the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, (c) representatives of the Jewish community, (d) representatives of the Muslim community and (e) interfaith bodies.
Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister has met the individuals and organisations above on the following occasions since May 2007:</p> <p >Cardinal Keith O''Brien</p> <p >30 May 2007: Lunch to discuss SCIAF work in Darfur </p> <p >19 June 2007: Reception on Sectarianism </p…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was paid in fees to consultants by each if its directorates and agencies in 2007-08.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government''s financial system does not hold information centrally for agencies and it reports expenditure on the basis of the budgets approved by Parliament, i.e. on a portfolio basis, with relevant consultancy expenditure included within the sp…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which firms of solicitors and which advocates have provided legal advice to Scottish ministers in 2007-08 and what has been the cost in each case.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The undernoted firms provided legal advice to the Scottish ministers between April 2007 and March 2008. The total cost of that advice was £1,899,411.18. This figure includes fees charged by firms whose total fees during that period amounted to less than £1,00…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contacts there have been between Scottish ministers and the Quebec Government regarding its relationship with the Scottish Government.
Answer · Linda Fabiani: The First Minister has received two letters from the Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, the first congratulating him on his election as First Minister and a second letter inviting him to attend a ceremony in Quebec celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the found…
27 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has made with Electricité de France regarding the future of British Energy and what responses it has received.
Answer · Jim Mather: After the announcement by Electricit© De France (EDF) on 24 September 2008 regarding their offer for British Energy (BE), the First Minister spoke with Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive of EDF, by telephone to discuss the implications of the offer for Scotla…
16 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what posts of inspector general exist in Scotland; what consideration has been given to extending such posts, and when any announcement is expected to be made.
Answer · John Swinney: In Scotland we have no inspectors general, but we have chief inspectors in several policy areas such as education, constabulary, prosecution, prisons and fire. There is currently no plan to extend this range of posts. Indeed, following the Crerar Review of re…
15 Oct 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to prevent private security companies from obtaining information about citizens without their knowledge or approval.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Private security companies are bound by the Data Protection Act 1998. This act gives individuals rights over their personal information and makes it generally unlawful for anyone to collect, hold or process information about people without those persons'' hav…