Parliamentary questions

George Foulkes

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

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has had with representatives of the major supermarkets regarding the sale of alcohol at low cost and below cost.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I met representatives of ASDA Stores Ltd on 24 April 2008 and discussed a range of matters including the Scottish Government’s commitment to crack down on irresponsible alcohol promotions.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to allowing parliamentary committees to scrutinise candidates for major appointments to public bodies.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to improving, enhancing and simplifying both the process and the policy on making public appointments to public bodies. In doing so, we will work closely with all key stakeholders including the Office of the Commissioner f…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people serving custodial sentences have escaped or absconded since May 2007, and how many of those have been (a) recaptured and (b) at large for over (i) three months and (ii) six months.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: No prisoners have escaped since May 2007. The number who have absconded is illustrated in the following tables. Table 1 shows the…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police stations have been closed and how many new ones opened since May 2007, broken down by Police Board.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the use of identity cards in Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I can confirm that the Scottish Government has opened discussions exploring the implications for Scotland of the national identity scheme, which includes plans for identity cards linked to a national identity register. The Scottish Government remains opposed …

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what appointments to public bodies have been made so far in 2008 and which of those appointees have declared political activity

Answer · John Swinney: The following table provides the information requested in relation to the 80 appointments and re-appointments made by Scottish ministers to public bodies regulated by the Commissioner for Public Bodies in Scotland since 1 January 2008. <table border=1 c…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the First Minister to take his first journey by train since his appointment

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister has travelled by train since his appointment.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers are projected to (a) qualify from police college and (b) retire from the police service in 2008 and 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Based on inputs from forces the Scottish Police College estimates that it will train in excess of 1,500 new officers in 2008-09. Figures for 2009-10 are not available. Details of the number of officers eligible to retire from the police service in 2008 and 20…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of the First Minister's carbon footprint.

Answer · John Swinney: No. It is not currently possible to disaggregate the emissions relative to a specific individual’s business activities from those of the organisation.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the (a) departure and (b) destination point of each flight taken by the First Minister in an official capacity since May 2007 and how many staff accompanied him on each occasion.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13835 on 28 July 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/webapp/w…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many flights the First Minister has taken in an official capacity since May 2007.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours the First Minister has spent travelling by plane in an official capacity since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: Information on air travel by the First Minister from 3 May 2007 to 31 May 2008 is detailed in the following table. On each occasion the First Minister was accompanied by a member of his private office and/or a special adviser. <table border=1 cellspacin…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its total costs were for St Andrew’s Day celebrations in 2007 and what its total planned expenditure is for the celebrations in 2008-09.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: In 2007 our total expenditure on St Andrew’s Day celebrations across Scotland was £447,469. Current spending projection for 2008 is £434,000.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its total costs were for Edinburgh's 2007-08 Winter Festival and what its total planned expenditure is for the festival 2008-09.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: The Edinburgh Winter Festivals are managed and delivered by City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) and in 2007-08 the Scottish Government contributed £67,500 funding towards the events programme. We are currently in discussion with CEC about Scottish Gover…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-12302 by Bruce Crawford on 9 May 2008, how many of the freedom of information requests it answered by citing an exemption under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 have been appealed since May 2007 and, of these, how many appeals have been…

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The information requested is available at the website of the Scottish Information Commissioner at: <a href="http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/ScottishInformationCommissioner.asp">http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/ScottishInformationCommis…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what precautions are in place to ensure that part-time special advisers are not involved in conflicts of interest.

Answer · John Swinney: Special advisers are subject to the same conduct and confidentiality rules as apply to all civil servants. Special advisers who are part-time are made aware in their contracts that they are appointed on condition that any other employment or appointments outw…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many trips have been made by government car between the Parliament and Bute House since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: One hundred and ninety-two journeys were made between the Parliament and Bute House from 16 May 2007. This includes all official car journeys organised by the Government Car Service for the entire ministerial team.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times its special advisers have travelled unaccompanied in ministerial cars since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: None. Special advisors do not have an entitlement to use the cars operated by the Government Car Service unless accompanying someone who has that entitlement.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times its special advisers have used government cars from its car pool and how much the service has cost since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: None.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cars are available in its car pool.

Answer · John Swinney: There are 150 vehicles in the Scottish Government fleet, 137 cars and 13 commercial vehicles. This includes the cars allocated to the Government Car Service (Scotland).

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the next round of higher education retention rates to be published.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Higher education retention rates are published annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The latest set was published on 5 June 2008 and is available on the internet at: <a href="http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/category/2/32/141/">…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government on Scotland's role in the 2012 Olympic Games, particularly in respect of the involvement of Scottish business and the use of Scottish facilities for training camps and staging events.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government continues its engagement with UK Government, the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority at official and ministerial level to ensure we can secure all opportunities av…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the number of trainee teachers to meet future demand.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government carry out an annual teacher workforce planning exercise to estimate future requirements for teachers and the number of new teachers that require to be trained. That exercise is overseen by a Group with representatives of the Convention…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoner escort drivers are employed as court orderlies.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: This information is not held by the Scottish Prison Service. The deployment of Reliance Custodial Services staff is a matter for …

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what studies are underway or projects planned for further rail electrification in Scotland.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: In my statement to Parliament on 27 September I outlined plans to electrify services in Central Scotland with initial priorities focussing on electrification of the Edinburgh to Glasgow route including routes to Stirling, Dunblane, Alloa and Cumbernauld. Feas…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what bus services have been (a) initiated and (b) terminated in the Lothians since May 2007.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: This is a matter for the Traffic Commissioner for the Scottish Traffic Area. The information requested is not held centrally. The Traffic Commissioner is the licensing authority for the bus industry in Scotland and applies the regulatory regime. Operators are…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what new rail services have commenced to or from Edinburgh since May 2007.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: New rail services that have commenced to or from Edinburgh since May 2007 are detailed below: May 2007 timetable First ScotRail services: New service: 2037 Edinburgh – North Berwick Existing services with additional call…

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements have been made to roads for which it has responsibility in (a) Edinburgh, (b) West Lothian and (c) Midlothian since May 2007.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass, which is in Midlothian, is currently under construction and is due to be completed in August 2008. A short-term £2.5 million improvement of the A720 Sheriffhall Roundabout is programmed to commence on 23 June 2008.

3 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people (a) coming into and (b) leaving prison since May 2007 were drug dependent, broken down by prison.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: This information is not yet available. These figures will be published in the SPS Annual Report in August 2008 and in Drug Misuse Statisti…

29 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of borrowing (a) £10,000, (b) £100,000, (c) £1 million, (d) £10 million and (e) £1 billion through a bond issue.

Answer · John Swinney: The cost of borrowing would be dependent on the prevailing market conditions at the time.