George Foulkes

10 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider following the example of the UK Government by appointing an independent adviser on the Scottish Ministerial Code.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-6786 on 3 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilities for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…

10 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what complaints there have been under the Scottish Ministerial Code since May 2007; what actions have been taken as a result, and what the outcomes have been.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The Scottish MinisterialCode details the arrangements for the conduct of affairs by ministers andprovides guidance by listing the principles and the precedents which may apply.The code is not a rule book, nor does it include or imply a complaints process.Howe…

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any ministers plan to visit Scottish shipyards in the near future.

Answer · John Swinney: Ministers will ensurea broad programme of visits is maintained in the future and this will include visitsto shipyards.</p>

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any ministers have visited Scottish shipyards since May 2007 and, if so, whether it will provide details of each visit.

Answer · John Swinney: The Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism visited Ferguson Shipbuilders, PortGlasgow in June 2007 and BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions, Govan Yard in August2007.</p><p>On both occasionsthe minister met with Company Management and Trade Unions to disc…

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to support Scottish shipbuilders.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Scottish ministers will continueto provide support to encourage the growth of the shipbuilding industry in Scotland. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with UK counterpartsto ensure Scotland’s position is fully represented and to support and encour…

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of the tendering process for the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The estimated cost of the tendering process of the contract for the new Islay vessel is some £55,000. This figure incorporates the cost of the design work including preparation of documents, drawings and the tender specification. This figure excludes the staf…

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role Scottish Enterprise played in encouraging Scottish shipbuilders to tender for the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Enterprise hasbeen working closely with, and has provided a range of support and advice to, FergusonShipbuilders in Port Glasgow. Ferguson Shipbuilders is probably the only Scottishcivil shipyard currently with the capability to undertake the recent …

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took to encourage Scottish shipbuilders to tender for the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Caledonian Maritime Assets Limitedare responsible for procuring vessels for use on the Clyde and Hebrides routes.They are bound by EU procurement rules and consequently cannot be seen to encourageone bidder over another. The tendering process was advertised w…

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish boat builders were considered when the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay was awarded.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Caledonian Maritime Assets Limitedare obliged to follow EU procurement guidelines in tendering the contract for newvessels. Ferguson Shipbuilders originally expressed an interest and were invitedto tender. However, early in the tender period Ferguson Shipbuil…

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which company has obtained the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay and where it will be built.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The contract to construct thisvessel has been awarded by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited to Gdansk StoczniaRemontowa SA and the vessel will be built in Gdansk, Poland.</p>

7 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation took place with Caledonian MacBrayne prior to the awarding of the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The operator of the Islay service,CalMac Ferries Limited, were fully involved in all aspects of the tendering andcontract award for the new ferry to serve this route. This included the developmentof the specification and design of the new vessel.</p>

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers are currently on suspension, also expressed as a percentage of the workforce, broken down by police authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The suspension ofpolice officers is an operational policing matter for Chief Constables, and thisinformation is not collected centrally. However, Association of Chief Police Officers have informed us that as of 10 December 2007 approximately 40 officers are c…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to removing or altering the upper age limit for the appointment of JPs.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The ScottishGovernment has no current plans to remove or alter the upper age limit for theappointment of JPs. The current statutory age limit of 70 for retiring is thesame as that which applies to high court judges and sheriffs, and the ScottishGovernment see…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what paintings and other works of art it owns and what its policy is regarding their display.

Answer · John Swinney: There is noformal policy for the display of works of art in Scottish Government buildings.Decisions on where to display items are taken on a project by project or case-by-casebasis. Many items are displayed in areas accessible to visitors. Details ofVictoria …

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which newspapers and magazines are purchased regularly for ministers, both daily and weekly.

Answer · John Swinney: The followingnewspapers are purchased regularly for ministers on a daily basis: <i>The Scotsman</i>,<i>The Herald</i>,<i> Financial Times</i>,<i> Daily Record</i>,<i> Sun</i>,<i> DailyMail</i>,<i> The Times</i>,<i> The Daily Telegraph</i>,<i> The Independent,…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations are employed by each of its sections or departments for sending documents and other material both internally and externally.

Answer · John Swinney: The ScottishGovernment mail is serviced by Royal Mail and the courier services of twocompanies, FedEx and DX.</p><p>Internal mail ishandled by the in-house distribution teams and an in-house van service.</p>

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many different computer systems it operates and what the purpose and function is of each system.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Governmentoperates a large number of different computer systems to support the delivery ofits business. There are corporate systems which are used and shared by all directoratesand other business specific application systems which are only used w…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the percentage changes in real terms in its budget in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Answer · John Swinney: As indicated in Chapter 1 ofScottish Budget: Spending Review 2007, the Scottish Government received real termsyear on year DEL increases of 0.5%, 1.6% and 2.3% for years 2008-09 to 2010-11 respectivelyfrom HM Treasury as part of the CSR settlement.</p>

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that there is no discrimination against people because of their age in recruitment and appointments within the public service.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Discrimination onthe grounds of age is now unlawful in employment and vocational training. It isthe responsibility of all employers, both public and private sector, to ensurethat they comply with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.</p><p>The Scott…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which public bodies have an upper age limit for people appointed to serve on them and what that limit is in each case.

Answer · John Swinney: There is no upperage limit for members who serve on regulated public bodies. Public appointmentsto regulated bodies are made under the code of practice issued by the Commissionerfor Public Appointments in Scotland. All appointments are governed by the overrid…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of staff are (a) female and (b) disabled in each of its departments and what the policy is for encouraging positive discrimination in favour of women and disabled people.

Answer · John Swinney: The following tablesets out the percentages of women and disabled staff in each of the Scottish Government’sDirectorates-General as at 1 December 2007.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan=2 valign=top> <p align=cente…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to how many parliamentary questions it has given a holding answer prior to the substantive answer since May 2007 and what percentage of questions this represents.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: This informationcould only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><p>Allanswers including holding answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at:</p><p><ahref="http://www.sco…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the terms of reference are for each of the special advisers to Scottish ministers.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5415 on 15 October 2007 which set out the current number of Special Advisersand their responsibilities. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the parliament's website, the search facilit…

29 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees offered to take St Andrew’s Day as one of their public holidays.

Answer · John Swinney: One hundred andseventy-four staff within core Scottish Government.</p>

22 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-5917, which received a holding answer on 15 November 2007.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: An answer to questionS3W-5917 was provided on 4 December 2007.</p>

22 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees are paid at a level whereby they are entitled to claim benefits and what percentage of its employees this represents.

Answer · John Swinney: The value of the payranges which apply in the Scottish Government core directorates and the percentageof the total Scottish Government staff in each pay range are as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td nowrap valign=bo…

22 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many official journeys have been made by each minister using public transport since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested islisted below.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=150 valign=top> <p>Minister</p> </td> <td width=95 valign=top> <p align=center>Air</p> </td> <td width=95 valign=top> <p align=c…

22 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what remuneration and expenses have been paid so far to each member of the (a) Council of Economic Advisors, (b) Scottish Broadcasting Commission and (c) Prisons Commission

Answer · John Swinney: Appointments to theCouncil of Economic Advisors and the Scottish Prisons Commission are not remuneratedand no expenses have been paid so far to members of either group.</p><p>Remuneration to thechair of the Scottish Broadcasting Council currently stands at £6…

16 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many parliamentary questions have received a holding answer since May 2007 and, of these, how many have not subsequently received a substantive answer.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The information soughtcould only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Substantive answers are providedwhenever the information requested is available. The length of time involved willdepend on a number of factors.</p>

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants have transferred between Edinburgh and London in each year since 1999 and which Whitehall departments have been involved.

Answer · John Swinney: The number ofScottish Government Core Civil Servants permanently transferred to and fromother UK Government Departments is contained in the following table. Informationon which UK Government Departments are involved in each case is not held on ourstaffing dat…