Willie Coffey

3 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it has done to (a) promote and (b) support hockey in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley in the last four years and with what result.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Sportscotland, as the national agency for sport and the lead agency for the development of sport in Scotland, provides financial investment to Scottish Hockey in order to deliver ministerial p…

31 Aug 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what change there has been in the number of students taking computer science as their main subject at university over the last four years.

29 Jun 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to enhance economic growth in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.

27 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support small and medium-sized enterprises interested in participating in public sector procurement processes receive from it and its agencies.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01333 on 21 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…

27 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that its agencies allow sufficient time for the preparation of tenders.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01336 on 20 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…

27 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues on the minimum time that public sector bodies should allow for the preparation of tenders for long-term framework agreements.

Answer · Alex Neil: Minimum timescales allowed for suppliers to prepare their bids for competitions are set out in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, as directed by European Law. The timescales set out in the Regulations are the minimum permissible and public sect…

27 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies on the (i) financial appraisal of and (ii) provision of support to new small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to participate in public sector procurement processes.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government publishes a wide range of guidance on procurement, including guidance on financial appraisal and for businesses on tendering for public contracts. (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/buyer-information). We are als…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether the funding provided to (a) sportscotland and (b) sport governing bodies helps to improve the results obtained in sporting competitions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is convinced that the funding made available to elite sportsmen and women has made a significant contribution to the results obtained by the Scotland team. At the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 for instance, the Scottish team exceede…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures of effectiveness it applies to funding awarded to (a) sportscotland and (b) sport governing bodies.

Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Ministers set conditions and priorities within the grant aid provided to sportscotland against which the performance of all investment can be measured. As part of the on-going sponsorship function, sportscotland is required to submit regular reports …

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the (a) chief executives, (b) senior staff and (c) board members of (i) sportscotland and (ii) sport governing bodies that receive Scottish Government funding receive a salary of over £100,000 per annum for those roles.

Answer · Shona Robison: No members of staff at sportscotland receive a salary in excess of £100,000. Although governing bodies receive funding from sportscotland, as independent commercial organisations they receive funding from other avenues and it is a matter for them to determin…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to (a) sportscotland and (b) sport governing bodies in each year since 1999.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has provided the following amounts of Grant-in-Aid to sportscotland for the financial years noted (as published by sportscotland in their annual reports): Year Amount (£m) 1999-00 £10.011m 2000-01 £10.182m 2001-02 £13.031m 200…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance it or its agencies provided to sporting bodies in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Answer · Shona Robison: Sportscotland, as the national agency for sport and the lead agency for the development of sport in Scotland, provides financial assistance to local communities in order to deliver Ministerial priorities and delivering the objectives of “Reaching Higher,” the…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the funding provided to (a) sportscotland and (b) sport governing bodies in each year since 1999 has been spent on (i) administration, (ii) capital investment, (iii) support for local sports development and (iv) support for individual competitors.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government provides sportscotland with an annual Grant in Aid award as set out in the Budget Bill for each financial year. It is a matter for sportscotland, and in turn for the sport governing bodies, to allocate these resources to meet operation…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the funding provided to (a) sportscotland and (b) sport governing bodies in each year since 1999 was awarded (i) without competition and (ii) following a competitive bid process.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01233 on 22 July 2011. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASearch/…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the extent to which existing social tariffs from energy companies protect consumers from fuel poverty.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Minister for Housing and Communities wrote to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on 14 January 2011 regarding the proposal to introduce the Warm Home Discount Scheme replacing social tariffs. In that letter he broadly welcomed proposa…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the availability of social tariffs from energy providers.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Minister for Housing and Communities wrote to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on 14 January 2011 regarding the proposal to introduce the Warm Home Discount Scheme replacing social tariffs. In that letter he broadly welcomed proposa…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities operate grant schemes to assist owner-occupiers to remove lead pipes from their homes.

Answer · Keith Brown: During 2009-10, 22 local authorities approved 292 grants totalling £187,285 to assist home owners with lead plumbing repairs. The most recent data available on grants for lead plumbing repairs is shown in the following table. 2009-10 Local Authority Number…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to (a) Scottish Water and (b) local authorities regarding the removal of lead piping from domestic water supply systems.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: In support of the Government’s objective for a Healthier Scotland, the Scottish Ministers have directed Scottish Water to develop a long term investment programme for the removal of lead pipes in the public network. In the meantime, Scottish Water has also be…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure the removal of lead piping from domestic water supply systems.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01227 on 14 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has asked the UK Government to make changes to the social tariffs provided by UK energy providers and, if so, what changes.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01230 on 21 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is one of its policy objectives to have lead piping removed from domestic water supply systems.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01227 on 14 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…

24 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes in each local authority area are served by water supply systems containing lead pipes.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The only data held centrally on how many homes are served by water supply systems containing lead pipes is taken from the Scottish House Condition Survey. As this information is taken from a survey it will have an associated uncertainty around each estimate. …

17 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) people have been prescribed methadone and (b) prescriptions for methadone have been issued in each of the last eight years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: (a) There is currently no national routinely collected information on the numbers of people receiving methadone prescriptions in Scotland. This data has never been available. The Scottish Government is currently collecting information from pharmacists to give…

17 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the effectiveness of the use of methadone by the NHS in helping addicts become drug-free.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-00990 on 14 July 2011. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…

17 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the use of methadone by the NHS.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Decisions on the type of treatment to prescribe are for individual clinicians, in discussion with their clients and in line with national and local guidelines. Any review of methadone would be part of the continual review of the Scottish Government’s nationa…

17 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many addicts have been helped by methadone treatment to become drug-free in each of the last eight years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Information on the number of individuals in Scotland, who have been helped by methadone treatment is currently not centrally available. The development of a follow-up reporting system for the Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD), which is currently being ro…

17 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what cost to the NHS was of dispensing methadone in the last year, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture and solution (1mg/ml) to the NHS in the last year (2010-11), broken down by NHS Board, are presented in the following table. Total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture1. Items dis…

15 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley benefits from the Scottish Government's focus on cities as engines of growth.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Cities have a strong contribution to make to Scotland's growth strategy. The cities strategy will aim to help cities and city regions fulfil their potential and be catalysts for greater growth and prosperity throughout the country.

8 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will improve flood risk management in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.

4 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS prescription pre-payment certificates have been purchased in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39338 on 24 February 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p> <p >www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bus…