Parliamentary questions
Willie Coffey
538 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for one-to-one assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises by the Business Gateway and when the criteria were last revised.
Answer · John Swinney: Business Gateway advice services are provided in lowland Scotland under contracts let by Scottish Enterprise in October 2007 to successful contractors following a competitive tender exercise. The management of these contracts was transferred to 12 lead local …
13 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pedestrian deaths at level crossings, other than suicides, have resulted in a fatal accident inquiry in each year since 1999.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Both the British Transport Police and the Office of Rail Regulation carried out an accident investigation into each of the four recorded pedestrian deaths at level crossings and submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal.</p> <p >Procurator Fiscal records a…
13 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pedestrian deaths at level crossings, other than suicides, there have been in each year since 1999.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The numbers of pedestrian deaths at level crossings in Scotland, other than suicides, in each year since 1999 are:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > <p >1999</p> </td> <td valign=top > <p > 0</p> </td> …
12 Feb 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with NHS Ayrshire and Arran about hospital-acquired infections.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I meet with chairs of NHS boards on a monthly basis and Healthcare Associated Infection is a standing agenda item for discussion.</p>
29 Jan 2009 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with Scottish Enterprise about the impact of the recession on the manufacturing sector.
Answer · Alex Salmond: <i > This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</i><i ></i></p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0129-01.htm">http://…
15 Jan 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that long-serving members of staff who have retired from the NHS after the introduction of Agenda for Change are receiving their full pension entitlements based on their revised salaries.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I can confirm that processes are in place to ensure that staff who have retired from the NHS after the introduction of Agenda for Change receive their full pension entitlements based on their revised salaries.</p> <p >In such cases, health board payroll offi…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote community woodlands.
Answer · Michael Russell: Forestry Commission Scotland will continue to encourage the engagement of communities in forestry. The commission achieves this through its partnerships with local groups on the national forest estate, by providing specific SRDP funding to help private owners…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many university graduates were in Scotland and unemployed, a year after graduating, in each of the last three years for which information is available.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Information on graduate destinations by location is only available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency''s (HESA) Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey for those who find employment.</p> <p >Of all graduates from Scottish universi…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many university graduates left Scotland within a year of graduating in each of the last three years for which information is available.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Information on graduate destinations by location is only available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency''s (HESA) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey (DLHE) for those who find employment.</p> <p >Of those graduates from Scottish unive…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many university graduates, within a year of graduation, (a) took up employment in Scotland or (b) took up a post related to their field of study, in each of the last three years for which information is available.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: (a) Information on destinations of qualifiers, six months after completing their course, is collected from the survey of Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) which is co-ordinated by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and administer…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to local authorities on the operation of a community wardens service.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Following the concordat between COSLA and the Scottish Government, the operation of each community warden scheme is now the responsibility of its local authority, having been piloted and developed by the Scottish Government in previous years. The Scottish Gov…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next review how effective community wardens are in reducing antisocial behaviour.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Following the concordat between COSLA and the Scottish Government, the operation of each community warden scheme is now the responsibility of its local authority. Most local authorities have since undertaken a review of their services, or are in the process o…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has on how effective community wardens are in reducing antisocial behaviour.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: An independent evaluation of community warden schemes was commissioned by the Scottish Executive and published on 23 March 2007. The evaluation, by GEN consulting, was broadly positive and found that there is some statistical evidence, much of it supported by…
12 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average earnings were for (a) men and (b) women in full time employment in (i) Kilmarnock and Loudoun and (ii) Scotland on the last date for which information is available and in each of the last five years and what information it has on how this compares with figures for the Uni…
Answer · Jim Mather: The preferred source for earnings estimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.</p> <p >Tables 1 and 2 below show the median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees resident in…
11 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it provides to self-help and voluntary groups dealing with stress-related disorders.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government and partners currently supports and works with a range of organisations supporting and caring for those with a stress related disorder and their families. A range of grants and other support is in place. Each is kept under review for r…
11 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much stress-related disorders have cost the (a) NHS and (b) Scottish economy in each of the last three years.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. There is no common definition for stress-related disorders.</p>
11 Dec 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it takes to monitor the incidence of stress-related disorders.
Answer · Shona Robison: There is no common definition for stress related disorders. However data is collected by Information Services Division Scotland, and obtained through the Practice Team Information (PTI), from a sample of Scottish GP practices, where stress related disorders a…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether discussions have been held with the football governing bodies about the declining numbers attending football matches, particularly away matches.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government has not formally discussed the issue of attendance at football matches with any of the football authorities.</p>
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses whether sports clubs provide equal opportunities for men’s and women’s participation.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in sport for all. Support for sports clubs is primarily through the relevant governing body with whom sportscotland works closely to ensure that equitable procedures are in place through the…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to discourage firms from holding commercial properties vacant.
Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise (SE) has an important role in working collaboratively with industry and the rest of the public sector to help address the challenges facing Scotland''s businesses, particularly in helping them cope with the rapidly changing economic enviro…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors changes in the skills needed to support economic development (a) nationally and (b) in local areas.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Futureskills Scotland undertakes a biennial large scale survey of the skills needs of Scottish employers which supports the detailed sectoral labour market information and intelligence carried out by the Sector Skills Councils.</p> <p >Scotland''s Further an…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to review the law relating to protection of an individual’s identity.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A report on serious fraud was published on 13 May 2008 by Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICS). The report made a number of recommendations aimed at improving how the police work with their partners to tackle serious fraud, which can include ca…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were charged with (a) fraud or (b) identity theft in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The number of people charged with fraud in each of the last five years is given in the following table:</p> <p >Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Fraud<sup>1</sup>, 2002-03 to 2006-07</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thea…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what priority the police and prosecuting authorities give to tackling (a) fraud and (b) identity theft.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: It is an operational matter for the police and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to determine the priority they attach to <strong>investigating and prosecuting fraud, which includes identity theft.</strong></p>
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in reviewing Scotland’s public bodies.
Answer · John Swinney: Details on the progress of the Scottish Governments Simplification Programme can be found at <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/Simplification-Tracker">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/Simplification-…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which public bodies that are accountable to ministers are not headed by an accountable officer.
Answer · John Swinney: Accountable Officers are designated by the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government in his role as the Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration. As a general rule Accountable Officers are designated - either on a statutory or non-st…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) hotels and guest houses and (b) tourist beds can be booked via the VisitScotland website, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jim Mather: As at end-November 2008, the VisitScotland.com website (<a href="http://www.visitscotland.com/">www.visitscotland.com</a>) lists 7,190 quality assured accommodation providers. Approximately 1,000 of these have chosen to have an online booking facility through…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed in the software industry broken down by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Information on the number of employee jobs by industry is collected each year from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), which is the official source of employee jobs data. The most recent year for which data is available is 2006. The ABI does not include self-e…
14 Nov 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been employed in the software industry in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Information on the number of employee jobs by industry is collected each year from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), which is the official source of employee jobs data. Table 1 shows the number of employee jobs in the software industry. The most recent year …
13 Nov 2008 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is responding to the points raised at the town hall meeting on flood management in Newmilns on 18 April 2008.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has fully considered all of the points raised at each of the town hall meetings this year, such as the need to consider flooding from sewerage systems, as well as from rivers and flooding, and also the need for better communication and…