Willie Coffey

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the potential impact on businesses in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding signature fraud in financial transactions.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has a wide counter-fraud agenda of which signature fraud is a part. Our approach to fraud is risk-based and designed to reduce the impact it has across Scotland on organisations in the public sector, the private sector, the not-for-pro…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has with local organisations regarding (a) countryside and (b) woodland development.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Consultation arrangements on countryside and woodland development depend on the nature of the development. “Development” in the countryside as defined by the Town and Country Planning Act is, in most cases, considered by local authorities, who are responsib…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ask local authorities to review the council tax liabilities of terminally ill people who are hospitalised and who have unoccupied second homes.

Answer · John Swinney: Under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, which governs council tax, it is for each local authority to interpret and apply the provisions set out in legislation. Depending on individual circumstances, a number of exemptions and discounts may be awarded. Th…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the impact on communities of odours from industrial premises.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not itself undertake any odour monitoring of industrial or other premises. This is the responsibility of individual local authorities, or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, where the premises are regulated under the Pollu…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what screening is available for potential sudden cardiac death victims in younger age groups and whether it plans to widen its availability.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We have supported the establishment of the Familial Arrhythmia Network Scotland (FANS). The network aims to raise awareness of familial arrhythmias, define and agree referral protocols, develop national guidance for clinical and genetic testing and establish …

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Records of Scotland will make available the information that it holds regarding the parish records of the Roman Catholic Church available to all of the country’s genealogy centres.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The records referred to are the property of the Roman Catholic Church and it is their decision where they can be accessed from. They are available on the internet at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many court cases to resolve family contact disputes there have been under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ask public bodies to adopt recognised quality management systems to aid governance and accountability.

Answer · John Swinney: Each of the public bodies for which the Scottish Government is responsible is expected to have effective measures in place to manage performance and risk and therefore to comply with generally recognised quality management principles. The adoption of a partic…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the pre-qualification questionnaire process for the procurement of services from small businesses.

Answer · Alex Neil: A top priority of the Procurement Reform Programme is to use public procurement spending as a driver of economic growth and we are committed to ensuring that small and medium-sized businesses have fair and equal access to public sector contracts in Scotland. …

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits are delivered to communities in Ayrshire by the developers of renewable energy schemes.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold details of individual community benefit arrangements. However, in April we established a public register to encourage transparency and consistency of community benefits being offered across Scotland. The public register …

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it encourages the start-up of new businesses in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is firmly committed to working with all partners across Ayrshire to maintain a supportive business environment, ensuring that measures are in place to encourage the development of new businesses in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley. The Bus…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce additional measures to tackle the issue of vacant shop premises.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government recognises that vibrant town centres and high streets are vital to the wellbeing of communities and the local economy. We are committed to supporting town centres and high streets and I will shortly be announcing details of our town ce…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it encourages engagement between denominational and non-denominational schools.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government published a guide promoting twinning arrangements between denominational and non-denominational schools in 2006. The guide, Building Friendships and Strengthening Communities, continues to be made available through the Scottish Governm…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports the development of football in schools.

Answer · Shona Robison: As the governing body, the Scottish FA receives funding from sportscotland to support the development of the game in schools and beyond through the sport’s new performance strategy Scotland United – A 2020 Vision. This new strategy outlined the need for a new…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will invest in hockey over the next spending review period and in which areas of the country.

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…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports participation in equestrian sports.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government provides funding to sport through its Grant in Aid to sportscotland. For the calendar year 2012, sportscotland will provide £154,890 in support to Horse Scotland, the governing body for equestrianism in Scotland, to help develop the sp…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it encourages pupils to consider studying undergraduate courses in science.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Education in Science, Technologies, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects is a priority for this government, as these areas are key drivers of Scotland’s future economic prosperity. Under Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), teachers have professional autonomy t…

28 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many graduates there have been of computer science courses that have an emphasis on software engineering since 2007, broken down by institution.

Answer · Michael Russell: Figures on qualifiers from Scottish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) who studied Computer Science are provided in the following tables. It is not possible to separately identify courses that have an emphasis on software engineering from official data. …

13 Jun 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to grow the economy in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.

25 Apr 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to strengthen the role of mediation in resolving family contact disputes.

14 Mar 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing the transcatheter aortic valve implantation heart valve procedure.

22 Feb 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider establishing closer working relationships with the emerging democracies in Europe in order to share best practice.

13 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason operable pancreatic cancer cases might not result in an operation being carried out.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There are a number of reasons why pancreatic cancer cases might not result in an operation being undertaken. The fitness of the patient, the choice of whether they wish to be operated on, consideration of how the tumour has developed and the risks involved in…

13 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of operable pancreatic cancer cases result in an operation being carried out in (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the proportion of operable cancers cases which result in an operation being carried out in Scotland is not held centrally. Similarly, a figure for England is also not available.

13 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to assist in the early detection of pancreatic cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Our “Detect Cancer Early” initiative is initially focusing on the three most common cancers, lung, bowel and breast, which represent 45% of all cancers diagnosed in Scotland per year. To allow the early stages of the programme to be appropriately managed and…

13 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether survival rates for pancreatic cancer in Scotland have improved since 1992.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Data showing improvements in survival rates of pancreatic cancer can be found on Information Services Division Scotland's cancer statistics website at: http://www.isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cancer-Statistics/Pancreatic/. One year relative s…

13 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what pancreatic cancer survival rates are in Scotland and what information it has on how this compares with the rest of the (a) UK and (b) world.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on survival rates from pancreatic cancer in Scotland can be found on the Information Services Division cancer statistics website: http://www.isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cancer-Statistics/Pancreatic/. Survival rate estimates for S…

14 Dec 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing the cities strategy and what role towns and villages can play in this.

26 Oct 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in improving the accountability of factors to the residents of housing estates in relation to landscape maintenance.

3 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has invested in hockey in the last four years and what proportion has been invested in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03112 on 25 October. 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…