Parliamentary questions

John Lamont

759 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

25 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what areas in the Scottish Borders are in the worst 5% of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · John Swinney: A revision to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2009 was made in the week of 19 July 2010. This is referred to as SIMD 2009 Version 2. This answer is based on the revised figures from SIMD 2009 Version 2 as opposed to the SIMD 2009 published i…

23 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to upgrade the (a) Abbey St Bathans, (b) Cappercleugh, (c) Longformacus and (d) Whitsome telephone exchanges to full platform ADSL exchanges.

Answer · Jim Mather: Information on the cost of upgrading the Abbey St Bathans, Cappercleugh, Longformacus and Whitsome telephone exchanges to full platform ADSL is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released by the Scottish Government.

22 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are of the Lord Advocate’s guidelines on access to a solicitor by suspects.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is working closely with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Legal Aid Board, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the Law Society of Scotland to monitor the impact of the Lord Advocate''s in…

18 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many proceedings in the criminal courts against children under the age of 16 there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) age, (b) type of offence and (c) outcome.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is given in the document Children aged under 16 proceeded against in Scottish Courts, 1999-2000 to 2008-09, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. number 51158).

16 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding from the Scotland Rural Development Programme can be used to fund broadband development in rural areas.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Yes, one million euros will be allocated to deliver support for the development of broadband in rural areas. Details are being worked out with LEADER contacts who already deliver SRDP funding to Rural Communities.

3 Jun 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of Lothian and Borders Police.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I last met representatives of Lothian and Borders Police at Howdenhall police station on 1 June 2010, on the day I announced record numbers of police officers in Scotland, with numbers in Lothian and Borders exceeding 3,000 for the first time. I last…

1 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has set aside in the forthcoming financial year for the construction of HMP (a) Inverclyde, (b) Highland and (c) Grampian.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: No sums have been set aside in the current year for construction of HMP Inverclyde, Highland and Grampian.

1 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when construction will begin on HMP (a) Inverclyde and (b) Highland.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Construction will commence following site acquisition and the completion of a procurement process for the appointment of a …

1 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued contracts for the construction of HMP (a) Inverclyde and (b) Highland.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: No contracts have been issued for the construction of HMP Inverclyde and Highland.

1 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in securing suitable sites for the building of HMP (a) Grampian, (b) Inverclyde and (c) Highland.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Prison Service (SPS), has identified a preferred site for HMP Grampian which is on the site of the existing HM…

25 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many landlords have been prosecuted for failure to register under the Landlord Registration Scheme in each year since 2006.

Answer · Alex Neil: From 1 January 2007, when the first registrations took place, to date, no landlords have been prosecuted for failure to register under the Private Landlord Registration Scheme. However, up to 31 March 2010 local authorities have applied over 1,300 la…

24 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many landlords have had their registrations under the Landlord Registration Scheme refused or revoked in each year since 2006.

Answer · Alex Neil: Up until 31 March 2010, 24 landlords have had their applications to register under the Landlord Registration Scheme refused and three landlords have had their registration revoked.

21 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been spent by each police force on sending officers to conferences in each of the last 10 years, broken down by force.

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

21 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been spent by each police force on sending officers on management courses in each of the last 10 years, broken down by force.

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

20 May 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities on the use of US-style yellow buses for schools.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has had no such discussions with local authorities, or requests for such discussions.

19 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum waiting time is for an appointment with a consultant following an urgent referral by another consultant or a GP.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The current maximum waiting time standard for an outpatient appointment following referral from another consultant or a GP is 12 weeks. Those patients who are referred urgently will of course be seen more quickly based on their clinical need.

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31597 by Adam Ingram on 4 March 2010, whether the guidance to local authorities will reiterate the commitment to achieve parity between payments to kinship carers and those to foster carers by 2011.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The guidance to support the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations will reiterate the concordat expectation that kinship carers should receive an equivalent allowance to that received by foster carers by 2011.

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31597 by Adam Ingram on 4 March 2010, when in 2010 the guidance to local authorities on implementation of the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 will be published.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The guidance to support the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations is being drafted by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering and the Fostering Network and will be published in May 2010. We will be seeking comments on the published document …

31 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funding allocated to NHS Borders for 2010-11 will be sufficient for NHS Borders to deliver its planned capital projects.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Borders approved its'' Local Delivery Plan including its capital programme on 1 April 2010. The gross planned capital programme of £6.451 million for 2010-11 will allow NHS Borders to deliver a range of capital investment priorities including provision fo…

31 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funding allocated to NHS Borders for 2010-11 will be used to provide additional NHS dentists.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is for NHS Borders to decide how best to utilise the funding allocated to meet the health care needs of their resident population, taking account of national and local priorities.

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to which harbours it has given financial support in each year since 1999.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The following tables detail the financial support given to harbours by the Scottish Executive/Scottish Government each year since 1999: Fisheries Harbour Grants Capital Grant Assistance Awarded to Fishery Harbours between January 1999 to Mar…

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what harbours are operated by groups, trusts and organisations other than local authorities.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We do not hold a comprehensive list of individual Scottish harbours.

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which harbours are operated by local authorities.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We do not hold a comprehensive list of the individual harbours operated by local authorities.

23 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have had NHS operations cancelled on more than one occasion in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Information, although limited is available on the number of hospital stays where operations or procedures were not carried out following admission to hospital. Operations may be cancelled…

23 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS operations have been cancelled in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Information, although limited, is available on the number of hospital stays where operation or procedure were not carried out following admission to hospital. Operations may be cancelled …

4 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting children with dyslexia in schools in Berwickshire.

Answer · Adam Ingram: It is for Scottish Borders Council to determine how best to meet the needs of children with dyslexia in schools in Berwickshire. The Scottish Government has provided funding of £29,000 to Dyslexia Scotland over the financial year 2009-10 to develop …

25 Feb 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when details will be made available of the Post Office Diversification Fund announced in its 2010-11 budget.

Answer · Jim Mather: A round of preliminary discussions with key stakeholders is now underway. This will inform further consultation with a view to prompt introduction and delivery of this fund.

10 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to upgrade the Abbey St Bathans telephone exchange to provide 8Mb broadband capacity.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31714 on 2 March 2010. 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/Apps2/B…

10 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to upgrade the Whitsome telephone exchange to provide 8Mb broadband capacity.

Answer · Jim Mather: Information on the cost of upgrading the Whitsome and Abbey St Bathans telephone exchanges to allow for providing 8Mbps broadband capacity is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released by the Scottish Government.

9 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the availability was of wind-produced electrical power at periods of peak demand during the recent adverse weather conditions.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally. Annual figures for electricity generated by renewables in Scotland are published online at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Sta…