Mark Griffin

27 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme announced on 4 July 2012 includes provision for the Croy Loop.

Answer · Keith Brown: The first phase announced on 4 July does not include provision of the Croy Turnback. This infrastructure intervention is not required for four trains per hour. Further elements of EGIP including the Croy turnback, the electrification of Stirling, Dunblane an…

27 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the funding allocated to the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme will be used for the provision of rolling stock.

Answer · Keith Brown: The £650 million figure announced on 4 July does not include for provision of rolling stock. The costs for the provision of rolling stock will be covered within the next ScotRail Franchise.

27 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its consultation on the maintenance of land in private housing estates closed and when it will report the findings.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The government’s consultation on the maintenance of land on private housing estates closed on 6 June 2011. We propose to report the findings shortly.

26 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will receive Barnett consequentials arising from the UK Government's recently announced investment in major rail and transportation infrastructure and, if so, how much it will (a) receive and (b) spend on rail infrastructure investment projects.

Answer · Alex Neil: Scotland will not receive Barnett consequentials arising from the UK Government's announcement. The Scottish Government set out its commitment to investing in rail in the statement to the Parliament on 21 June 2012 and in the High Level Output Specification (…

13 Jun 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on implementing the recommendation of the Scottish Studies Working Group that opportunities to learn Scotland’s languages should be promoted.

6 Jun 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to NHS boards on consulting patients when changes are proposed to services delivered to patients at home.

23 May 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Scottish Studies Working Group across the curriculum.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We are making good progress in taking forward the recommendations of the Scottish Studies Working Group in partnership with Education Scotland, the SQA and other stakeholders including the University of Glasgow’s Champions Group. A package of measures includ…

2 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the public consultation process is when NHS boards are considering where to locate new-build community health facilities.

16 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the sickness absence rate has been for staff in NHS (a) Lanarkshire, (b) Forth Valley and (c) Greater Glasgow and Clyde in each year since 2007, broken down by department.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The percentage sickness absence rates for NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in each year since 2007 are provided in the following table along with the absence rate for NHSScotland. The breakdown of these rates by department i…

14 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the recommendations in the Advancing Professionalism in Teaching: Report of the Review of Teacher Employment in Scotland (the McCormac Review).

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is carefully considering the Report of the Review of Teacher Employment: “Advancing Professionalism in Teaching” and is discussing its recommendations with partners. Next steps in this process will be outlined in the near future.

14 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on recommendation 19 of the Advancing Professionalism in Teaching: Report of the Review of Teacher Employment in Scotland (the McCormac Review).

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is carefully considering the Report of the Review of Teacher Employment: “Advancing Professionalism in Teaching” and is discussing its recommendations with partners. Next steps in this process will be outlined in the near future.

14 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what value it considers chartered teachers bring to school education.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has recognised the important contribution that Chartered Teachers can make within the education system. Chartered Teachers can be a valuable resource to assist and lead other teachers in improving educational outcomes. The Scottish Gov…

9 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) which types of chartered engineers it employs in a policy or policy advisory role and in which directorates.

Answer · Keith Brown: Information is not held centrally for engineers employed by the Scottish Government; however, one of the Scottish Government’s agencies, Transport Scotland, employs 79 engineers covering a number of different disciplines, for example; civil, structural, highw…

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve conditions for (a) prisoners and (b) prisoners with mental health issues in HMP Cornton Vale.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The SPS Framework for the Management of Women in Custody has identified several areas of development to meet the needs of women in custody in Cor…

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to ensure that prisoners in HMP Cornton Vale who are removed from association have comprehensive multidisciplinary care plans and that they are fully implemented.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Under the new Prison Rules prisoners, including women prisoners at HMP Cornton Vale, may be removed from association on several grounds. In each …

24 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in providing staff at HMP Cornton Vale with appropriate training to deal with the needs of prisoners with mental health issues.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Within the SPS Framework for Management for Women in Custody, training for staff to assist in managing prisoners with mental health issues is one…

23 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will assist further education colleges to avoid compulsory redundancies.

9 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to consult on introducing a ban on smoking in cars carrying children.

19 Oct 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures access to orthodontic dentistry for all children who would benefit from it.

5 Oct 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes to improve the availability of local NHS services.

3 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its proposals for Scottish studies to be taught in schools, what plans it has to introduce other subjects, such as British Sign Language, into the curriculum.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-00640 on 22 June 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/parliamentarybu…

14 Sep 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the modern apprenticeships delivered in 2010-11 went to existing employees.

7 Sep 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a time limit applies for payments to private companies delivering public services and, if so, whether this applies to payments made to sub-contractors.

19 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where it plans to allocate the funds received through the rural broadband funding grant.

Answer · Alex Neil: Having only recently been advised of Scotland’s share of UK Government funding for broadband, the Scottish Government is currently unable to confirm how the Scottish share will be allocated within Scotland. We will not be in a position to do this until we hav…

27 Jul 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many equal pay claims are outstanding, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

15 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that NHS services are best provided locally.

8 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Funding Council regarding the funding of higher and further education courses in British Sign Language.

Answer · Michael Russell: We have had no such discussions with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) over this provision. However, SFC has been, and continues to be, in discussions with Heriot Watt University over the possible introduction of a degree in sign language interpretation as a…

8 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding national qualifications in British Sign Language.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) currently has a suite of stand alone National Qualifications Units in learning British Sign Language at Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework level 3 (Access 3), 4 (Intermediate 1), 5 (Intermediate 2) and 6 (High…

8 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests to translate its documents or publications into British Sign Language have been granted in the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-634 on 17 June 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/Business/PQA/…

8 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children use British Sign Language in school.

Answer · Michael Russell: The information requested is not held centrally.