Graeme Pearson

4 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24472 by Michael Matheson on 3 March 2015, how many sex offenders there are in the prison estate and how many do not access the courses offered, broken down by prison.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: ‘‘There are currently around 900 offenders in custody who have a current conviction for a sexual offence. It is not possible to provide defi…

23 Feb 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop the abandoned harbour area in Stranraer.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting sustainable economic growth in Dumfries and Galloway by working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Dumfries and Galloway Council as partners in the South of Scotland Alliance. I welcome the good progress t…

20 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that traces of the toxin, DEHP, have been found in water samples taken at Whitelee wind farm and what action it has taken to establish the cause of the contamination.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for assessing groundwater quality, where required. A 2009 report on the water quality samples taken during Whitelee wind farm construction, which received recent media attention, was produced by…

17 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what courses Scottish Prison Service facilities provide specifically for sex offenders and what the uptake is.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “Moving Forward: Making Changes (MF:MC) is the treatment programme available to specifically address sexual offending. This programme …

19 Jan 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vacant beds there are in secure units for looked-after children.

12 Jan 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in setting up the Energy Jobs Taskforce.

12 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what ministerial engagements are planned for the (a) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and (b) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency from 15 December 2014 to 31 March 2015.

Answer · John Swinney: Ministers intend to carry out numerous official visits across Scotland in the coming months. Local MSPs, including regional list members, are informed in advance of visits by ministers to their area.

12 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what ministerial engagements have taken place in the (a) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and (b) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: Information relating to ministerial engagements since May 2007 in the constituencies of Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley (Kilmarnock and Loudoun prior to May 2011) and Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley are in the following table. Details of all ministerial engage…

10 Dec 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the independent commission to examine council tax alternatives will begin its work, and what timetable it will work to.

10 Nov 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Law Society of Scotland’s discussion paper, Legal Assistance in Scotland, which says that the current system is not fit for purpose.

5 Nov 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring forward proposals to tackle revenge pornography and what timescales will apply.

31 Oct 2014 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, in light of recent events at other parliaments, whether it plans to carry out a security assessment of the campus.

Answer · David Stewart: David Stewart (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): Reviews of the security arrangements at the Parliament estate are carried out on a regular basis including the parliamentary infrastructure, security policies, issuing of passes, policing…

31 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) Police Scotland plans to make representations to the Home Office to ask for the cost of calling the 101 non-emergency number to be reviewed.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The contract and charges for the 101 number were set and are regulated by the Home Office. The Scottish Government currently has no plans to make representations to the Home Office to ask for the cost of calling the 101 police non-emergency number to be revi…

31 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers it appropriate that a private operator should profit from calls to Police Scotland's non-emergency number.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The contract and charges for the 101 number were set and are regulated by the Home Office. There has always been a cost associated with non-emergency calls to the police. The introduction of the 101 number has allowed this cost to become consistent across th…

31 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many 101 non-emergency calls to the police are received on average each month.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is a matter for Police Scotland. The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

29 Sep 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to COSLA's agreement to oppose the policy of allowing police officers to carry guns while carrying out routine duties.

17 Sep 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it is providing to the Scottish Ambulance Service in light of it not meeting a range of targets. 

4 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised from use of the 101 telephone number, and what plans it has to provide callers with a notice that a charge of 15p will be incurred.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The introduction of the 101 number has allowed for the cost of a non-emergency call to become standardised and transparent across the whole of the UK for the first time. There are no plans for a national campaign about the 15p charge. Information on the 101 …

13 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ascertain how many homeless people there are in Scotland, and how vulnerable it considers the visibly homeless are to abuse, crime and others forms of ill-treatment.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The most recent homelessness statistics for Scotland show that, during 2013-14, local authorities assessed 29,326 households as either homeless or likely to become homeless within two months. Local authorities have the statutory duty for homelessness and all …

13 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures have been taken to create jobs as a result of the work of the taskforce for Stranraer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) has the primary responsibility for and lead role in implementing plans in relation to Stranraer. As such DCG is best placed to lead on job creation measures and you may wish to discuss this with them directly. Scottish Ent…

13 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the taskforce for Stranraer's action plan for the regeneration of Stranraer and the south west.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: In June 2014, the South of Scotland Alliance, comprising Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scottish Borders Council and Scottish Enterprise, presented ministers with a Rural Regional Economic Development Programme for the South of Scotland. This programme of de…

13 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times its taskforce for Stranraer has met and on what dates.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The lead role in the regeneration of Stranraer Waterfront rests with Dumfries and Galloway Council. The Scottish Government established the Stranraer taskforce to work with Dumfries and Galloway Council and a number of other local partners to explore the pot…

7 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how it defines and (b) what its position is on operational independence in relation to policing and what arrangements are in place to ensure that it is properly applied.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Chief Constable has operational responsibility for policing in Scotland, which ensures the police are able to impartially apply the law. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 clearly sets out the responsibilities of the Chief Constable, which in…

31 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions an elevated level of trihalomethanes has been detected in treated water in each year since 2011.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: There have been 97 failures of the total trihalomethane standard of 100 g/l in Scotland out of 5,252 samples taken since 2011 and details for samples taken between 2005 and 2014 (as at 31 May 2014) are set out in the following table: Year No. THM Samples Ta…

30 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21827 by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 July 2014, on how many occasions (a) the quality of water supplied to consumers has been affected as a result of raw water quality changes and (b) an elevated level of trihalomethanes has been detected in raw water sup…

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: a) The quality of raw water is continually varying over a wide range of parameters. Similarly, the quality of treated water varies, although it must meet the standards set out in the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001. Problems may occur…

23 Jun 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Police Scotland report, Management Information Year End 2013/14.

18 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact a reduction in raw water quality can have on the quality of drinking water.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: In general terms, a reduction in raw water quality can challenge water treatment works and increase the costs of treatment. Scottish Water’s treatment works are designed to cope with fluctuations in raw water quality and ensure final water quality is unaffect…

18 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has examined the causes of a reduction in the quality of raw water supplying water treatment works.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Raw water quality can change due to a wide range of reasons, some of which are site-specific and some of which are more general. These can include changes in the physical characteristics of the catchment, the impacts of climate change and impacts arising from…

12 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider making it a legal requirement for private care homes to publish their inspectorate reports on their websites.

Answer · Alex Neil: All registered services must make information of their registration accessible to service users and their carers. Inspectorate reports carried out by the Care Inspectorate are made widely available and are published directly to the Care Inspectorate website.…

12 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider increasing the powers of the Care Inspectorate to include the option of heavier penalties for private care homes that fail to act on its recommendations.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21736 on 12 June 2014. 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…