- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the viability of Heriot-Watt University maintaining its campus in Galashiels and on the consequences for Borders College should the shared campus proposals fall through.
Answer
The Scottish Further EducationFunding Council recently approved the business case made by Borders College to re-locateon a shared campus with Heriot-Watt. The business case contained alternative optionsfor the college should the co-location proposal not take place.
Ministers and the fundingcouncil continue to fully support the development of such collaborative ventures.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 9 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many freedom of information requests have been received by each public authority within its responsibility.
Answer
Every request for informationwhich the Scottish Executive receives is handled in accordance with the Freedomof Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Most requests for information are handledroutinely and are not recorded or counted centrally. However, in line with centrallyproduced guidance, some requests for information are recorded centrally. Up to 18February approximately 600 such requests have been recorded by the bodies coveredby Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act2002 (excluding the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Parliamentary CorporateBody).
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 9 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what average time has been taken to respond to freedom of information requests by each public authority within its responsibility.
Answer
The Scottish Executive and eachpublic authority within its responsibility must handle all requests for informationin line with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and respond to them within 20 days. Requestsfor information are not all centrally monitored so figures for the average timetaken to respond cannot be provided.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 9 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a breakdown by category of the sources of freedom of information requests to each public authority within its responsibility and what percentage of the total number of requests to each authority each category represents.
Answer
Every request for informationwhich the Scottish Executive receives is handled in line with the Freedom of Information(Scotland) Act 2002. As all requests are handled in the same way regardless of thesource of the request we do not generally record aggregated data on the sourcesof requests for information. However, of the approximately 600 requests recordedcentrally, as set out in the answer to question S2W-14682 on 9 March 2005, approximatelytwo-thirds originated from the media.
All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has commissioned in the last three years into the debt burden for families as a result of funeral expenses.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has commissioned no research into the debt burden for families as a result of funeral expenses, in the last three years.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many compulsory acquisitions of abandoned properties it has authorised in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
There are various powers for compulsory purchase which can be used to deal with property which is in disrepair and may appear to be abandoned, allowing it to be repaired and re-occupied, or demolished and the site redeveloped. There is, however, no specific reference to abandonment in the legislation, so it is not possible to identify how many cases might fall into this category.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it authorises compulsory acquisition of abandoned properties; how long the process takes, and how a community or neighbours can instigate the process.
Answer
There are no special powers or procedures relating to compulsory purchase of properties that appear to be abandoned. Such properties could be included in compulsory purchase orders promoted for a range of purposes.
Powers to instigate compulsory purchase are available to a wide range of bodies, including government departments, most government agencies and local authorities. In some cases these require to be confirmed by the Scottish ministers. Ministers will confirm an order if they are satisfied that it has been properly made and fits within the statutory powers used; that no other issues, such as planning considerations, prevent the local authority from achieving the purpose for which the order is made, and that the public benefit of the purchase outweighs the loss to the individual.
Although there is no overall statutory timetable for the consideration of a compulsory purchase order, various time periods do apply to distinct parts of the process. The length of the process depends on a number of factors which may include the nature of the development intended, the amount and nature of objections and whether a public local inquiry is necessary. The interval between any resolution to make a compulsory order and the Scottish ministers’ decision on that order should be kept to an absolute minimum.
If neighbours are concerned about a property which is in disrepair, they should approach the local authority to discuss what action can be taken. There may be other options to be considered before moving to compulsory purchase.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the percentage of (a) the UK rail network and (b) UK train stations located in Scotland and what Scotland's share of UK rail network funding would be were its allocation to be based on such percentages.
Answer
Approximately 13% of the GB railway track and 14% of GB railway stations are located in Scotland.
UK and Scottish ministers announced on 18 January 2005 a financial settlement of approximately £325 million to support the devolution of new powers in relation to railways to Scotland. Around £302 million of this financial settlement will fund Network Rail’s Operation, Maintenance and Renewal activities in Scotland.
The calculation of Scotland’s share of GB rail network funding is based on a package of measures. One element is the Scottish share of the GB Regulatory Asset Base. There are a number of allocation methodologies which could be employed. The Office of Rail Regulation will make the final determination by the end of 2005.Based on that determination, the Scottish Executive will receive funding precisely sufficient to support the rail network in Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4697 by Mr Frank McAveety on 15 December 2003, how the £24 million to deliver physical activity for children in school was distributed and what monitoring of outcomes took place.
Answer
The £24 million committed to Active Schools over the three years 2003-04 to 2005-06 will be distributed as set out in the table. Integral monitoring and evaluation arrangements will focus on the number of teachers, coaches and leaders involved in delivery and participation numbers across all age groups. An independent evaluation has also been commissioned.
| | £ Million |
| Distributed to local authorities to support staffing network | 23.2 |
| Sporting Champions | 0.2 |
| Teacher Release Scheme | 0.1 |
| Communication | 0.2 |
| Education and Training | 0.1 |
| Monitoring and Evaluation | 0.2 |
| Total | 24.0 |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9715 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 August 2004, how the figure of 29 days as a median waiting time for a first out-patient neurology appointment in Lothian as at 31 March 2004 is consistent with the information contained in a letter from NHS Lothian to a constituent on 10 February 2005 which stated that he must wait approximately 68 weeks for an appointment at the surgical neurology out-patient department at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh.
Answer
NHS Lothian has confirmed that the waiting time for a first “routine” surgical neurology/neurosurgical outpatient appointment at the Western General Hospital is approximately 68 weeks. The NHS board is taking action to tackle these unacceptably long waits, and expects to meet the Executive’s target of having no patient waiting more than 26 weeks by the end of 2005.
The earlier question (S2W-9715) related to first out-patient neurology appointments, which are handled at a different clinic by different clinical staff. Typically, patients would be referred to neurology clinics for investigation of disorders of the nervous system; patients would be referred to surgical neurology/neurosurgery for surgical intervention in relation to, for example, entrapped nerves.
If a patient was assessed by the referring clinician as requiring attention quickly, their referral to the relevant clinic would be marked “urgent” rather than “routine”. Waiting times for urgent referrals are much shorter.
