- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 22 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10798 by Sarah Boyack on 14 November 2000, how many individuals in Scotland will have lost jobs following the relocation of the Seacat from Stranraer to Troon and thereafter from Troon to Belfast.
Answer
This is a matter for the company.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether charging older people for personal care through compulsory sale of their home accords with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answer
I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-10578 and S1W-10579.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11525 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 January 2001, what the total annual cost per prisoner place at Kilmarnock Prison would be if it was calculated using the same methodology as is used to calculate annual costs per prisoner place in relation to Scottish Prison Service prisons and excluding any capital costs such as designing, construction and financing costs.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The SPS annual cost per prisoner place is based on the net current expenditure. This excludes all capital expenditure and financing costs of the service.
The Kilmarnock prison contract won in open competition is for the provision of a complete custodial service over 25 years and the price includes all design, construction, financing and management costs and cannot therefore properly be compared with this SPS figure.The only meaningful comparison is between the cost of the winning bid for Kilmarnock and the estimated cost of SPS providing the equivalent custodial service as specified in the contract over the whole period of the contract. This is properly done by comparing the respective net present values over the 25 year period. On this basis, the average net present value per prisoner place for HMP Kilmarnock amounts to £11,000 compared to an SPS equivalent of £21,000 or £23,000 including risks.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8788 by Sarah Boyack on 21 August 2000, whether it was aware at that time that the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report which informed the Borders railway feasibility study's conclusions on tourism pre-dated the feasibility study by three years and looked only at the effect a train line from Edinburgh to Galashiels could have on tourism and, if not, whether it adheres to its position that a supplementary study looking at the potential impact on tourism of the reopening of the line from Edinburgh to Carlisle is not necessary.
Answer
Yes, the Scottish Executive did know that the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report predated the feasibility study, was aware of the report's remit and believes that a supplementary report is unnecessary.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4363 by Sarah Boyack on 15 February 2000, whether it was aware at that time that the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report which informed the Borders railway feasibility study's conclusions on tourism pre-dated the feasibility study by three years and looked only at the effect a train line from Edinburgh to Galashiels could have on tourism and, if not, whether it adheres to its statement that the feasibility study was the product of a detailed assessment of the economic, social and environmental impacts of reopening part or all of the railway line from Edinburgh to Carlisle.
Answer
Yes, the Scottish Executive did know that the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report predated the feasibility study and is content that the feasibility study represents a detailed assessment of the economic, social and environmental impacts of reopening part or all of the railway line from Edinburgh to Carlisle.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 13 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10209 by Sarah Boyack on 28 November 2000, whether, in the absence of any publicly available documentary evidence on the impact of a Borders railway on tourism other than the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report dating from 1996 on the effect of a train line from Edinburgh to Galashiels on tourism in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian, it will now convert the information obtained in the consultants' interviews into a publishable form and publish this information.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 9 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9643 by Henry McLeish on 19 September 2000, how many textile-related projects have been developed by (a) the enterprise network and (b) the textile industry, and which of these projects are receiving or are to receive financial support, specifying the amount of support in each case.
Answer
We are determined to help the textile sector in its transition from volume manufacturing to higher added-value markets. Since the Scottish Textile Forum was established on 6 June last year, nearly £3 million of public support has been provided to the textile sector in Scotland. The Scottish Executive and its agencies have over this period provided: over £2 million towards retraining of those made redundant by textile companies; £300,000 in Regional Selective Assistance to textile companies; £10,000 to support companies attending London Fashion Week; £449,000 over two years for the cashmere club; £20,000 support for in-store promotion; £20,000 for the development of a website for the Scottish textile industry; £15,000 to support companies attending industry trend presentations; and £20,000 support for the development of a national textile action plan. The DTI has also provided £70,000 under their Engineering Technicians programme to raise skill levels in the Borders and are currently considering support for various other projects from Scottish companies. The £3 million figure does not include a £1.2 million DTI Faraday award for the UK-wide Technitex project led by Heriot-Watt University in Galashiels.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 8 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11310 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 30 November 2000, whether any local authorities have to date made applications for funding for flood prevention schemes in future years and, if so, whether it will provide details of each proposed scheme and specify the amount of funding (a) sought and (b) awarded in each case.
Answer
The non-housing programme capital allocation to local authorities provides resources for various capital work projects, including flood prevention schemes.
In addition, subject to completing the statutory process under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, supplementary allocation may be available for the construction of major flood prevention schemes (FPS). Recently, flood prevention schemes have been confirmed for Bridge of Earn, Moredun, Paisley, River Kelvin, Collier Street, Johnston and Weem Village.
Following requests by councils, supplementary allocations have been provided recently to:
Perth and Kinross Council for Bridge of Earn FPS (£0.75 million)
Renfrewshire Council for Moredun, Paisley FPS (£1 million); and
East Dunbartonshire Council for the River Kelvin FPS (£8 million).
The amounts provided fully met the councils' requests.A further request from Renfrewshire Council for a supplementary allocation of £1 million for the Collier Street, Johnston FPS has just been received and is being considered.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 8 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was allocated to flood protection schemes in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000 and which applicants received funding in each of these years, specifying the amount awarded to each project in each year.
Answer
The single allocation which local authorities receive in support of their non-housing capital programme includes provision for, among other things, expenditure on flood prevention. Separately, following flooding in recent years, resources for this programme have been enhanced to cater for major flood prevention schemes. In response to requests from councils who had experienced severe flooding in their areas, additional funding was issued to councils to support the development of flood prevention measures as shown in the table:
1997-98 | Renfrewshire Council | £1.0 million |
1998-99 | Moray Council | £0.4 million |
| | East Dunbartonshire Council | £0.3 million |
| | Renfrewshire Council | £0.3 million |
| | East Ayrshire Council | £1.2 million |
1999-2000 | Renfrewshire Council | £1.0 million |
In addition, awards from the former Central Challenge Fund were made to East Ayrshire Council for flood prevention measures in Kilmarnock and to Perth and Kinross Council for construction of the Perth Flood Prevention Scheme:
1997-98 | East Ayrshire Council | £1.47 million |
| | Perth and Kinross Council | £1.82 million |
1998-99 | East Ayrshire Council | £0.41 million |
| | Perth and Kinross Council | £4.4 million |
1999-2000 | Perth and Kinross Council | £7.1 million |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 8 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been made available to the textile industry in the Borders since 6 June 2000.
Answer
Companies are supported by a very wide variety of programmes from the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Enterprise Networks and other public sector bodies. Scottish Enterprise Borders received an additional £2.3 million in the current year to help meet the challenges the area is facing, the third year of increased funding. The LEC estimates that this has helped it to provide some £700,000 to textile companies in the Borders since 6 June 2000. In addition, a Faraday award of £1.2 million has been awarded by the DTI to the Technitex project, a collaborative project across the UK led by Heriot Watt at Galashiels. The total value of support is dependent on the extent to which companies and other bodies involved in the industry come forward with eligible projects and proposals.
