- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information has any application to any draft concordats and, if so, whether it will state, for each draft concordat, its justification, including the relevant provision in Part II of the Code, for the draft concordats being kept secret.
Answer
The Code of Practice applies to all documents held or received by the Scottish Executive. All concordats will be published. However the provisions in the Code dealing with 'Internal discussion and advice' and 'Information received in confidence' cover the present drafts.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information allows the Scottish public sufficient access to information about its actions and decisions and, if not, what further proposals it intends to make in this regard.
Answer
For reasons of practicality and continuity and to ensure that openness arrangements were in place from 1 July, the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information is based closely on the UK Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The Code is underpinned by a strong and explicit presumption of openness. As an interim measure pending the introduction of a statutory regime, the Code is considered to provide a satisfactory openness regime.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information applies to public authorities which deal with devolved and other matters, as listed in Annex E of "The Scotland Act: A Guide".
Answer
The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information applies to those Scottish public bodies within the jurisdiction of the Scottish Commissioner as listed in Schedule 1 to the Code. Cross Border Public Authorities, as listed in Annex E of "The Scotland Act: A Guide" are not subject to the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information. This arrangement reflects the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament with regard to freedom of information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will define in detail the terms "harm and prejudice" as used in the first and second paragraphs of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and whether it will confirm that the definitions exclude possible harm and possible prejudice.
Answer
For reasons of practicality and continuity and to ensure that openness arrangements were in place from 1 July 1999, the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information is based closely on the UK Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Consideration of applications for information takes into account guidance on interpretation of the UK Code issued by the Cabinet Office. A copy of this guidance will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.Work is in hand to review and amend this guidance to ensure that appropriate references to the Scottish Executive Code are included. Amended guidance will in due course be provided to all public authorities which operate the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a definition of those communications referred to as "confidential" in the section headed "Internal discussion and advice" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, in particular, whether this definition includes only those communications which are stamped, marked or otherwise explicitly said to be "confidential"; and, if so, whether it will confirm that it will not seek to keep secret information which is not so marked or otherwise further restrict the information which may be disclosed according to the Code by reference to this provision.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to S1W-1533.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the (a) enactments (b) regulations (c) European Community laws and (d) international agreements referred to in the section headed "Statutory and other restrictions" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information which allow information to be kept secret.
Answer
No comprehensive list of statutory bars exists. The White Paper on Open Government (Cm 2290) published in July 1993 identified some 200 Acts which prohibited disclosure of information. If information requested under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information fell under a statutory bar the public authority would be expected to detail which Act or regulation prevented its disclosure.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can decide to publish the draft concordats regardless of whether their non-disclosure could be justified under Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and whether it will publish any legal or other opinion or advice it has received relevant to this decision.
Answer
No. The drafts were received in confidence from the UK Government and are to be agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administrations. All of the concordats will be published when they are agreed.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-189 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 6 July, how many grants of #500 have been granted under the new Warm Deal in each constituency in Scotland in financial year 1999-2000.
Answer
Between 1 July and 31 August, 1,329 Warm Deal grants were made across Scotland. Of these grants, 106 were for the maximum £500. A constituency breakdown is not available.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-637 by Donald Dewar on 4 August, what the current market value of Bute House is.
Answer
This information is not held by the Scottish Executive. The building is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and the Department occupies it on a sub lease.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 20 September 1999
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-394 on 16 July, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has reached a conclusion regarding the use of pre-postage paid envelopes by MSPs for constituency business and, if so, when such envelopes will become available and whether the SPCB will publish any correspondence which it has had with the Scotland Office on this matter.
Answer
The SPCB has decided that first and second class pre-postage paid envelopes should be provided for Members' use for constituency business. Staff are currently pursuing the options and the envelopes will be available as soon as the necessary procurement procedures - which are complicated - have been completed later in the autumn. In the meantime, MSPs should continue to obtain rolls of stamps from the Mail Room in Parliament Headquarters for use in their constituency offices.There has been no correspondence with the Scotland Office on this issue.
