- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 24 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in financial years 1997-98 and 1998-99 on stock transfer feasibility studies, how much will be spent this financial year and how much will be spent in each of the next two financial years.
Answer
The option of transfer to community ownership involves extensive consultation and provision of advice to tenants as well as option appraisals and stock condition surveys. Outturn expenditure on these activities in 1997-98 and 1998-99 was £101,000 and £2,201,000 respectively. In 1999 up to £33 million was earmarked over the period 1999-2002 for possible transfer feasibility and option appraisals, including consultation with nearly 500,000 tenants.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 24 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is being made within the plans for the rebuilding of St Thomas Aquinas School in Glasgow for (a) a specific area designated for support for learning; (b) a safe haven area to protect pupils who are being victimised; (c) a shower area for pupils and staff; (d) a language unit for pupils with recognised special educational needs; (e) staff rooms; (f) specific science storage space; (g) specifically designed rooms for the teaching of music, and (h) adequate storage space for musical instruments.
Answer
This is a matter for Glasgow City Council.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 24 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it anticipates proposed changes in housing benefit will have on the financial viability of the proposed Glasgow housing stock transfer.
Answer
The UK Government has not to date published any specific proposals for changes in housing benefit.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that people with mental health and learning difficulties have equal access to legal services.
Answer
People with mental health and learning difficulties qualify for legal aid in the same way as any other person - by satisfying a number of statutory tests, one of which is financial eligibility. Regulations will be laid in this parliamentary session to enable those involved in certain mental health proceedings to be exempted from the financial eligibility and contributions tests in relation to assistance by way of representation.
The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Bill will make provision for legal aid to be available to adults with incapacity and anyone else who wishes to use the measures provided for in the Bill, subject to the usual statutory tests being met.In addition, the Central Research Unit is undertaking a number of studies which look specifically at access to legal advice and services for people with mental health and learning difficulties and the results of these studies will be carefully assessed by the Scottish Executive Justice and Health Departments in the context of policy development on Adults with Incapacity and on mental health.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to restrict housing and large scale retail development on greenbelt land and encourage development on brownfield sites.
Answer
The Executive's policies on the location of housing and retail development are set out in National Planning Policy Guidelines 3: Land for Housing and 8: Town Centres and Retailing. NPPG3 indicates that priority should be given to the re-use of urban brownfield sites wherever possible and that the release of sites in the Green Belt should be considered only in exceptional circumstances. NPPG8 contains a firm commitment to the protection and enhancement of existing town centres in preference to sites outwith town centres. This guidance indicates that new retail developments should not conflict with Green Belt policy.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that the percentage increase in water and sewerage rates next year is no more than the rate of inflation.
Answer
I refer Mr Gibson to my parliamentary statement of 26 January.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage increase in water and sewerage rates will be for East of Scotland Water, North of Scotland Water and West of Scotland Water in 2000-01.
Answer
Water and sewerage charges next year are to be agreed between the water authorities and the independent Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland, following Ministers' determination of a charges cap. That determination will take place once advice from the Commissioner has been presented and fully considered. I am not, therefore, in a position at present to comment on the level of charges.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to introduce car parking charges within hospital grounds in the Glasgow area.
Answer
Arrangements for charging for car parking are currently in place at Yorkhill NHS Trust, the Victoria Infirmary, which is part of South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Glasgow Royal Infirmary which is part of the North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust. GGPCT has advised that there are no plans to extend these current arrangements nor to introduce charges at hospitals forming the Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 22 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-975 by Iain Gray on 17 January 2000, to specify the amount allocated to each local authority for (a) services for home based elderly people; (b) residential accommodation for elderly people and (c) casework and related administration in respect of elderly people, expressed on a per capita basis for each person receiving each of these services.
Answer
Grant-Aided Expenditure (GAE) allowances are not intended to be spending targets or limits for individual services, but contribute towards the assessment of councils' relative total expenditure needs within the distribution system.The information requested is not available centrally. The allocations to each authority are contained in Grant-Aided Expenditure 2000-01. It is available in SPICe.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 18 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of births were induced in each health board area in each of 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Answer
Figures for the calendar years 1997, 1998 and 1999 are shown in the table below.
| Health Board Area | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 3 |
| of Treatment | Percentage of births induced |
| Argyll and Clyde | 28.9 | 27.7 | 30.1 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 20.5 | 23.2 | 27.0 |
| Borders | 16.3 | 19.0 | 22.2 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 16.5 | 22.0 | 21.0 |
| Fife | 24.4 | 24.0 | 23.8 |
| Forth Valley | 29.5 | 30.0 | 36.1 |
| Grampian | 18.9 | 22.7 | 25.2 |
| Greater Glasgow | 26.7 | 31.5 | 34.0 |
| Highland | 27.9 | 26.6 | 27.7 |
| Lanarkshire | 23.1 | 21.6 | 21.8 |
| Lothian | 23.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 |
| Orkney | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Shetland | 8.7 | 9.9 | 14.1 |
| Tayside | 19.9 | 19.9 | 23.3 |
| Western Isles | 24.8 | 30.3 | 28.6 |
| Scotland | 23.7 | 25.5 | 27.1 |
Notes:
- The figures exclude Home births and births at non-NHS hospitals.
- From 1998, where four or more babies are involved in a delivery, birth details are recorded only for the first three babies delivered. Prior to 1998, birth details were recorded only for the first two babies delivered.
- The 1999 figures are as yet provisional.
Year end is 31 March.
