- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish local authorities have yet to produce business plans for their DLOs/DSOs explaining how their activities can be run profitably given the income generated from work undertaken for council departments.
Answer
I refer Mr Gibson to my answer to question S1W-1523.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish local authorities have yet to issue a statement on their strategic objectives in service delivery recognising the clear separation of client and contractor and demonstrating how they will ensure value for money.
Answer
This issue was raised by the Controller of Audit in his report 1998-99 Overview of DLOs and DSOs in Scotland. I have referred your questions to the Controller of Audit who will write to you to provide further explanation and information.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the impact on confidence in public transport in Glasgow as a result of the closing down of the Underground system for five hours on 31 July.
Answer
The operation of the Glasgow Underground is a matter for the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with the view of Strathclyde Passenger Transport that football fans in Glasgow should not travel to matches by Underground.
Answer
The operation of the Glasgow Underground is a matter for the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to clarify the law relating to suicide in Scotland by introducing legislation similar to the Suicide Act 1961 or in any other way.
Answer
Neither suicide nor attempted suicide is a criminal offence in Scotland. In the case of attempted suicide, depending on the circumstances, it may be that other separate charges arise such as breach of the peace or possession of an offensive weapon. Where a person assists in the suicide of another, such conduct could, in some circumstances, give rise to charge for a range of offences from assault, through culpable homicide to murder.There are no plans to change the law in Scotland.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review recent data indicating that internet websites encouraging suicide are contributing to the high level of suicides among young people in Scotland.
Answer
I am not aware of the data referred to. There is a range of factors that contribute to suicide rates and these include the accessibility of means of suicide. The regulation of Internet services are a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to ensure that Scottish local authorities assess rateable values accurately.
Answer
Valuations in Scotland are carried out by independent Assessors in accordance with an extensive framework of statute and case law that includes a judicial appeal process. Most rateable values are determined by reference to the actual rents applying both for the subjects being valued and subjects comparable in size, character and situation.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 27 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish local authorities have still to implement business continuity or disaster recovery plans in relation to the year 2000 IT transition.
Answer
The Accounts Commission report Millennium Countdown Year 2000 Compliance published in May 1999 reported that 25 authorities planned to have contingency plans in place by 30 September and the other 7 planned to have plans in place by 30 November. The Accounts Commission is undertaking a second assessment of local authorities Year 2000 compliance and the results of that will be announced at the National Infrastructure Forum in October.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 27 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how much revenue and how many jobs are lost to Scotland due to passengers flying from airports outwith Scotland (a) on package holidays (b) on business and (c) for other extraneous reasons.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is not aware of any data on the revenue and employment consequences of passengers flying from airports outwith Scotland.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 27 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made or will make representations to Her Majesty's Government requesting that steps be taken to ensure that passengers travelling on package holidays from Scottish airports are not subjected to unfair flight supplements.
Answer
The application of flight supplements for passengers travelling on package holidays from Scottish airports is a matter for the commercial judgement of operators. If there is evidence of abuse of a monopoly position or anti-competitive practice then such matters should be taken up directly with the Director General of Fair Trading. The Director General can act directly on the activities of industry and commerce by investigating and remedying anti-competitive practices. The Scottish Executive would refer evidence of such matters to the competition authorities.
