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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-20806

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 30 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been awarded by its Education Department in respect of autistic spectrum disorders in the last six years, broken down by (a) individual award and (b) local authority area.

The Scottish Executive has been making project grant awards to individual voluntary sector organisations in respect of additional support needs since April 1999. The awards are made on the basis of a two or three year cycle. The following table shows the amounts awarded to organisations for autistic spectrum disorder projects.

Organisation	1999-2002	2002-04	2004-07
Scottish Society for Autism	£207,000	£208,249
National Autistic Society	£254,000	£359,475	£378,265
Parent 2 Parent Tayside	£42,000
University of Strathclyde	£87,510

The information requested in relation to funding awarded to local authorities in respect of autistic spectrum disorders is not held centrally. The main Scottish Executive support for local authority net revenue expenditure on additional support needs, including autistic spectrum disorders, is provided through the Revenue Support grant. This is an unhypothecated grant and expenditure on individual areas is a matter for each authority taking into account local needs and priorities. For information on the latest allocations of grant to individual local authorities, I refer you to the Scottish Executive’s Finance Circular 8/2005 which can be viewed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/11203.

Previous Circulars dating back to 2002 are also available on this site.

Question reference: S2W-20628

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 21 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of food consumed in Scotland was (a) home grown and (b) imported in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Question reference: S2W-20005

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 2 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is providing to the bee-keeping industry.

The Executive provides assistance to the Scottish beekeeping industry through the UK Apiculture Programme. The Scottish element of the programme is delivered by:

the Scottish Agriculture Science Agency, which provides a free laboratory diagnostic service for notifiable disease examination and assessment;

the Scottish Agricultural College, through its apiculture specialist, provides free advice and training in all aspects of integrated pest management and good bee husbandry in relation to the control of notifiable bee diseases;

Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s (SEERAD) bee officers respond to notification of the possible presence of notifiable bee disease and carry out voluntary searches for the presence of such disease.

This work is co-ordinated and managed through the Animal Health and Welfare Division of SEERAD.

Question reference: S2W-20008

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 2 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any EU funding available to support the bee-keeping and honey industry and, if so, whether such funding has been applied for, and is being used, by the Executive.

EU funding is available under Commission Regulation (EC) No 797/2004, which enables the Executive to reclaim 50% of all spending under the Scottish part of the UK Apiculture Programme.

This funding is used by the Executive to provide a range of support measures to Scottish beekeepers. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-20005 on 2 November 2005 which outlines the measures available to beekeepers in Scotland. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-20007

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 2 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the number of bee inspectors.

Question reference: S2W-20006

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 2 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the benefits of the bee-keeping and honey industry for the rural economy.

Question reference: S2W-19528

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 20 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer to question S2W-18866 by Tavish Scott on 23 September 2005, how it can ensure that it achieves its stated aim that all bidders should be treated equally if it is providing a subsidy to only one of the bidders for the Northern Isles lifeline ferry routes.

Further to the answer to questionS2W-18866 on 23 September 2005, our existing subsidy payments to CalMac in termsof its Clyde and Hebrides Ferry services have no bearing on the current NorthernIsles tendering exercise. CalMac is aware that it must not cross-subsidise its bidfor the Northern Isles contract from the subsidy provided for its existing ferryservices and that it must maintain separate financial records. As I noted in myanswer to S2W-18866, CalMac will be expected to allow for the recovery of its biddingcosts, when it calculates its subsidy bid for the Northern Isles contract.

Question reference: S2W-18949

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 10 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive why, according to the Scottish Enterprise Annual Report 2004-05, Scottish Enterprise spent £13.9 million less on skills and learning in 2004-05 than was allocated under this budget heading in the Executive's Draft Budget 2004-05.

The figures shown in budget documentsare for grant-in-aid and are provisional pending agreement between the ScottishExecutive and Scottish Enterprise on Operating Plans. The Operating Plan for 2004-07set planned expenditure for expenditure of gross income. For Learning and Skillsplanned expenditure (excluding operational staff) for 2004-05 was between £145 millionand £160 million. The Annual Report shows expenditure as £141 million. I am satisfiedthat Scottish Enterprise met its key targets within this expenditure. Explanationof this variation is therefore a matter for Scottish Enterprise.

For 2006-07 onwards, the Executivehas agreed that Scottish Enterprise will provide the Enterprise andCulture Committee with detailed information on planned spend to accompanybudget documents. Scottish Enterprise will also inform the committee of outturnin relation to this.

Question reference: S2W-19421

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 7 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31634 by Lewis Macdonald on 28 November 2002, whether it will publish its assessment of traffic levels on the A9 trunk road between Perth and Inverness in each of the last five years.

The assessment of average daily traffic flows on the A9 is published annually at table 6.6 of the Scottish Transport Statistics. Detailed daily averages for each month in the last five years have been provided in my answer to question S2W-19420 on 6 October 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-19420

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 6 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32236 by Lewis Macdonald on 16 December 2002, what the figures for traffic levels on the A9 trunk road between Perth and Inverness have been in each month in the last five years.

The figures below have been extracted from the Scottish Roads Traffic Database from January 2000 to July 2005. The figures are two-way flows (i.e. northbound flows and southbound flows combined) and are the average daily flow.

2000

A9 Location	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Luncarty
Birnam	8,587	9,087	9,684	11,119	12,369	12,623	14,253	14,696	11,992	9,526
Moulinearn
Killiecrankie
Glen Garry
Dalnaspidal
Dalwhinnie									7,649	7,736
Kingussie
Aviemore					6,389
Tomatin	5,140	5,818	6,402	7,581	7,728	8,176	8,118	9,656	7,767	7,391	6,098	5,890
N Kessock						24,369	24,821	26,654	23,401	22,406	21,702	21,506

2001

A9 Location	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Luncarty	10,581	11,349	12,306	15,000	15,621		16,857	18,433				11,775
Birnam											10,052
Moulinearn
Killiecrankie
Glen Garry
Dalnaspidal
Dalwhinnie	4,945	5,572	6,076	7,861	7,984	8,496	9,660	10,386	8,717	7,986	6,370	5,814
Kingussie
Aviemore
Tomatin	5,109	5,259	6,114	7,054	7,387	7,360	6,972	8,552	8,368		6,711	6,320
N Kessock	19,715	19,704	21,969	23,552	24,632	25,301	25,486	27,235	24,688	23,767	23,263	21,875

2002

A9 Location	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Luncarty	10,950	12,466	14,146	15,103	15,996	17,283	17,530	19,002	16,192	14,929	13,563	1,2771
Birnam	8,178	9,839	11,523	12,407	13,379	13,930	15,173	16,479	13,973	12,770
Moulinearn
Killiecrankie
Glen Garry
Dalnaspidal
Dalwhinnie	5,250	6,206	7,230	7,675	8,501	9,156	9,945	10,909	8,842	8,136	6,681	6,334
Kingussie
Aviemore
Tomatin	5,822	6,361	7,234	7,758	8,374	8,913	9,605	10,519	8,867	8,186	7,349	6,640
N Kessock	20,964	22,029	23,840	24,701	25,915	26,032	26,798	28,601	25,926	26,271

2003

A9 Location	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Luncarty		12,747	12,339								13,147	12,705
Birnam
Moulinearn											10,287	9,748
Killiecrankie											7,501	7,088
Glen Garry											6,440	6,158
Dalnaspidal											6,574	6,180
Dalwhinnie	5,470	6,190	6,937	8,727	8,686	9,078	10,109	11,305	9,187	8,612	6,621	6,196
Kingussie											6,143	5,782
Aviemore											5,756	5,359
Tomatin	5,786	6,508	6,300	8,664	8,439	7,980	8,478	10,986	9,192	8,358	7,185	6,876
N Kessock		14,044	15,561	14,997

2004

A9 Location	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Luncarty	11,473	13,197	13,922	16,607	16,543	16,779	18,616	17,992	16,967	16,350	14,211	13,340
Birnam	8,765	10,464	11,117	13,705	13,664	13,749	15,703	15,052	14,041	13,473	11,340	10,623
Moulinearn	8,661	10,447	11,114	13,845	13,975	14,282	16,478	15,933	14,474	13,562	11,098	10,206
Killiecrankie	7,516	7,678	7,816	9,879	9,605	9,975	11,680	11,736	10,232	9,864	7,984	7,435
Glen Garry	5,360	6,430	6,866	8,791	8,556	8,934	10,453	10,250	9,100	8,740	6,847	6,490
Dalnaspidal	5,371	6,418	6,877	8,835	8,657	8,984	10,498	10,302	9,134	8,753	6,847	6,498
Dalwhinnie	5,391	6,484	6,928	8,913	8,710	9,105	10,632	10,436	9,225	8,826	6,907	6,537
Kingussie	5,030	6,047	6,247	7,567	7,295	7,627	9,115	8,944	8,085	7,884	6,210	5,882
Aviemore	4,533	5,376	5,957	7,107	6,844	7,288	8,382	8,324	7,571	7,262	6,033	5,661
Tomatin	5,951	6,853	7,478	8,930	8,912	9,416	10,402	10,717	9,292	8,746	7,601	7,277
N Kessock					28,446	28,406	28,792	29,320		26,062	26,016	25,202

2005

A9 Location	January	February	March	April	May	June	July
Luncarty
Birnam	9,395	10,874	12,437	13,345	14,122	14,554	16,085
Moulinearn	9,012	10,539	12,173	13,150	14,207	14,735	16,588
Killiecrankie	6,427	7,565	8,694	9,309	9,966	10,392	11,842
Glen Garry	5,580	6,613	7,645	8,260	8,897	9,299	10,652
Dalnaspidal	5,588	6,627	7,671	8,284	8,941	9,338	10,691
Dalwhinnie	5,270	6,239	7,149	7,639	8,144	8,462	9,651
Kingussie	5,098	6,025	6,856	7,314	7,087		9,142
Aviemore	4,816	5,577	6,497	7,003	7,184	7,544	8,451
Tomatin	5,961	6,931	7,832	8,285	8,843	9,395	10,265
N Kessock			24,769	26,866	27,767	28,549	29,191