Section E - Written Questions Lodged

BUSINESS BULLETIN 119 / 2000

Friday 14 July 2000

Section E - Written questions lodged from 7 to 13 July 2000

S1W-8569 Linda Fabiani: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4862 by Henry McLeish on 15 March 2000, what assessment it has made of any impact which trade issues arising from the activities of the World Trade Organisation will have on the responsibilities of the Executive.

S1W-8603 Karen Gillon: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5956 by Sarah Boyack on 22 May 2000, when it will bring forward the Dissolution Order to wind up the Scottish Transport Group and allow the surplus in its pension scheme to be paid out.

S1W-8604 Dorothy-Grace Elder: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6644 by Susan Deacon on 26 June 2000, when the report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones will be made available to the Parliament; whether the research which it is commissioning as a result of this report will include an investigation into the safety of mobile phone use by children, and whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government requesting that funding for any such research be made available from the money raised by the auction of spectrum licences for third generation mobile communications.

S1W-8605 Karen Gillon: To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people in Clydesdale have found work through the New Deal since its introduction.

S1W-8606 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5345 by Sarah Boyack on 29 March 2000, when a formal decision on the Lingerbay Quarry planning application will be announced.

S1W-8607 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any correlation between the number of tourists visiting rural Scotland and fuel prices; if so, how many fewer tourists visit rural Scotland as a result of each one pence rise in the price of petrol and, if it does not hold this information, whether it will commission a research study on this topic.

S1W-8608 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to deal with any irregularities in relation to Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

S1W-8609 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive what support and investment it intends to provide for the establishment of a Glasgow Airport direct rail link.

S1W-8610 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with the various transport authorities concerning the establishment of a direct rail link to Glasgow Airport.

S1W-8611 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive what support and investment it intends to provide for the establishment of a north/south Glasgow crossrail service.

S1W-8612 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with the various transport authorities concerning the establishment of a north/south Glasgow crossrail service.

S1W-8613 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre the document or documents which set out the remit given to Deloitte & Touche for its study into the issues and options surrounding the development of a Transport Authority for the Highlands and Islands and outline whether that remit includes any instruction to consider (a) the possibility of such a Transport Authority being given the power to buy and sell petrol and diesel, (b) fuel prices in the Highlands and Islands, (c) the total cost to the public sector in the Highlands and Islands of fuel, (d) derogation which would allow a variable duty to be applied to parts of the Highlands and Islands, (e) designation of certain rural petrol stations as essential services, (f) the imposition of price ceilings and (g) the appointment of a regulator to control or influence petrol and diesel prices.

S1W-8614 Robert Brown: To ask the Scottish Executive what the staff absence level has been for the Scottish Ambulance Service for each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

S1W-8615 Robert Brown: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any proposals to reduce staff absence levels in the Scottish Ambulance Service.

S1W-8616 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8220 by Henry McLeish on 7 July 2000, why it has not yet placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a copy of the proposed Assisted Area map showing the possible changes to it currently being considered by the European Commission; whether it will now do so, and when these possible changes were submitted to the European Commission.

S1W-8617 Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000, time to pay directions will apply only to actions commenced on or after 10 July 2000.

S1W-8618 Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000, time to pay orders will apply only to decrees granted on or after 10 July 2000.

S1W-8619 Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (Amendment) Regulations 2000, articles exempt from poinding will be exempt only in poindings executed on or after 10 July 2000.

S1W-8620 Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it envisages that after its housing stock transfer proposals are implemented the local authority strategic function will include determining adequate levels of housing provision for victims of domestic abuse and violence and monitoring the level of such provision by housing associations.

S1W-8621 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive why GPs have not received an NHS superannuation annual statement since December 1997.

S1W-8622 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of meningococcal infection and viral hepatitis were recorded for the year 1999.

S1W-8623 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of established radiology posts in Scotland are currently unfilled and what measures are being taken to fill these positions.

S1W-8624 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total number of general practitioner/general dental practitioner referrals to out-patients' departments were seen within nine weeks for each quarter from March 1997 to March 2000, listed by health board and for Scotland as a whole.

S1W-8625 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is between diagnosis and treatment in all Scottish cancer treatment units, listed for each type of cancer.

S1W-8626 Mr Duncan McNeil: To ask the Scottish Executive what loans Greenock Morton Football Club has received from the Football Trust, on what terms the loans were granted and what proportion of the loans has been repaid.

S1W-8627 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive whether a digital divide exists between urban and rural areas; if so, what initiatives it has launched to close this gap, and whether any such plans include efforts to reduce charges for connection to national networks in rural areas.

S1W-8628 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that increased and high quality access to the internet in rural areas is not hindered by the demand for such services remaining low because of high costs and the costs of such services remaining high because of low demand.

S1W-8629 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking in conjunction with British Telecommunications plc or other telecommunications companies to ensure that business internet users in the Highlands are not at a competitive disadvantage to other users because of any lack of telecommunications infrastructure or poor quality internet access.

S1W-8630 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, alone or in conjunction with British Telecommunications plc or other telecommunications companies, to ensure that businesses have the resources and internet access needed to compete and succeed in the world economy, given that internet productivity is increasing faster year-on-year in the USA than in the UK.

S1W-8631 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists from other countries are prosecuted each year for carrying large amounts of spare fuel in unsafe containers; who is responsible for carrying out checks to detect and deter this practice; and, if police forces or local authorities are responsible, how many such checks are carried out each year.

S1W-8632 Mr John Munro: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage, after discounts, of (a) each individual toll and (b) the total amount of toll money collected on the Skye Bridge goes toward repaying the outstanding debts associated with the project.

S1W-8633 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are made for women from ethnic minorities who suffer from cancer, especially breast cancer, to address any communication difficulties.

S1W-8634 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive why it took almost six months to answer question S1W-3785.

S1W-8635 Robert Brown: To ask the Scottish Executive whether an assessment is being made of the percentage of emergency calls to the ambulance service which genuinely require attendance by ambulance.

S1W-8636 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will promote the use of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in the Highlands and Islands and, if so, (a) how it will do this; (b) what assistance it will provide to meet the cost of converting motor vehicles to use LPG; (c) what it estimates the average cost of conversion per vehicle to be; (d) how many car owners it estimates would incur such a cost; (e) how many such car owners it estimates would be below-average earners, and (f) whether policy in this area will address any difficulties faced by people in the Highlands and Islands resulting from the high cost of fuel.

S1W-8637 Nora Radcliffe: To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the constituency of Gordon will receive through the Rural Transport Fund in the financial year 2000-01.

S1W-8638 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any plans to link Aberdeen with the Euro-star rail service and whether it would support such plans.

S1W-8639 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reconsider the possibility of providing a bypass for Keith.

S1W-8640 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what was the number of accidents for each of the last five years on the Inverurie to Keith section of the A96.

S1W-8641 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any plans to re-open the Kintore railway station in Aberdeenshire and whether it would support such plans.

S1W-8642 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated financial deficit is of the Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust.

S1W-8643 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional number of cancer and other patients is at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee who would previously have been treated at Stracathro hospital.

S1W-8644 Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with the upgrading of the A92 from Dundee to Arbroath.

S1W-8645 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-3791 and S1W-5730 by Susan Deacon on 21 January 2000 and 27 April 2000 respectively, whether it will reconsider its policy on the use of Taxane drugs for the treatment of advanced breast cancer and, in the light of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines offered to the NHS which recommended that such patients be offered either Taxotere or Taxol in their treatment, whether the Executive will issue similar guidelines to the NHSiS.

S1W-8646 Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the decline in wild salmon and sea trout numbers in the west of Scotland whilst recognising the importance of a sustainable salmon aquaculture.

S1W-8647 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from the Budget 2000 additional financial resources for schools as outlined in the Education Department circular No. 1/2000.

S1W-8648 Mr Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a need for coherent epidemiological research into ME and, if so, what funding it is providing for this purpose.

S1W-8649 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents have occurred in the last five years on the Stirling to Lochearnhead stretch of the A84.

S1W-8650 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents have occurred in the last five years on the Lochearnhead to Tyndrum stretch of the A85.

S1W-8651 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents have occurred in the last five years on the Stirling to Ballat Cross stretch of the A811.

S1W-8652 Mr Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure has been incurred by local authorities on shoreline clean-up operations after incidents of marine pollution in the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

S1W-8653 Mr Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive what financial contribution it has made to the clean-up of shorelines after marine pollution incidents in the last 10 years and how this compares with total costs incurred, both directly and indirectly, as a consequence of such incidents.

S1W-8654 Mr Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive whether any studies have been undertaken to determine the impact on local economies and the effects on coastlines of marine pollution incidents in the last 10 years and what any such studies have concluded or recommended.

S1W-8655 Karen Gillon: To ask the Scottish Executive when it proposes to make regulations to introduce a system of tagging of sheep and goats in Scotland.

S1W-8656 David McLetchie: To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is for Historic Scotland for 2001-02 and 2002-03, and whether any further allocations to Historic Scotland are anticipated for the next year or any future years in connection with the ancillary works associated with the Holyrood Project.

S1W-8657 David McLetchie: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6451 by Mr Jack McConnell on 16 May 2000, whether it can now give a date when cost estimates will be available for ancillary works associated with the Holyrood Project.

S1W-8658 David McLetchie: To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for taking the decision as to what is commissioned in relation to any external works associated with the Holyrood Project.

S1W-8659 David McLetchie: To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the £2.5 million allocated to Historic Scotland for 2000-01 from the year-end balances for last year will go towards ancillary works associated with the Holyrood Project.

S1W-8660 Mr John Munro: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of total Skye Bridge toll income goes towards (a) repayment of debt; (b) interest charges on the capital cost of the project; (c) annual maintenance costs; (d) toll collection costs; (e) administration and (f) profit.

S1W-8661 Mr John Munro: To ask the Scottish Executive what the Skye Bridge toll income has been in each year since it opened.

S1W-8662 Mr John Munro: To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on Skye Bridge maintenance in each year since it opened.

S1W-8663 Mr John Munro: To ask the Scottish Executive what independent structural inspections are carried out on the Skye Bridge annually, other than those conducted by the company itself.

S1W-8664 Irene McGugan: To ask the Scottish Executive who has responsibility for public liability insurance in respect of claims relating to the Skye Bridge.

S1W-8665 Mr Alex Salmond: To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the appeals received by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in respect of the 1999 Modern Studies Higher Grade examination were subject to a full review by a qualifications manager or principal assessor and how many only had the appeals procedure explained in response.

S1W-8666 Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive when an announcement will be made on the proposed superquarry at Lingerbay.

S1W-8667 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the total income, in cash and real terms, from non-domestic rates in (a) Scotland as a whole and (b) each local authority area (i) has been in each year since its inception and (ii) is expected to be in the current financial year and in all future years for which projections are available.

S1W-8668 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the total income, in cash and real terms, from (a) council tax in each year since its introduction; (b) the community charge in each year it was in existence, and (c) domestic rates in each year for which figures are available was in (i) Scotland as a whole and (ii) each local authority area.

S1W-8669 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount spent by (a) local authorities as a whole and (b) each local authority was in each of the last five years, specified in both real and cash terms.

S1W-8670 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive how much income was received by each local authority in each of the last five years in cash and real terms, broken down by category or source of income.

S1W-8671 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what capital expenditure in the public sector was in the last financial year, broken down by category of expenditure and specifying for each category the source of funding.

S1W-8672 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what capital expenditure, in cash and real terms, in the public sector (a) was in each year for which figures are available and (b) is expected to be in each year for which projections are available.

S1W-8673 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value is of all assets held by the public sector in Scotland.

S1W-8674 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) marine laboratories and (b) laboratories engaged in fishing research there are in Scotland, who owns each such laboratory and how each is funded.

S1W-8675 Irene McGugan: To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it is contributing to the pilot study into the boosting of consumption of berries to be undertaken by the Soft Fruit Growers Association; in which areas and over what timescale the pilot study will take place; whether the findings of the study will be made publicly available, and when the project will be extended to the whole of Scotland.

S1W-8676 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7563 by Susan Deacon on 22 June 2000, why it will take two years to publish the results of the Scottish Health Survey carried out in 1998.

S1W-8677 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6945 by Susan Deacon on 22 June 2000, whether it has any plans to collect centrally information on the number of flu vaccines administered.

S1W-8678 David McLetchie: To ask the Presiding Officer whether the design proposals for the Holyrood Parliament have been finalised.

S1W-8679 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) public and (b) private proprietors of rivers there are and where this information is publicly available.

S1W-8680 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) public and (b) private owners of fishing rights there are and where this information is publicly available.

S1W-8681 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) public and (b) private owners of fishing rights derive income from angling.

S1W-8682 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an interim estimate of any funding lost to Scotland due to the impact of currency fluctuations on the aggregate sterling value of EU funded programmes for each year since 1994 for which figures are available.

S1W-8683 Michael Russell: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8128 by Sarah Boyack on 4 July 2000, what it considers to be the appropriate use of Gaelic in National Parks with regard to signage and bilingual publications.

S1W-8684 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8294 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 11 July 2000, how many people are qualified to train others to teach sign language.

S1W-8685 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive what the reason is for the 43% increase in water charges for Band D customers in 2000-01 by North of Scotland Water Authority, and whether the increase is consistent with the Minister for Transport and the Environment's announcement that the overall revenue increase for the authority for that period would be 35%.

S1W-8686 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2135 by Sarah Boyack on 6 July 2000, whether it will consider allocating any of the £17.5 million for bus priority measures which are still under consideration, to other projects such as the Glasgow north/south crossrail scheme.

S1W-8687 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the environment budget was not utilised in 1999-2000; how much of the end-year balance was originally allocated to water industry funding and how this end-year balance will be utilised in 2000-01.

S1W-8688 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims there were against the NHS Trusts in each health board area in respect of (a) clinical mishaps or accidents, (b) non-clinical mishaps or accidents in each of the last five years and what the total cost of these types of claims in each health board area was in terms of (i) compensation paid out and (ii) investigating and defending claims.

S1W-8689 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the clinical or non-clinical mishaps or accidents in respect of which claims were made against NHS Trusts in the last five years the NHS Management Executive considers to have been avoidable; what type of interventions would have prevented these incidents, and what plans are in place to implement any such preventative measures.

S1W-8690 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS Trusts received a formula capital allocation from it which was equal to or in excess of their annual capital depreciation in any of the last three financial years.

S1W-8691 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of their annual capital depreciation each NHS Trust's formula capital allocation for the financial year ended 31 March 2000 represents.

S1W-8692 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many adverse health care events occurred in the NHSiS in each of the last three years and what percentage of these events had as one of their underlying causes a shortcoming in the provision of modern equipment.

S1W-8693 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what the direct and indirect costs to the NHSiS of adverse healthcare events were in each of the last three years.

S1W-8694 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what research was undertaken and is planned in relation to identifying and addressing the occurrence of serious adverse healthcare events in the NHSiS.

S1W-8695 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many bridges will require replacement within the next (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years; which bridges these are, and whether it will consider making specific funding available to local authorities towards the cost of replacing these bridges.

S1W-8696 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many commercial salmon netsmen operate in Scotland; where they are based; how many salmon it is estimated they catch each year, and how they are regulated.

S1W-8697 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive to whom riparian owners are legally required to notify details of annual catches of wild fish such as salmon and whether there are any plans to place a legal obligation on riparian owners to pass such information directly to fishery boards.

S1W-8698 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish Statutory Instruments relating to fisheries laid before the Scottish Parliament have not also been laid at Westminster.

S1W-8699 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive which international bodies are concerned with the protection of wild fish stocks; on how many of these it is entitled to be represented; how often each such body has met in the last five years; when each is next due to meet, and who attended each meeting on its behalf.

S1W-8700 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce further conservation designation orders in Scottish waters for the purpose of protecting freshwater fish.

S1W-8701 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the impact of seal populations on the stocks of freshwater fish such as the Atlantic salmon.

S1W-8702 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been lodged in the last five years for licences to shoot seals in Scotland's rivers during close seasons under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and how many of these were granted.

S1W-8703 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated economic value of the freshwater fisheries sector, including angling, has been in each of the last five years and whether there are any plans to measure its current or projected economic contribution.

S1W-8704 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the recommendations made in the Scottish Salmon Strategy Task Force's 1997 Report have been implemented and whether there are any plans to implement any further recommendations in the future.

S1W-8705 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to increase the number of salmon fisheries boards.

S1W-8706 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it takes to facilitate discussions between fisheries boards and trusts about common practices and concerns.

S1W-8707 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive whether has been an increase in rural crime and whether it will provide any relevant statistics for each of the last three years.

S1W-8708 Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make any representations to the water authorities in relation to the current review of the level of relief from water and wastewater charges granted to certain organisations and what its policy is on the continuation of such relief.

S1W-8709 Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7082 by Susan Deacon on 19 June 2000, which health boards offered additional payments to GPs for flu vaccinations in 1999-2000; what criteria health boards use in deciding whether to make such payments, and what the total amount paid to GPs by each health board for flu vaccination was.

S1W-8710 Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8323 by Sarah Boyack on 12 July 2000, whether it holds any information on the percentage of households which own one or more cars as opposed to those which have regular use of a car; if so, what percentage of households owned one or more cars in each year from 1988 to date and, on the basis of current projections, when the percentage of households owning one or more cars will reach 70%.

S1W-8711 Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive by how much the average life expectancy of (a) women and (b) men is expected to increase between 1997 and 2007.

S1W-8712 Fiona McLeod: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7005 by Susan Deacon on 22 June 2000, how many (a) paediatrics; (b) child and adolescent psychiatry; (c) paediatric surgery and (d) community child health consultants are currently employed in each health board area, and what the recommended staffing level is for each of these specialities in each health board area and for Scotland as a whole.

S1W-8713 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Crown Estate and what matters were discussed.

S1W-8714 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to Her Majesty's Government or to the Crown Estate regarding the production tax imposed by the Crown Estate on Scottish aquaculture businesses.

S1W-8715 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive how much borrowing each water authority (a) currently has in place and (b) is seeking, specifying in each case the repayment period agreed or proposed.

S1W-8716 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the total Scottish budget was in each year since 1979; what percentage of the overall UK budget this represented in each year and what changes took place in the areas of expenditure to be met from the Scottish budget during this time.

S1W-8717 Andrew Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive how much money from the UK reserve was added to the Scottish budget in each year since 1979; how many applications it has made to draw money from the UK reserve; if any such applications have been made, what amount was requested in each case and which applications were successful.