BUSINESS BULLETIN 21 / 2001

Friday 02 February 2001

Section E - Written questions lodged on 01 February 2001

S1W-12565 Fiona McLeod: To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the concord for metadata in education and other IT data input standards are applied when public bodies seek funds from it for projects.

S1W-12969 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it issues on the operation of sun tanning parlours.

S1W-12970 Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive how the operation of sun tanning parlours is regulated.

S1W-12972 Colin Campbell: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fatal and (b) serious injuries have occurred in the open cast and deep mine coal industry in the latest period for which figures are available.

S1W-12973 Colin Campbell: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fatal and (b) serious injuries have occurred in sand and gravel and hard rock quarries in the latest period for which figures are available.

S1W-12979 Christine Grahame: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12402 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 January 2001, when the drafting of any regulations under section 115(4) of the Police Act 1997 will begin and what consideration or consultation is under way with regard to the provision of free enhanced criminal record certificates for those working with vulnerable adults which could inform any such regulations.

S1W-12980 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive why it stated on 18 December 2000 that it would pay out up to £100 million in ex-gratia payments to the Scottish Transport Group (STG) pension scheme members when a letter dated 15 May 2000 from the Minister for Transport and the Environment showed the value of the STG pension surplus to be approximately £120 million.

S1W-12981 Michael Russell: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to resolve any difficulty experienced with regard to the scheduling of cases in the Sheriff Court, Glasgow, concerning prosecution of parents whose children are absent from school without authorisation.

S1W-12982 Michael Russell: To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been brought since May 2000 against parents whose children were absent from school without authorisation, how many such prosecutions were successful and what sentences have been imposed by the courts after any such convictions.

S1W-12983 Michael Russell: To ask the Scottish Executive how many school attendance officers or other staff, whose responsibilities include following up cases of truancy and recommending prosecution or any other further action, were employed by each local authority as of 1 May 1997, 1 May 1999 and 1 May 2000.

S1W-12984 Bristow Muldoon: To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources will be made available to enable local authorities to carry out their responsibilities under the new statutory regime for contaminated land.

S1W-12985 David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been moved to Dumfries and Galloway since July 1999 and how many will be moved to the area in the next 12 months.

S1W-12986 Fiona McLeod: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2815 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 25 January 2001, where the mobile telephone masts and aerials from which it receives income are located.

S1W-12987 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been a significant rise in the number of patients from the north and north east of Scotland using the cardiac defibrillator clinic at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

S1W-12988 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide an answer to question S1W-11706, lodged on 4 December 2000.

S1W-12989 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive how many nominations it has submitted in relation to each Honours list issued since May 1999.

S1W-12990 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards the elimination of child poverty.

S1W-12991 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what its priorities are in relation to the 2002 review of the Common Fisheries Policy.

S1W-12992 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to farm business diversification projects.

S1W-12993 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has had from employers' organisations regarding the New Deal for Disabled People.

S1W-12994 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children live in the bottom (a) decile, (b) quarter and (c) half of households in terms of household income and what the equivalent figures were in 1997.

S1W-12995 Bruce Crawford: To ask the Scottish Executive what specific guidance it received from its road network managers in connection with the recent tendering exercise for trunk road maintenance.

S1W-12996 Bruce Crawford: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12726 by Sarah Boyack on 23 January 2001, whether it will provide further details of how the comparative costs were calculated, in particular whether weightings were attached to any or all of the bids, what any such weightings were and whether it will publish the values of the bids before any adjustments were made.

S1W-12997 Shona Robison: To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received about the possible transmission of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease through contaminated surgical instruments and when it first received such advice.

S1W-12998 Shona Robison: To ask the Scottish Executive whether health trusts have been advised to suspend routine surgery for the removal of adenoids and tonsils.

S1W-12999 Shona Robison: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to introduce single-use instruments for surgery involving the removal of tonsils and adenoids.

S1W-13000 Shona Robison: To ask the Scottish Executive when all health trusts will be fully equipped with single-use instruments for the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids.

S1W-13001 Shona Robison: To ask the Scottish Executive what impact any delays in health trusts' acquisition of single-use surgical instruments will have on waiting lists for the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids.

S1W-13002 Linda Fabiani: To ask the Scottish Executive how it calculated the figure of 70,000 in its statement regarding the reduction in the number of children living in income poverty contained in news release SE2919/2000.

S1W-13003 Bruce Crawford: To ask the Scottish Executive what stipulations have been made in the tendering process and contracts for trunk road maintenance to ensure that the provision of high quality traffic information continues.

S1W-13004 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is planning to take in light of the statement in the December 2000 Scottish Tourist Forum publication, Report into the Impact of Petrol Prices on Tourism, regarding the impact of high fuel prices on the tourism industry.

S1W-13005 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive what savings have been made in administrative costs due to the abolition of fundholding practices, broken down by health board area.

S1W-13006 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive what the administrative costs of local health care co-operatives are, broken down by health board area.

S1W-13007 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to investigate the cause of any health inequalities.

S1W-13008 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it currently takes into account in the measurement of health inequalities.

S1W-13009 Brian Adam: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail its current targeted health programmes and the money allocated to each, broken down by health board area.

S1W-13010 Irene McGugan: To ask the Scottish Executive whether Miller Civil Engineering Ltd., as a discrete personality in law, has the authority to charge tolls on the A87 in its own right.

S1W-13011 Michael Russell: To ask the Scottish Executive what conditions will apply to the release of £1 million for Scottish Opera from the additional resources allocated to the Scottish Arts Council.

S1W-13012 Michael Russell: To ask the Scottish Executive under what powers the Minister for Environment, Sport and Culture directed the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) to reserve £1 million as a special grant to Scottish Opera from the additional resources given to the SAC.

S1W-13013 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its decision not to replace the external adjudicators of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise with ombudsmen and whether the use of an external adjudicator is contrary to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights in terms of whether such use constitutes hearings before an independent and impartial tribunal.

S1W-13014 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been made to the external adjudicators of (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise since the inception of each organisation and how many such complaints have been upheld.

S1W-13015 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take any measures to increase the available means of scrutiny of the Enterprise Network and, if so, what these measures will be.

S1W-13016 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many circulars and guidance notes it or the Scottish Office have sent to local authority education departments this year and in each of the past four years.

S1W-13017 Mr Keith Harding: To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the recent Hard Evidence report by Edinburgh Streetworkers and Shelter Scotland, it will review the working of the Rough Sleepers Initiative in Edinburgh.

S1W-13019 Shona Robison: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any advice concerning the suspension of routine surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids until such a time as all such surgery can be carried out using single-use instruments.

S1W-13020 David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations are in place to govern the release of sewage effluent into the River Clyde by West of Scotland Water.

S1W-13021 David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive why the residents of Biggar were refused access to the research conducted in the area by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency last year in connection with the application by West of Scotland Water to release effluent into the River Clyde.

S1W-13022 David McLetchie: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the names of the special advisers to the First Minister and the Scottish Executive and set out the costs of their individual and collective employment.

S1W-13023 Fiona McLeod: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12247 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 24 January 2001, who made the representations referred to; whether it will provide more details of the nature of the representations, and why the Scottish Ministers did not give the directions requested in the representations.

S1W-13024 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive how many households had incomes below half of the average household income (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

S1W-13025 Mr Lloyd Quinan: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12531 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 30 January 2001, what the timetable is for consultation on revisions in the private water supply regulations.

S1W-13026 Mr Lloyd Quinan: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12531 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 30 January 2001, which organisations will be consulted on the proposed revisions to the private water supply regulations.

S1W-13027 Mr David Davidson: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6385 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 11 May 2000, whether the working group on the administration of medicines in schools has completed its work; if so, what its findings were and, if not, when its report is expected.

S1W-13028 Mr Jamie Stone: To ask the Scottish Executive whether Highland and Islands Fire Board's decision to upgrade auxiliary fire-fighters to retained status will be reflected in its grant aided expenditure.

S1W-13029 Tommy Sheridan: To ask the Scottish Executive whether emissions from factories producing medium density fibreboard pose any health risks; whether it is aware of the concern of the local community in Cowie, Stirlingshire, about such emissions from Nexfor on 26 January 2001, and whether it will take any steps to investigate these concerns.