BUSINESS BULLETIN 67 / 2001

Friday 27 April 2001

Section E - Written questions lodged on 26 April 2001

S1W-15230 Pauline McNeill: To ask the Scottish Executive what prosecutions there have been to date for offences relating to the sex slave industry, what sentences were given in each case, whether it plans to create any specific offences relating to this area and, if so, what minimum sentence it will recommend that such offences should carry.

S1W-15337 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13058 by Angus MacKay on 25 March 2001, whether it will provide details of the one Scottish Executive post that has been transferred to the specified local authority areas since July 1999.

S1W-15338 Mr John McAllion: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish guidance on the public health aspects of disposal of carcasses of animals slaughtered as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic.

S1W-15339 Donald Gorrie: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage the establishment of a sports-specific first aid certificate for sports coaches.

S1W-15340 Donald Gorrie: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage the establishment of a network of GPs interested in sports medicine.

S1W-15341 Donald Gorrie: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to recognise sports medicine as a speciality and treat it accordingly in terms of funding, training and qualifications.

S1W-15342 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the Scottish Enterprise network's current business client base accessed business support services (a) online and (b) offline in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

S1W-15343 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive how many of Scotland's businesses accessed Scottish Enterprise network services in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

S1W-15344 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11693 by Mr Alasdair Morrison on 30 March 2001, how endowment payments will be collected from EU students who leave the UK after graduating and go to work elsewhere.

S1W-15345 Alex Neil: To ask the Scottish Executive what the modern apprenticeship pass rate was in each local enterprise company area in each of the last two years.

S1W-15346 Paul Martin: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will appoint Assistant Surveillance Commissioners under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000.

S1W-15347 David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on advertising in respect of policy initiatives or campaigns in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01, broken down by calendar month, campaign and medium.

S1W-15348 David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive how much it intends to spend on advertising in respect of policy initiatives or campaigns over the next 12 months, broken down by calendar month, campaign and medium.

S1W-15349 David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it uses to assess the success or failure of advertising campaigns in respect of policy initiatives.

S1W-15350 Margaret Jamieson: To ask the Scottish Executive when section 37 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will be brought into force.

S1W-15351 Margaret Jamieson: To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to consult on the regulations to implement section 37 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

S1W-15352 Margaret Jamieson: To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has undertaken in respect of section 37 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

S1W-15353 Margaret Jamieson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will produce a Scottish version of the document Communities Against Drugs published jointly by Her Majesty's Treasury, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office.

S1W-15354 Margaret Jamieson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to produce a Communities Against Drugs toolkit for Scotland similar to that produced by the Crime Reduction Unit.

S1W-15355 Margaret Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to encourage and support NHS Trusts and health boards in tackling any health inequalities experienced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

S1W-15356 Margaret Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how good practice in addressing any health inequalities experienced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities is shared between NHS Trusts, health boards and its Health Department.

S1W-15357 Mr Kenneth Gibson: To ask the Scottish Executive why output in the Scottish service sector in the four quarters to the third quarter of 2000, as reported in Lloyds TSB Business Monitor Issue 13-Winter 2001, grew by less than half the United Kingdom average and what steps are being taken to ensure Scotland's service sector grows by at least the UK average.

S1W-15358 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7769 by Mr Jack McConnell on 3 October 2000, how the expected £190 million saving in the amount of revenue support grant needed to make up the total aggregate external finance required by local authorities for 2000-01 due to the amount of non-domestic rating income distributed being higher than originally forecast was spent.

S1W-15359 Fergus Ewing: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7769 by Mr Jack McConnell on 3 October 2000, whether the amount of revenue support grant needed to make up the total aggregate external finance required by local authorities for 2000-01 rose from the amount forecast at that time due to the impact of non-domestic rates appeals or as a result of any other adjustments and, if so, by how much.

S1W-15360 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the costs the council has incurred in tackling the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the region and in alleviating the effects on local businesses and communities; whether it intends to reimburse the council for these expenses, and when a decision on any such reimbursement is likely to be made.

S1W-15361 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it is taking to encourage the shooting and production in Scotland of major film projects.

S1W-15362 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the availability of NHSiS dental treatment in rural areas and regions where levels of dental health are below the Scottish average.

S1W-15363 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the Scottish Ambulance Service's bid for additional staff resources to enable it to comply with the European Working Time Directive and when an announcement on the result of this bid is expected.

S1W-15364 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive how the liquid effluent from the Birkshaw Farm burial site for pre-emptively culled stock is to be removed and how and where it is to be disposed of.

S1W-15365 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) sheep and (b) cattle slaughtered as part of the pre-emptive cull had been disposed of by rendering as at 25 April 2001.

S1W-15366 Dr Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any evidence of the transmission of foot-and-mouth disease into the wild deer population in the south of Scotland and, if so, what the evidence is and how any such spread of foot-and-mouth disease is being tackled.

S1W-15369 Des McNulty: To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to take forward the proposals contained in its report Women and Transport: Moving Forward and what the timetable is for implementing any such plans.

S1W-15370 Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive what restrictions there are on the sale of sweetbreads from calves, lambs or bullocks.

S1W-15371 Mr Kenneth Macintosh: To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for each type of work for which assistance is available under the Warm Deal have been made to Energy Action Grants Agency Ltd. (EAGA); how many such applications have been successful, broken down by local authority in each case, and what the average grant awarded by EAGA is for each local authority area.

S1W-15372 Tommy Sheridan: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is appropriate for the Chief Executive of Greater Glasgow Health Board to remain in post until September 2001 now that he has tendered his resignation.

S1W-15373 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive whether any quantities of toxic waste have been accepted into Scotland from (a) England, (b) France and (c) elsewhere in the last 20 years and, if so, when and what amounts were involved.

S1W-15374 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to conduct an inquiry into the illegal dumping of toxic waste in Scotland similar to the inquiry that is currently being conducted by the Environment Agency for England and Wales.

S1W-15375 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive how many illegal imports of toxic waste have been stopped from entering Scotland since July 1999.

S1W-15376 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions of companies or individuals illegally using Scotland to dump toxic waste there have been since July 1999.

S1W-15377 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive how many warnings from Interpol and from other international agencies it or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have received about the smuggling or illegal dumping of toxic waste since July 1999.

S1W-15378 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive what checks are carried out, by whom and where to identify the content of imported cargo that may contain toxic waste.

S1W-15379 Fiona Hyslop: To ask the Scottish Executive what income from the monitoring of imported cargo has been received by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in each of the last five years.

S1W-15380 Pauline McNeill: To ask the Scottish Executive when the consultation paper on the proposed Title Conditions Bill will be published and how long the consultation period will be.

S1W-15381 Tommy Sheridan: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the decision to close Stobhill Hospital, Victoria Infirmary and the Western Infirmary and what reasons were given by the Chief Executive of Greater Glasgow Health Board and the board itself for their proposed closure.

S1W-15384 Mr Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Executive whether the planned national surveillance system for monitoring hospital-acquired infection will allow the number of deaths caused by such infections to be estimated.

S1W-15385 Mr Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13550 by Susan Deacon on 17 April 2001, whether it is aware that the National Audit Office for England's report of February 2000 on hospital-acquired infections (HAI) was able to estimate the number of deaths caused by HAI within the NHS in England and whether it will examine how a similar figure for the NHSiS could be estimated.

S1W-15386 Mr Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12178 by Susan Deacon on 6 March 2001, how the figure of £21.6 million as the estimated annual cost of hospital-acquired infection to the NHSiS was calculated.

S1W-15387 Mr Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12178 by Susan Deacon on 6 March 2001, how the figure of £3.9 million as the estimated cost of avoidable hospital-acquired infection to the NHSiS was calculated.

S1W-15388 Mr Mike Rumbles: To ask the Scottish Executive how much money will be dedicated in the current financial year to reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired infections.

S1W-15389 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive whether an official from the Executive sat in during the interviews or was a member of the selection panel which interviewed candidates for the position of Chief Executive of visitscotland; if so, what grade that official was and how many interviews he or she attended.

S1W-15390 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive what fee the recruitment agency involved charged visitscotland for its services in relation to the appointment of Rod Lynch.

S1W-15391 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive when Peter McKinlay is due to stand down as interim Chief Executive of visitscotland.

S1W-15392 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet directly, in whole or in part, any legal costs and damages or compensation which visitscotland has to pay in relation to Rod Lynch's appointment or whether any additional funding will be given to visitscotland in respect of any such costs.

S1W-15393 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive whether any sums recovered from Motorola in respect of its Bathgate plant will be ring-fenced for use in relation to workers made redundant and communities damaged by the plant's closure; if so, how much of the recovered sums will be used for this purpose and, if not, into which budget the recovered sums will go.

S1W-15394 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive how many people visited Scotland for the purpose of studying the English language in each year since 1997 and what the value to the economy of people making such visits was in each of these years.

S1W-15395 Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to the statement in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's recent State of the Environment Soil Quality Report that the principal threat to soil quality and the long-term use of soils comes from agricultural practices, acid deposition and the application of organic waste to land.

S1W-15396 Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether the powers available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in the area of soil protection are adequate and whether it will consider devising a soil protection strategy and integrating existing legislation in order to increase the powers available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in this area.

S1W-15397 Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of fluctuations over the last six weeks in (a) pork, (b) lamb and (c) beef prices paid to farmers and in prices charged by leading supermarket chains.

S1W-15398 Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether sheep are being transported from the north east of Scotland through areas infected with foot-and-mouth disease on the journey to licensed slaughter in North Wales.

S1W-15399 Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had since the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak with Her Majesty's Government regarding the regulations controlling the importation of meat and meat products and whether greater control will be put on visitors bringing meat and meat products into Scotland in the light of the outbreak.

S1W-15400 Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the most effective course of action is to preserve the "gene pool" of livestock involved in the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, where culling may destroy rare breeds.

S1W-15401 Mr Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive how many mental health patients are hospitalised each year and what the average cost is of such hospitalisation.

S1W-15402 Colin Campbell: To ask the Scottish Executive which health boards have supplies of single-use tonsillectomy instruments in stock; which health boards have no such supplies, and when any health boards without supplies will receive supplies of these instruments.

S1W-15403 Colin Campbell: To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for a tonsillectomy at (a) Vale of Leven Hospital, (b) the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and (c) Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

S1W-15404 Colin Campbell: To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been identified as requiring tonsillectomies in the Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospital NHS Trust area and how many are currently waiting for tonsillectomies at each of the Trust's hospitals.

S1W-15405 Mr Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive how much the prescribing of psychiatric drugs has cost each health board in each year since 1997.

S1W-15406 Mr Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will name the members of the selection panel used by visitscotland to appoint a Chief Executive, whether Mr Donal Dowds was a member and whether his views were sought at any time before the offer of employment was made to Rod Lynch.

S1W-15407 Mr Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive how many mental health patients in each health board area are currently being prescribed psychiatric drugs.