- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 13 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the use of fair trade produce in school meals.
Answer
We have not set any targets for the use of fair trade products in school meals. As of 4 August 2008, under the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007, education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools will have a duty to have regard to guidance issued by Scottish ministers on the application of the principles of sustainable development when providing food or drink or catering services in schools.
The existing guidance, Integrating sustainable development into procurement of food and catering services, is available on the Scottish Government website at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/PublicProcurement/ProcurementPolicy/coporate-responsibility/Integrationofsusdevinfood.
The guidance contains advice on various sustainable development issues, including fair trade, and how to pursue these various issues whilst staying within EU procurement law. We are currently refreshing the guidance and intend to reissue it during the summer.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many rapid response vehicles staffed by a single paramedic have been in use in the Ayrshire and Arran NHS board area in each of the last five years.
Answer
The information requested is not available by NHS board area.
However, the total numbers of all categories of accident and emergency vehicles for the south west operating division, which comprises Ayrshire and Arran and Dumfries and Galloway, are set out in the following table.
| Financial Year | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Accident and Emergency Units | 105 | 107 | 106 | 103 | 97 |
| Rapid Response Vehicles | 1 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 2nd Responder | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Island Vehicle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 106 | 119 | 117 | 115 | 115 |
Note: *Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many double-crewed ambulances have been in service in the Ayrshire and Arran NHS board area in each of the last five years.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12641 on 13 May 2008. 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.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on any proposals by the Scottish Ambulance Service to withdraw double-crewed ambulances from service and replace them with rapid response vehicles staffed by a single paramedic.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports the work the Scottish Ambulance Service has undertaken to benchmark its operational practices against those adopted by other UK ambulance services. The greater use of rapid response vehicles represents the decision of the Scottish Ambulance Service board to adopt what is known as the front loaded model.
We welcome the more recent improvements the ambulance service has made to the performance of the emergency service, particularly in relation to category A life threatening calls.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing last met the Scottish Ambulance Service to discuss the provision of ambulance services in Ayrshire and Arran.
Answer
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met the board of the Scottish Ambulance Service on 30 January 2008. A range of issues were discussed.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what cost savings would be gained by replacing a double-crewed ambulance with a single-crewed rapid response vehicle.
Answer
The proposed adjustments to the emergency fleet mix will enable the Scottish Ambulance Service to deploy an extra 30 emergency vehicles across Scotland in 2008-09. Changes to the fleet mix are not about achieving savings, rather they will enable the service to further improve the responsiveness of the service it offers for those people who most need it.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 12 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many application have been made to the Strategic Timber Transport Fund since May 2007.
Answer
Fourteen applications have been submitted since May 2007.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 12 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many grants have been awarded since May 2007 under the Strategic Timber Transport Fund and what the value has been of each award.
Answer
Fourteen applications have been submitted to the fund since May 2007.
Seven of the applications have been awarded funding, four are at an advanced stage of assessment, one is to be re-submitted, one has been withdrawn by the applicant, and one has been rejected.
Details of the seven awards:
| Scheme Name | Value of STTF Award |
| Moray Infrastructure Project, Grampian | £65,000 |
| A897 Partnership Project, Highland | £400,000 |
| Upper Loch Fyne, Argyll | £6,000 |
| Marr Area, Grampian | £82,900 |
| Tomdoun Link Road, Highland | £111,861 |
| Rannoch Rail Head, Highland | £65,820 |
| Rathad Mara, Highland | £209,575 |
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 12 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be available under the Strategic Timber Transport Fund in each of the next three years.
Answer
As I announced last December, the Scottish Government extended the life of the Strategic Timber Transport Fund which was due to close in January 2008. We will continue to provide financial support until 2011, with an allocation of £5 million per annum and a total budget of £15 million over the next three years.
- Asked by: Cathy Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 9 May 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was undertaken with South Ayrshire Council prior to the decision to reallocate the Freight Facilities Grant of £5.2 million, originally awarded in January 2006 towards the construction of a new railhead at Barrhill, South Ayrshire, to other projects.
Answer
JST Services, the grant holder, decided not to proceed with the Barrhill rail project and withdrew their application for Freight Facilities Grant.
