Chamber and committees

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: S1O-03228

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 29 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients benefit from free prescriptions in Scotland and what measures are in place to help patients who require repeat prescriptions.

Question reference: S1O-02532

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 16 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support local partnerships which will tackle social exclusion.

We are providing £150 million to fund 48 Social Inclusion Partnerships over the next three years. Over £1 million is being invested in "Working Together, Learning Together" a training programme to improve partnership working and support community involvement in partnerships. In addition, a £90 million Better Neighbourhoods Fund will be launched to improve delivery of services in our most deprived neighbourhoods.

Question reference: S1W-10917

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 6 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to make an announcement about future initiatives in health, education and the environment to be funded by the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund.

On Monday 6 November the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will publish in London and lay before Parliament a consultation document, New Opportunities from the Lottery. This will be an important consultation for Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom: I shall issue a press statement on Monday supporting it and will also lay the document before the Scottish Parliament. Copies will be widely available from my Department and through the Stationary Office, and from the Department in London. The Executive has contributed to the proposals and I hope they will receive widespread support in Scotland. I look forward to receiving views on how best to take them forward.

Question reference: S1W-10301

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 19 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication in June 2000 of a Charter for Scottish Executive Inspectorates, whether the "departmental" operational charters, specifically the Charter for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools, will be subject to consultation by interested bodies prior to completion in December 2000.

Question reference: S1W-09754

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 10 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts of Commissioner and/or Ombudsperson have been created since 1 July 1999, what these posts are, and whether it is proposed to create more such posts.

The Water Industry Act 1999 provided for the appointment of a Water Industry Commissioner, who was appointed on 1 November 1999. The Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 provides for the appointment of a Standards Commission for Scotland consisting of not fewer than three members. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides power for the Scottish Ministers to appoint a Chief Surveillance Commissioner and such number of other Surveillance Commissioners as they think fit.

On 3 October, I published a consultation paper, Modernising the Complaints System, as the first step towards meeting the requirement in the Scotland Act 1998 for the Parliament to set up permanent arrangements for investigating complaints of maladministration against the Scottish Executive. These permanent arrangements, which will replace the transitional arrangements under which the temporary Scottish Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration has investigated such complaints since 1 July 1999, could include the appointment of a new Commissioner or Ombudsman.

Question reference: S1W-09725

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 22 September 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, regarding action taken by schools and teachers throughout Scotland to assist in resolving the difficulties experienced by the Scottish Qualifications Agency in exam result notification, whether it will reimburse local authorities for any additional monies spent as a consequence of these difficulties.

Question reference: S1W-06633

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 July 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication Safer Routes to School in December 1999, how many safer routes to school partnership initiatives have been established throughout Scotland and whether it will list those currently in operation.

Question reference: S1W-03930

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 25 July 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide to MSPs a copy of the survey and sources of information referred to in its document A New Single Social Housing Tenancy for Scotland: Rights and Obligations and Opportunities which support the conclusion that "Some 83% of all Scots aspire to own their own homes and even more strikingly, close to 3 out of 5 current council tenants share that aspiration".

Question reference: S1W-04571

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 17 July 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value of Right to Buy discounts were for years 1997-98 and 1998-99, and to provide a detailed breakdown of this total by each local authority area.

The information requested is set out in the following table. Information for the fourth quarter of 1998-99 is not yet available. The figures given include right to buy, rent to mortgage and voluntary sales, all of which were made under the right to buy legislation. This information is collected on quarterly returns from local authorities.

Total value of Right to Buy discounts (£)^1,2
		1997-98	April - Dec 1998
Scotland		£285,092,930	£189,199,866
Local authority
Aberdeen City	19,218,937		14,278,318
Aberdeenshire	8,296,547		4,112,423
Angus	4,922,245		2,822,683
Argyll & Bute	3,344,439		1,803,299
Clackmannanshire	2,451,405		1,985,384
Dumfries & Galloway	6,697,264		3,866,042
Dundee City	6,680,134		4,482,157
East Ayrshire	8,196,315		4,775,063
East Dunbartonshire	3,378,769		2,798,015
East Lothian	6,147,279		3,062,618
East Renfrewshire	1,740,815		1,515,865
City of Edinburgh	18,211,026		10,097,332
Eilean Siar	605,502		595,925
Falkirk	10,377,225		6,176,974
Fife	14,360,822		10,752,430
City of Glasgow	40,735,177		26,968,730
Highland	11,365,780		8,127,826
Inverclyde	8,853,624		5,101,274
Midlothian	5,175,756		3,698,993
Moray	3,821,682		1,814,951
North Ayrshire	5,685,967		4,005,408
North Lanarkshire	25,178,909		17,896,224
Orkney	648,228		445,594
Perth & Kinross	5,315,140		3,570,775
Renfrewshire	11,365,009		7,683,916
Scottish Borders	3,879,306		1,910,287
Shetland	1,284,858		538,160
South Ayrshire	6,131,629		3,687,079
South Lanarkshire	21,710,007		17,288,457
Stirling	4,478,266		2,607,956
West Dunbartonshire	4,871,778		4,484,321
West Lothian	9,963,090		6,245,387

Notes:

1. The figures include Right to Buy, voluntary and Rent to Mortgage sales.2. The total discount for 1999 quarter 1 is not yet available.

Question reference: S1W-06211

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 26 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many representations it has received on plans to extend the right to buy to tenants of registered social landlords, including non-charitable housing associations, which (a) support the plans and (b) oppose the plans.

Over 950 representations have been received in response to the Executive's housing bill proposals. The majority were part of an organised postcard campaign concerned with the possible impact of an extended Right to Buy on housing associations' viability. Some supported the proposed changes whilst others were concerned about the availability of social housing, particularly in rural areas, where the current exemption from the Right to Buy has been ineffective in practice. The Executive is in discussion with key housing interests to agree a response to these and other concerns.