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: S1W-14105

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 April 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11646 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 January 2001, whether, in the course of concluding that it supports the view that it is not necessary to introduce legislation either to reform or restate the existing law on boundary walls, it took note of the statement at paragraph 2.14 of the Scottish Law Commission's 1992 consultation paper on this issue that there was an element of confusion in this area of law and what other criteria it applied in arriving at this conclusion.

Question reference: S1W-14106

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 26 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11646 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 January 2001, whether, in the course of concluding that it supports the view that it is not necessary to introduce legislation either to reform or restate the existing law on boundary walls, any consideration was given to the extent to which any differences between the views on this issue expressed in the Scottish Law Commission's 1998 report and the Commission's 1992 consultation paper may be attributable to changes in the membership of the Commission.

Question reference: S1O-03177

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 22 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in providing pre-school education for three- and four-year-olds.

Question reference: S1W-14011

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Neil Davidson on 21 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in its consultation on the use of children in test purchases of age restricted products.

The Crown Office is consulting widely among children's welfare organisations, local authorities, health professionals, retail organisations, voluntary organisations and the police, in order to inform the Lord Advocate's review of prosecution policy in relation to test purchasing of age restricted goods by children in Scotland. Good progress is being made in this consultation. The helpful and constructive responses received thus far represent a wide cross section of opinion as to the appropriateness and desirability of basing criminal proceedings on test purchasing by children. All of these responses will be taken into account by the Lord Advocate when he carries out his review shortly.The Lord Advocate has written recently to the Convenor of the All Party Group on Tobacco with further details of the review.

Question reference: S1W-14181

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is regarding implementation of EC Directive 98/9 relating to the marketing of biocidal products.

The Directive concerns the placing of biocidal products in the market. It brings in an approval system for four categories of biocidal product - disinfectants and general biocides, preservatives, pest control agents and other biocides, such as anti-fouling agents and embalming fluids. It aims to provide a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment and to harmonise the European market for such products. The regime covers both reserved and devolved issues. In that circumstance, I have agreed that implementation should be by GB Regulations. A copy of the Regulations, which have been laid before the UK Parliament, will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Question reference: S1W-13775

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used in 2001-02 to determine the capital consents for police forces.

New, more transparent, arrangements were used to determine capital consents for police forces for 2001-02 following recommendations in a report by the Accounts Commission and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. Under the new arrangements, three quarters of the total available was allocated across forces using an agreed formula based on population adjusted for sparsity. The balance was set aside for projects costing over £1 million. Bids were invited from all forces and five projects were submitted. A panel drawn from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and CoSLA considered each project on its merits and made recommendations to Ministers. These recommendations were accepted and the projected expenditures for the three successful projects (submitted by Strathclyde Police, Lothian and Borders Police and Northern Constabulary) were added to individual allocations.

Question reference: S1W-13777

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by police force of the capital consent distribution in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01, showing the population served by each force.

The information requested is set out in the table

Force	Capital allocation¹ £000		Population served by each Force²
	1999-2000	2000-01
Central	502	2,920	277,600
Dumfries & Galloway	776	888	146,800
Fife	990	885	349,200
Grampian	1,617	1,324	525,300
Lothian & Borders	1,782	3,443	884,900
Northern	2,711	1,347	278,500
Strathclyde	9,732	9,076	2,268,600
Tayside	907	777	388,300
Total	19,017	20,660	5,119,2000

Notes:1. Includes 51% grant paid on Capital from Current Revenue.2. Latest available population estimates are at 30 June 1999

Question reference: S1W-13774

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations were made to it regarding an application for capital consent in 2001-02 for a new police station in Irvine and why it did not give such consent.

Under new arrangements used to determine capital consents for police forces for 2001-02, three quarters of the total available was allocated according to an agreed formula based on population. The balance was set aside for projects costing over £1 million.Bids were invited from all forces and five projects were submitted. Two projects were submitted by Strathclyde Police, one for a new police station in Irvine and the other for a new Divisional Headquarters in Motherwell. The total value of the bids submitted exceeded the amount available for allocation. A panel drawn from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and CoSLA considered each project on its merits and recommended to Ministers that funding be made available for three of these - for the Motherwell project and projects submitted by Lothian and Borders Police and Northern Constabulary. The panel's recommendations were accepted.

Question reference: S1W-13776

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration will be given in the future, when awarding grant allocations to police forces, to the effect on operational policing of capital projects being funded other than by capital consents.

Question reference: S1O-03122

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the results of its consultation on allowing all nicotine replacement therapy products to be prescribed on the NHS by GPs.