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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 552 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S2W-11017

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 18 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated by local authorities to community councils in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S2W-10557

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 8 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public surveys have been conducted by outside agencies in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) topic, (b) agency or organisation contracted to carry out each survey and (c) cost to the Executive.

The information on public surveys you requested has been collated from individual Departments as historical records show. Systems have been in place since 2003 to collate this information centrally.

Year	Topic	Contractor(s)	Cost
2004-05	Investment Priorities for Scottish Water: Research into Customer Views	MORI Scotland	£102,000
Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2004 Module on Environmental Incivilities	Scottish Centre for Social Research, Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) and MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (SPHSU)	£55,000
Investigation into the Relationships between Community Cohesion and the Update of Rural Development Opportunities	Scottish Agricultural College	£94,808
Well? What do you think? (Part 2). The second national Scottish survey of public attitudes to mental health, well being and mental health problems.	MORI	£87,700
Scottish Social Attitudes Survey: Module on Perceptions of Young People and Crime	Scottish Centre for Social Research	£52,500
Research Supporting Consultation on MacInnes Committee Report	Market Research UK	£20,651
2004-05	Research Supporting Second Order Consultation: MacInnes Committee	George Street Research	£34,495
Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey 2004	BMRB	£1,323,430
Scottish Social Attitudes Survey Core Module	Scottish Centre for Social Research	£145,500
Assessing the Effectiveness of Variable Messaging Signs for Beach Users	Market Research UK	£18,200
Credit Union Membership Survey	GEN Consulting	£57,107
Scottish Household Survey	MORI/TNS	£850,000
SE Central Heating Programme: Assessing Impact on Fuel Poverty	Alembic Research	£49,210
Public perceptions of travel awareness Phase III	TNS Consulting	£21,000
Evaluation of the 2003 Christmas drink drive campaign	Market Research	£32,500
Evaluation of home zones in Scotland: Phases 3 & 4	Land Use Consultants	£58,320
Bus Passenger satisfaction survey 2003-2006	Colin Buchanan & Partners	£59,590
Integrated ticketing in Scotland	TNS Consulting	£99,300
Anti-social behaviour on buses	George Street Research	£42,280
2003-04	Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2003: Module on Access to Commercial and Public Services	Scottish Centre for Social Research	£18,000
Public Perceptions of Food and Farming in Scotland	Market Research UK	£92,000
Participatory Investigation into Public Involvement in the Environmental Planning Process: A Case Study Approach	Scottish Agricultural College	£60,600
Exploring the Market Niche for Sustainable Nature-Based Tourism in Scotland	Scottish Agricultural College	£72,017
Scottish Health Survey	Scottish Centre for Social Research	£1,149,000
2003-04	Parents Access To and Demand for Childcare Survey	DTZ Pieda	£96,500
Scottish Crime Survey 2003	MORI/TNS	£446,500
Evaluation of the Scottish Executive Website	BMRB Social Research	£12,250
Bathing Water Use in Scotland	NFO System 3	£17,000
Public Attitudes to the NHS in Scotland	NOP Social and Political	£79,600
Assessing Legal Need in Community Legal Service Partnerships	Market Research UK	£123,000
Scottish Household Survey	MORI/TNS	£850,000
SE Central Heating Programme: Assessing Impact on Fuel Poverty	Alembic Research	£49,210
2002-03	Public Attitudes to the Environment in Scotland: 2002 Survey	George Street Research	£145,000
Public Awareness and Understanding of SEPA	NFO System Three	£9,120
Well? What do you think? A National Scottish Survey of Public Attitudes to Mental Health, Well Being and Mental Health Problems (2002)	NOP Social and Political	£91,063
Parents Views about Sure Start Scotland	Market Research UK	£11,721
Stalking and Harassment in Scotland	NFO System Three	£69,501
Racist Crime and Victimisation in Scotland	University of Dundee	£39,011
Public Attitudes to Windfarms 2002	MORI Scotland	£26,500
Scottish Household Survey	MORI/TNS	£850,000
SE Central Heating Programme: Assessing Impact on Fuel Poverty	Alembic Research	£49,210
Attitudes to transport in Scotland: Scottish social attitudes survey 2002 module	NCSR	£46,000
The speeding driver, who, how and why	TRL Ltd	£68,000
Evaluation of the drug driving television advert	TNS Consulting	£37,400
Parental attitudes to road safety education	ODS Ltd	£79,825
2002-03	Barriers to Modal Shift	Derek Holden Consultants	£29,800
Bus passenger satisfaction survey	Colin Buchanan & Partners	£41,456
Concessionary fares extension to males aged 60-64	Accent Marketing	£14,236
2001-02	Managing Radioactive Waste Safely: Awareness and Attitudes of the Scottish Public	Scottish Opinion Ltd	£8,107
2000-01	Scottish Crime Survey 2000	MVA Ltd	£330,471
NHS in Scotland Public Attitudes Survey	MORI/System Three	£55,000
Public Attitudes to Windfarms	System Three	£10,434

Question reference: S2W-10276

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 14 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what score was given for the needs assessment element of each local housing strategy, using the following grades; outstanding, excellent, very good, good, good in parts, generally weak and weak.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows:

No grading was given specifically to the needs assessment element of each local housing strategy. The assessment was undertaken as part of the “Housing Market General” segment of the “Housing Market Analysis, Needs Assessment and Problem Identification” critical criteria. The gradings given are:

Local Housing Strategy – Criteria 4a.

Housing Market General

Council	Grading
Aberdeen City Council	Good in Parts
Aberdeenshire Council	Good
Angus Council	Good
Argyll and Bute Council	Good
City of Edinburgh Council	Very Good
Clackmannanshire Council	Good
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar	Good
Dumfries and Galloway Council	Good
Dundee City Council	Good
East Ayrshire Council	Good in Parts
East Dunbartonshire Council	Good
East Lothian Council	Very Good
East Renfrewshire Council	Good
Falkirk Council	Good
Fife Council	Very Good
Glasgow City Council	Good in Parts
Highland Council	Good
Inverclyde Council	Good in Parts
Midlothian Council	Some Significant Weaknesses
Moray Council	Good
North Ayrshire Council	Good in Parts
North Lanarkshire Council	Good
Orkney Islands Council	Very Good
Perth and Kinross Council	Very Good
Renfrewshire Council	Good
Scottish Borders Council	Good in Parts
Shetland Islands Council	Good in Parts
South Ayrshire Council	Good in Parts
South Lanarkshire Council	Very Good
Stirling Council	Good
West Dunbartonshire Council	Good in Parts
West Lothian Council	Good in Parts

Question reference: S2W-08233

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 1 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies existed for Gaelic-medium primary teachers in primary schools on 1 (a) August 2000, (b) August 2001, (c) August 2002 and (d) August 2003 and how many it anticipates there will be on 1 August 2004. The member has provided the following Gaelic translation:A dh' fhaighneachd de Riaghaltas na h-Alba cr mheud `ite b`n a bha ann do luchd-teagaisg airson foghlaim tro mheadhan na G`idhlig aig lre na bunsgoile air 1 (a) Lynastal 2000, (b) Lynastal 2001, (c) Lynastal 2002 agus (d) Lynastal 2003 agus cr mheud `ite b`n ris a bheil e an dyil air 1 Lynastal 2004.

Question reference: S2W-07515

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6948 by Mr Andy Kerr on 7 April 2004, which functions or receptions were not paid for by public funds and whether the cost was met by other organisations or individuals and, if so, which organisations or individuals, stating how much was contributed in each case.

All but one of the events detailedin my answer to question S2W-6948 on 7 April 2004 werefinanced from public funds. The exception was the event on 14 November 2003. Itwas a charity event approved by the First Minister within the provisions of a specialscheme that has operated since 1996 by which up to six national charities a yearmay be given approval to hold an event in Edinburgh Castle. In keeping with the terms of the special scheme referredto, the costs of the event were met entirely by the charity, in this instance, Childrenin Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-07513

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 18 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose was of any reception held on the evening of 10 March 2004 at Bute House; whether it was a private function; whether any of the public areas of Bute House were used for the reception, and whether the cost of catering was met from public funds.

Question reference: S2W-07398

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees who are located in Edinburgh live in Fife.

Question reference: S2W-07399

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies that are located in Edinburgh, live in Fife.

The Scottish Executive HR System holds information about the home addresses of staff in a number, but not all, of its agencies. At April 2004, within agencies and associated departments under the Scottish Executive administration, there were 309 staff in posts located in Edinburgh whose home address was recorded as being in Fife. An exercise is currently taking place to update the information held on the Scottish Executive HR System. Those agencies not on this system hold their own staffing information and work is being taken forward to include the validation of such staff addresses.

Detailed information on the staff of non-departmental public bodies is not collected centrally.

Question reference: S2W-07518

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-6949 and S2W-6950 by Mr Andy Kerr on 7 April 2004, why it has no plans to publish on a monthly basis the cost of, and list of people invited to, receptions and functions hosted by the First Minister and Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S2W-08226

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 9 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make provision for increasing the budget of the Gaelic Media Service in order to restore the budget to the purchasing power equivalent of the budget first set for Comataidh Telebhisein G`idhlig on its establishment.The member has provided the following Gaelic translation:A dh' fhaighneachd de Riaghaltas na h-Alba dh na h-ullachaidhean a bhios e a' dhanamh gus buidseit Seirbheis nam Meadhanan G`idhlig a leudachadh gus am bi an coimeas-ceannaich aice aig an aon lre is a bha aig Comataidh Telebhisein G`idhlig nuair a chaidh a sthidheachadh.