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: S2W-04447

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are currently awaiting adoption in each local authority area.

Question reference: S2W-04449

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many adoption placements have been completed in each of the last five years in each local authority area.

Figures on adoption placements are not available centrally. The following below gives the number of applications made to court for adoption orders in each of the last five years in each local authority area.

Council	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Aberdeen City	28	24	26	16	15
Aberdeenshire	35	30	32	20	19
Angus	10	6	3	8	7
Argyll and Bute	8	5	3	10	7
Clackmannanshire	4	7	4	7	4
Dumfries and Galloway	16	11	16	11	12
Dundee City	9	14	15	12	11
East Ayrshire	13	8	9	13	8
East Dunbartonshire	7	7	8	9	6
East Lothian	15	11	9	7	4
East Renfrewshire	7	6	8	7	7
Edinburgh, City of	28	34	24	22	14
Eilean Siar	3	5	1	3	4
Falkirk	14	8	4	6	11
Fife	33	51	32	34	34
Glasgow City	38	36	40	47	30
Highland	18	21	15	16	19
Inverclyde	3	5	5	4	6
Midlothian	6	8	5	5	3
Moray	19	15	15	5	9
North Ayrshire	15	9	10	16	9
North Lanarkshire	20	30	19	24	18
Orkney Islands	2	1	0	1	0
Perth and Kinross	18	14	20	9	16
Renfrewshire	13	12	15	14	15
Scottish Borders	18	11	17	23	14
Shetland Islands	5	1	6	0	3
South Ayrshire	11	7	7	11	7
South Lanarkshire	19	27	17	22	17
Stirling	9	2	8	5	14
West Dunbartonshire	6	6	6	8	5
West Lothian	27	20	6	23	12
Total	476	452	405	418	360

Question reference: S2W-04450

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time taken to complete an adoption placement was in each local authority area in the last year for which figures are available.

Question reference: S2W-04448

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive steps are being taken to reduce administrative delays in the adoption system.

The first phase of theExecutive’s adoption policy review published its report in June 2002 and made anumber of recommendations aimed at reducing delay and drift within agencies.These include improving information sharing between agencies, making plans forpermanence as soon as a child is looked after away from home and having onepanel in an agency to consider all decisions on permanence.

The Executive is currentlyworking with colleagues in local authorities and the voluntary sector to considerhow best to take forward these recommendations. A contract is being let to theBritish Association for Adoption and Fostering to undertake a scoping exerciseon how to improve information sharing and matching of children and families in Scotland.

Phase II of the adoption policyreview is currently under way and is considering the legal framework foradoption and fostering. Among the issues that are being considered are ways inwhich the legal processes can be speeded up where that would be appropriate.

Question reference: S2W-04446

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many approved parents are currently awaiting an adoption placement in each local authority area.

Question reference: S2W-04451

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of adoption placements were terminated within the first year with the child returning to temporary foster care in each local authority area in the last year for which figures are available.

Question reference: S2W-04293

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 9 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce top-up grants to encourage the growing of energy crops.

The Scottish Forestry GrantsScheme (SFGS) currently grant aids short rotation coppice at £600 per hectarefor non set-aside land and £400 per hectare for set-aside land. The scheme isunder constant review and specific elements of the SFGS including the grantsavailable for short rotation coppice may be reviewed from time to time.

Enhancing biomass is astrand of the Scottish Executive’s Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture.The Executive is currently consulting on the common agricultural policy (CAP)reform package and the flexibilities available within it. From 2004 there willbe a provision within CAP for a new subsidy payment of €45 per hectare peryear, available for energy crops on land other than set aside.

Question reference: S2W-04395

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 9 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to explore the potential of “combi fuel”.

Our policy is to encourage awide fuel mix in order to meet future energy needs.

Grant assistance iscurrently available for growing short rotation coppice under the woodland grantscheme and the new Scottish forestry grants scheme. Both schemes are managed bythe Forestry Commission.

Under the RenewablesObligation (Scotland) Order 2002, the organic component of a combi fuelwould qualify for renewable obligation certificates.

Question reference: S2W-04253

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out into incidences of bovine tuberculosis in the badger population and whether further research is planned.

Question reference: S2W-02756

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many leukaemia patients, and those with other blood-related diseases, there are in Scotland who require blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants.