- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by George Lyon on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of its review into a loophole in the law which allows valuation boards to designate each resident’s living space in Abbeyfield and other such homes as being liable for payment of full council tax.
Answer
We are currently considering the way forward and will make an announcement in due course. In the meantime, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities to ensure that individuals living in these homes are receiving the benefits and exemptions they are entitled to.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by George Lyon on 23 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to my proposal that the enforcement of council tax liability should be suspended in very sheltered housing accommodation until a final decision is reached, in light of the undertaking by the Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Service Reform and Parliamentary Business on 1 December 2005 to consider the proposal (Official Report c. 21456).
Answer
We are currently considering the way forward and will make an announcement in due course. In the meantime, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities to ensure that individuals living in these homes are receiving the benefits and exemptions they are entitled to.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the new EU budget 2007-2013 will have on agricultural funding.
Answer
The new EU budget 2007-13 was agreed in December 2005. The total budget for EU expenditure 2007-13 has been set at €862.3 billion.
Within this, provision for Pillar II of the CAP which funds agri-environment schemes and other rural development measures, was reduced during the budget negotiations and now stands at €69.75 billion for the seven year period. The UK share of Pillar II funds for 2007-13 is not yet known.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20861 by Cathy Jamieson on 30 November 2005 and without specific reference to the contract between the Scottish Prison Service and Premier Prison Services Ltd for the operation of HM Prison Kilmarnock, whether it considers that, in general, a contract which places the onus on the contractor to report any of its own contractual failings is the best system by which to ensure that contractual failures are brought to light.
Answer
Yes, so long as it is complemented with mechanisms appropriate to the particular contract to monitor performance in pursuit of best value for money for the tax payer.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost per prisoner is for (a) prisoners on the open estate and (b) prisoners in regular prisons.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
I refer the member to my answer to S2W-16418 on 18 May 2005. 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: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21073 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 December 2005, how much taxpayers money has been saved by not placing carefully selected prisoners in a regular prison but in the open estate instead in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
No such figures are available. SPS calculate annually an average cost per prisoner place which is reported in our Annual Reports and Accounts. It would not be cost effective to attempt to disaggregate all cost elements to attempt to arrive at a total average cost for each prison.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16679 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 June 2005, on how many occasions the Director of HM Prison Kilmarnock has consulted the Scottish Prison Service about visits to the prison since its opening.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The information requested is not available as it is not collected or collated.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it had to meet the costs of police officers from outwith Scotland being deployed in Scotland in relation to policing the G8 summit and related events, such as the Make Poverty History march, and, if so, what the accumulated cost was of doing so.
Answer
The Scottish Executive was responsible for the bulk of the cost of policing last year’s G8 summit, and associated events. The total policing cost was
£71.976 million. The UK Government agreed to provide
£20 million towards meeting that cost.
A breakdown of the cost of policing the event has been provided to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 38309) and is available on the Scottish Executive’s website at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/G8/costofpolicing
Mutual aid was provided by police forces across the UK as a result of an agreement between the Chief Constable of Tayside Police and Chief Constables/Chief Officers of other forces for those forces to provide assistance during the G8 summit. This was in recognition of the fact that policing an event of this magnitude was beyond the resources of Tayside Police alone.
This mutual aid comprised the additional staffing costs incurred by police forces - north and south of the border - who contributed to the operation. £21.495 million of the total spending on mutual aid went to English and Welsh forces (including the British Transport Police) with Scottish forces (including the SDEA) receiving £23.165 million.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21259 by Cathy Jamieson on 15 December 2005, how this answer indicates what the distinction is between “failure to meet a particular contractual commitment” and a “breach of contract”.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The response referred to the terms of the contract. It makes no such distinction as it does not define a breach of contract.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21258 by Cathy Jamieson on 15 December 2005, how this answer indicates what the definition of a breach of contract is.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21860 on 20 January 2006. 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.
