- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement made to the Parliament by the Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs on 16 September 1999, which previous Government established the policy of not compensating for losses arising from fish diseases and to specify the official publication(s) in which a statement of this established policy is set out.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not have access to papers belonging to previous UK administrations. However it is worth pointing out that the policy is fully documented in the context of an outbreak of Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia on the Island of Gigha in 1994.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the value is, both in monetary terms and in terms of number of treatment episodes, of contracts for private clinical care purchased by the NHS either centrally, by health board or by NHS trust for each of the years from 1995-96 to 1999-2000.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not collect information about the use of the private sector by the NHS, nor does the NHS itself have complete national data. Decisions on the use of the private sector are made at operational level by health boards and NHS Trusts, should the need arise.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis, under the Scotland Act 1998, it has the power to adopt its declared policy of not compensating for losses arising from fish disease, and whether this is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is content that the policy which implements our obligations under Community law in respect of fish diseases is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. However the matter has been referred to the European Court of Justice and we await the outcome.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 23 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if the terms and effects of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill require a financial resolution to be moved under rule 9.12 of the Parliament's Standing Orders, it intends to lodge the necessary motion to allow such a resolution to be made.
Answer
I understand that the Presiding Officer has intimated that no financial resolution is required for this Member's Bill.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the statutory procedures laid down in Part II of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 for the preparation and approval of development plans are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and, if not, what plans it has to amend the 1997 Act.
Answer
We are systematically reviewing all of our activities to identify issues where there is a risk of ECHR challenge. If we believe it is necessary to amend existing legislation in order to comply with the Convention, then we will bring forward proposals for that purpose at the appropriate time.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the statutory procedures laid down in Part III of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 for the determination of applications for planning permission by local planning authorities and the Scottish Ministers are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998; if not, which provisions of Part III of the 1997 Act are incompatible with the Convention and what plans it has to amend the Act.
Answer
We are systematically reviewing all of our activities to identify issues where there is a risk of ECHR challenge. If we believe it is necessary to amend existing legislation in order to comply with the Convention, then we will bring forward proposals for that purpose at the appropriate time.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 22 February 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will arrange for the Scottish Parliament Information Centre to compile a regular monthly update of the number of votes in the Parliament, which also gives a breakdown of the number of times members of a party have voted in the same way as members of other parties and whether this information will be made available on the Parliament web site.
Answer
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre is currently compiling a report from the electronic voting data which are recorded in its Scottish Parliament Profiles (SPP) database. It will include details of MSPs' participation in electronically recorded votes since 1 July 1999, and will be updated monthly. The first report will be completed shortly, and will be made available on the parliamentary Intranet (SPEIR) and on the web site. Information about cross-party voting cannot be compiled comprehensively without disproportionate cost, but when the browser interface for SPP is available on SPEIR, Intranet users will be able to construct such searches for themselves. The browser interface should be available within the next few months.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether One Parent Families Scotland will be treated on the same basis as other groups named in the Ministerial Statement by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice on 20 January 2000 in relation to applications for funding from the new statutory grant scheme.
Answer
The boundaries of the new statutory grant scheme which I announced in my statement of 20 January will be set out in the White Paper which I intend to issue in May. The detail has not been finalised, but the objective will be to assist organisations who provide services to families in transition. Whether an organisation comes within the scope of the scheme will depend on the services it offers. Existing arrangements to support organisations under Section 10 of the Social Work Services (Scotland) Act 1968 are not affected and this applies to One Parent Families Scotland.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 26 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to report to the Parliament on meetings of the British Irish Council by way of ministerial statement or otherwise.
Answer
The Executive will, in the first instance, arrange a debate in the Parliament on the British Irish Council. Thereafter, decisions can be taken on how meetings of the Council should be reported to Parliament and on how Executive and Parliament relationships can be fostered under its aegis.
- Asked by: David McLetchie, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the 1999 edition of The Scottish Abstract of Statistics and what the publication schedule is for future editions of this work.
Answer
We do not plan to publish a 1999 edition of The Scottish Abstract of Statistics. This compendium was published annually up to 1996 and then in 1998. If we continue with a volume in this format, the next edition would be that for 2000.The Scottish Abstract is a summary of material which has, with few exceptions, previously appeared in other publications. Updated versions of information which appeared in the 1998 Abstract have already been published in a variety of ways, for example, in statistical bulletins.
