- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 August 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 29 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15199 by Ross Finnie on 18 June 2001, what the current status is of the Dumfries and Galloway economic recovery plan.
Answer
A working group comprised of officials from the local council and agencies as well as the Scottish Executive has met on several occasions to provide strategic co-ordination of the recovery plan. The announcements of extra Scottish Executive resources to alleviate hardship and assist recovery were influenced by these discussions. The group will continue to take stock of the progress in each of the main areas of the plan.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 August 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 29 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales on how best to support rural areas to recover from outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.
Answer
There have been a number of discussions with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales about foot-and-mouth disease recovery. These include my regular meetings with the three UK Agriculture Ministers, which have recently focused on various aspects of foot-and-mouth disease, including recovery measures. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Mr Alasdair Morrison, also hosted a meeting of UK Tourism Ministers in April, at which the main item for discussion was the impact of foot-and-mouth disease on the tourism industry, and the recovery measures which would be put in place, particularly those planned by the British Tourist Authority. In addition to these meetings, Executive officials have been keeping in regular contact with officials from the National Assembly for Wales on foot-and-mouth disease recovery issues.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 June 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 13 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to grant licences for shooting game in Dumfries and Galloway in 2001-02 and, if so, what conditions will apply.
Answer
The shooting of game within Dumfries and Galloway will not be subject to any extra licensing system as a result of Foot and Mouth Disease. Shooting within the Infected Area is restricted by Section 29 of the Foot and Mouth 1983 Order.Elsewhere, shooting is allowed, but in order to ensure biosecurity, the Scottish Executive issued guidance on shooting on 4 July and published a code of conduct for grouse shooting on 20 July.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the reports of the inquiries into the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer
I wrote to the Convenor of the Rural Development Committee on 16 July to make the Committee aware of the publication of the first of the official GB Inquiries into foot-and-mouth disease and explaining that the Scottish Executive would respond collectively to the conclusions and recommendations from the Royal Society, Royal Society of Edinburgh and Dr Iain Anderson's Lessons to be Learned reports. I plan to let the committee have the Executive's detailed response to the three reports this autumn.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what decision it has reached on which first-round funding bids to improve school buildings have been successful.
Answer
These bids are under consideration and we shall announce our decisions shortly.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims for compensation each water authority has received since 1997.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15840.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much compensation has been paid out by each water authority since 1997.
Answer
The following tables set out, by authority, the compensation payments made by the three water authorities, as far as the information is available. The water authorities pay compensation when levels of service fall below expected standards. Customer service standards were revised and standardised, with increased payments, across the three authorities in October 2000.Payments are also made in respect of a) public liability claims for injury, property damage, utility damage and b) ex gratia payments for which an authority has no legal liability. In the public liability claims tables, the figure for the total number of claims made includes claims which are outstanding and have not been resolved.
East of Scotland Water
Customer Standards
| 2000-01 | 1999-2000 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 |
| Standard | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) |
| Late Response to Complaint | 7 | 140 | 12 | 140 | 53 | 400 | 11 | 150 |
| Supply Interruptions | 99 | 7,280 | 9 | 300 | 1 | 70 | - | - |
| Internal Sewer Flood | 44 | 14,659 | 51 | 7,709 | 69 | 13,043 | 62 | 9,138 |
| Missed Appointments | 10 | 500 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Late Response to Billing Enquiries | 492 | 9,730 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Meter Survey Failures | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Meter Installation Failures | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Failure to make automatic payment for Guaranteed Service Standard failure | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 652 | 32,309 | 72 | 8,149 | 123 | 13,513 | 73 | 9,288 |
Public liability (PL) and ex gratia payments
| 2000-01 | 1999-2000 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 |
| No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) |
| Total PL Claims | 293 | | 373 | | 316 | | 182 | |
| Total PL Claims Paid | 282 | 708,493 | 313 | 426,679 | 277 | 554,991 | 126 | 367,746 |
| 42 | 71,305 | 77 | 83,683 | 81 | 168,140 | 44 | 130,591 |
| 86 | 558,158 | 74 | 199,457 | 32 | 227,695 | 6 | 148,205 |
| 154 | 79,030 | 162 | 144,539 | 164 | 159,156 | 76 | 88,950 |
| Ex-gratia payments | 295 | 53,241 | 204 | 33,677 | 10 | 2,767 | 2 | 512 |
North of Scotland Water
Customer standards
| 2000-01 | 1999-2000 | 1998-99 | 1997-98* |
| Standard | No. | Value | No. | Value | No. | Value | No. | Value |
| Late Response to Complaint | 7 | 140 | - | - | 9 | 90 | - | - |
| Internal Sewer Flood | 93 | 24,451 | 17 | 1,953 | 31 | 4,158 | - | - |
| Supply Interruptions | 209 | 5,020 | 93 | 2,240 | 23 | 280 | - | - |
| Late Response to Billing Enquiries | 7 | 140 | 3 | 60 | 1 | 10 | - | - |
| Missed Appointments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Meter Survey Failures | 5 | 100 | 1 | 20 | - | - | - | - |
| Meter Installation Failures | 9 | 180 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Failure to make automatic payment for Guaranteed Service Standard failure | 1 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 331 | 30,051 | 114 | 4,273 | 64 | 4,538 | - | - |
*Figures for 1997-98 are not available.
Public liability (PL) and ex gratia payments
| 2000-01 | 1999-2000 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 |
| | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) |
| Total PL Claims | 498 | | 381 | | 444 | | 369 | |
| Total PL Claims Paid | 171 | 78,642 | 216 | 116,877 | 240 | 199,368 | 194 | 137,878 |
| 4 | 7,144 | 4 | 5,120 | 6 | 12,718 | 12 | 32,196 |
| 144 | 61,238 | 181 | 98,706 | 197 | 138,731 | 148 | 84,229 |
| 23 | 10,260 | 31 | 13,051 | 37 | 47,919 | 34 | 21,453 |
| Ex gratia payments | 49 | 6,166 | 46 | 3,257 | | | | |
West of Scotland Water
| 2000-01 | 1999-2000 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 |
| Standard | No. | Value | No. | Value | No. | Value | No. | Value |
| Late Response to Complaint | 52 | 1,110 | 6 | 60 | 2 | 20 | -- | -- |
| Internal Sewer Flood | * | 30,823 | 242 | 35,968 | 26 | 1,762 | 3 | 175 |
| Supply Interruptions | 12 | 370 | 14 | 140 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Late Response to Billing Enquiries | 356 | 7,120 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Missed Appointments | 9 | 160 | 10 | 100 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Meter Survey Failures | 1 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Meter Installation Failures | 1 | 20 | 3 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Failure to make automatic payment for Guaranteed Service Standard failure | -- | -- | 5 | 50 | -- | -- | 2 | 20 |
| Totals | * | 39,813 | 282 | 36,386 | 28 | 1783 | 5 | 194 |
* Full data not yet available
Public liability (PL) and ex gratia payments | 2000-01 | 1999-2000 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 |
| No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) | No. | Value (£) |
| Total PL Claims | 794 | | 1,364 | | 1,398 | | 1,586 | |
| Total PL Claims Paid | 226 | | 642 | | 690 | | 743 | |
| 17 | 8,652 | 41 | 42,578 | 74 | 72,016 | 102 | 153,984 |
| 99 | 136,800 | 414 | 914,261 | 494 | 461,206 | 467 | 515,710 |
| 110 | 59,255 | 187 | 284,262 | 122 | 142,094 | 174 | 131,566 |
| Ex gratia payments† | * | 39,811 | * | 58,810 | 256 | 19,065 | 167 | 11,751 |
* Full data not yet available.†The above figures exclude ex gratia payments made under the Burncrooks Incident. In 1998, 27,719 ex gratia payments were made to customers affected by the Burncrooks Incident amounting to a total of £1,385,950.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many claims for compensation have been upheld by each water authority since 1997 and what the reason for the decision was in each case.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15840.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 19 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of providing the necessary telecommunications infrastructure to enable broadband Internet access across Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is developing a strategy for stimulating wider provision of higher bandwidth services. We are focusing on the impact that could be made by aggregating public sector demand. It is too early to estimate associated procurement costs.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 19 June 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what options it is considering to facilitate the rollout of the necessary telecommunications infrastructure to enable broadband Internet access across Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is examining different approaches to aggregating public sector procurements with the objective of extending availability of broadband services. Our thinking has been informed by extensive discussions with telcos, examination of experience in other countries and information from local authorities on current practices.We are currently identifying partners who might work together and geographies across which they might wish to work. We expect to publish a paper setting out our intentions later in the summer.
