- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 22 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has in place to promote and ensure Internet access to online public services for the elderly, particularly in rural areas.
Answer
Through its Digital Scotland initiative the Scottish Executive is working towards pervasive and affordable access to the web for people of all ages and in all areas of Scotland. We are committed to universal access to the web by 2005.
We are also committed to getting all government services online by 2005. The UK online citizens portal www.ukonline.gov.uk is actively supported by the Scottish Executive in its delivery of customer-focused public information and services, and contains a great deal of specific Scottish content which will be of use to people of all ages.
A new initiative for online services for the elderly is the Aberdeenshire e-care project which is receiving funding from the Modernising Government Fund.The e-care project is being run by Aberdeenshire Council in partnership with Grampian Primary Healthcare Trust, Grampian Caredata, Scottish Enterprise Grampian and the voluntary sector. It aims to provide a new internet portal that gives clear, uncomplicated and comprehensive information to meet the needs of older people aged 65 and over.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 21 February 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer on how many occasions committees have used the Parliament's videoconferencing facilities in the course of meetings.
Answer
The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning committee used the Scottish Parliament videoconferencing facilities for the purposes of taking evidence on 14 June 2000. This was a link from Committee Chambers to Inverness where the Convenor of Highland Council and the Director of Inverness Chamber of Commerce gave evidence on the economic situation in the Highlands. The European Committee plans to take evidence by videoconference from representatives of Fishing Industries in other member states as part of its enquiry into the Common Fisheries Policy.Members of the former Rural Affairs (now Rural Development) Committee conducted a videoconference across 7 sites in Argyll and Bute in the course of gathering evidence for the recently published Enquiry into changing employment patterns in Rural Scotland. This was not a formal meeting of the Committee and did not use the Parliament's own facilities.The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee also used other video conferencing facilities between Greenock and West Virginia on 31 January 2001.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 21 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to measure the impact of any funding provided to promote golf tourism.
Answer
Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and visitscotland have jointly commissioned a National Golf Tourism Survey. This will assess customers demands and satisfaction levels. The results are due in January 2002.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 21 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available and to whom to promote golf tourism in the South of Scotland
Answer
Ayrshire & Arran and Dumfries & Galloway Tourist Boards have been awarded £50,000 by visitscotland to develop golf marketing in their areas in partnership with the private sector.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 21 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what support and advice is being made available to golf clubs to help them make their facilities more attractive to tourists.
Answer
The Scottish Golf Union and Scottish Enterprise Fife have developed a business planning package. This will be piloted in Fife initially, with the intention of extending nationwide. By the end of the year it will have reached over 100 clubs in Scotland.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 16 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take any action on the information concerning e-commerce in Scotland in chapter 9 of the report Business in the Information Age: International Benchmarking Study 2000 by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Answer
Chapter 9 of
Business in the Information Age demonstrates that Scotland has made significant progress in the adoption of technologies for business purposes since the previous year, both relative to other regions of the UK and in actual terms. Scotland is above average or average on most significant measures, including the connectivity indicator. This shows that 76 per cent of Scottish businesses either have a website, make frequent use of e-mail, or use electronic data interchange, and is exceeded by only 4 of the UK's 12 regions.
The Scottish Executive and the enterprise networks are committed to ensuring that Scotland improves this position. The UK Government has announced that ICT local support centres will receive an additional £30 million over the next three years to help businesses move beyond having a website or trading online to transform themselves through the effective use of information and communication technology. Scotland will receive a share of this money.Both Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise have set targets for e-commerce adoption in line with those for the UK as a whole. The e-commerce strategy for Scotland detailed in the Connecting Scotland document ensures a co-ordinated approach to these activities. The strategy was drawn up by a steering group led by Scottish Enterprise and assisted by around 300 other individuals and organisations, and it focuses on creating the right environment, accelerating business uptake, accelerating supply-side development and developing skills and knowledge for the future. They aim to achieve the targets by implementing a recently enhanced range of initiatives aimed at SMEs including workshops, seminars, a consultancy package, awareness raising events, best practice awards and e-business advisors.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 15 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why the residents of Biggar were refused access to the research conducted in the area by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency last year in connection with the application by West of Scotland Water to release effluent into the River Clyde.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency advises that at no time did it refuse access to any environmental information in connection with the proposed discharge.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 15 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations are in place to govern the release of sewage effluent into the River Clyde by West of Scotland Water.
Answer
Legislation governing the discharge of sewage effluent to controlled waters (including the River Clyde) includes the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (as amended) and the Urban Waste Water Treatment (Scotland) Regulations 1994.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 15 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to local authorities in dealing with nuisance caused by seagulls.
Answer
Local authorities have full powers to deal with such problems at their own discretion. Licences are issued by the Scottish Executive to cover situations where the lethal control of seagulls becomes necessary.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has made into the effect on the local food chain of depleted uranium shells fired into the Solway Firth.
Answer
Environmental monitoring of depleted uranium (DU) is undertaken by the Defence Evaluation Research Agency (DERA) Radiation Protection Services. The programme includes analysis of marine environmental samples collected in the Solway Firth area, and the reports are publicly available.In relation to the food chain we are advised by the Food Standards Agency and have been informed that, to date, they have had no indication that there are detrimental effects on the food chain. Should monitoring raise concerns, the agency would investigate the situation urgently.
