- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or will make, any assessment of financial impacts on transport of the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, in particular any consequences the act may have in relation to providing access to buses for wheelchair users.
Answer
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is a reserved issue. The Scottish Executive has not made any assessment of the financial impacts on transport of the (DDA).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service keeps, and will continue to keep, manual records of those cases where the 110-day rule, and any replacement of that rule, applies.
Answer
The Crown Office andProcurator Fiscal Service holds all case information in a national casetracking database, which is the principal data record for all cases. Inaddition, selected manual records of solemn custody cases are kept, to assistin the management of those cases.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the original estimated cost of the new IT programmes for the Scottish Courts Service proposed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; whether the service will secure best value in the use of funds for the IT programmes; when the new programmes will be introduced, and whether they will be run, initially, in conjunction with any other systems.
Answer
The Crown Office andProcurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is introducing new IT programmes as part ofits modernisation of casework processing systems: the “Future Office System”(FOS). The COPFS will shortly commence the roll-out of the first phase of FOS,which will enhance current casework processing systems and deal with summarybusiness. The new system will run alongside the existing casework processingsystems in use throughout the department and, in time, will be fully integratedwith them, resulting in a full electronic casework processing system for allcriminal cases.
At September 2002 the costof the development of the computer software for solemn work was estimated at £1million. This figure has been adjusted in light of changes to overallrequirements within COPFS and to meet the system changes arising from Lord Bonomy’srecommendations.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reduce the expenditure of any non-departmental public body and, if so, which expenditure it plans to reduce.
Answer
The Scottish Executive’s spending plans for 2003-06 were set out in the Draft Budget 2004-05which was published on 11 September 2003.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by George Reid on 17 November 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer what powers are held by Lord Fraser in relation to the Holyrood inquiry and whether the inquiry has any power to compel the attendance of witnesses or require the production of documents and tapes.
Answer
It was made clear when theInquiry was announced that it is a non statutory Inquiry and , as such, has nostatutory power to compel the attendance of witnesses nor the production ofevidence. In his opening statement to the inquiry, Mr John Campbell, QC, Counselto the Inquiry, emphasised the co-operation received with the production ofmaterial, both by civil servants and by the private sector. Mr. Campbellfurther commented “Thus far, as I have said already, and in this short time sofar taken up, the level of co-operation has been impressively high”.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government on the social inclusion implications for those in Scotland who do not receive a good analogue signal and who have recently had ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 free-to-view services withdrawn from their digital service; whether it has made representations to BBC Scotland about this issue, and whether it will take any steps to protect the interests of those viewers, mostly in remote rural locations, who do not have access to an analogue signal, rely for television viewing on a digital signal and who have been disadvantaged following the withdrawal by the BBC from them of these free-to-view services.
Answer
The First Ministerraised these issues at a meeting with Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State forCulture, Media and Sport, in September. Although details are not yet finalised,a scheme is planned which will allow those customers who currently have asatellite viewing card and who wish to continue to receive the commerciallyfunded public service channels without paying a subscription to Sky or anotherpay TV broadcaster, to get a new card. Customers will be offered theopportunity to purchase the card at a cost of £23.50.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will propose a long-term plan for the upgrading of the trunk road network.
Answer
Very significant investmentin the upgrading of the trunk road network is already committed during thisdecade. Longer term upgrading of the trunk road network will be considered aspart of the Strategic Projects Review which will consider all transport modes.That review will begin before 2007.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the newly upgraded stretch of the A830 between Kinsadel and Arisaig will be opened; whether there have been any delays to the opening of the road and, if so, what the reasons are for any such delay.
Answer
The road was completely openedto traffic on 25 July 2003. The contract anticipated that the road should havebeen opened in March 2003. Delays to the opening were the result of difficultiesexperienced by the contractor partly as a result of exceptionally severeweather conditions and a fatal accident on the site.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the increase in the interest rate level of student loans and whether it was consulted by Her Majesty's Government before the interest rate was increased.
Answer
Student support is devolved.The value of outstanding student loan amounts is uprated annually in line withinflation in order to maintain the value of the amount borrowed constant inreal terms. The method of calculation is set out in part V of the Education(Student Loans) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 as amended.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include dualling any parts of the (a) A9, (b) A96, (c) A82 and (d) A95 in the next round of trunk road improvements and, if so, which stretches of each road it is planning to dual.
Answer
As part of the A9 routeaction plan it is planned to extend the existing dual carriageway atCrubenmore. Longer term upgrading of the trunk road network will be consideredas part of the strategic projects review which will consider all transportmodes. That review will begin before 2007.
