- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 29 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to investigate Norfolk County Council's Quiet Lanes approach to traffic management to establish whether are any lessons for improving safety on country roads.
Answer
We have no plans to do this. The Scottish rural road network is different in character to English "quiet lanes". The Transport (Scotland) Act does not include reference to quiet lanes as it was felt that they were not appropriate in the Scottish situation. However, we will monitor research work that DETR has commissioned on "quiet lanes" to see if there are any lessons which could be learned on improving road safety.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) have taken to encourage departments of Her Majesty's Government to transmit records belonging to Her Majesty and relating exclusively or mainly to Scotland to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland under section 4 of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937 and, in particular, whether any representations have been made regarding the transfer to NAS of the military and pension records of Scottish regiments.
Answer
I have asked Mr George MacKenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, to respond. His response is as follows:
The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) has received all the documents specified in section 4 of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937. These are Scottish records dating from 1189 to 1284.Under section 5(1) of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937 and section 3(8) of the Public Records Act 1958, NAS has in the last 10 years received more than 1,000 shelf metres of records relating to Scotland from UK Government bodies, including the Cabinet Office, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, Property Services Agency and the Board of Trade.The main operational records of the Scottish regiments consist of official war diaries, sent to the War Office and now available for consultation in the Public Record Office in London. Records up to 1,920 of individual soldiers' service and pensions are also available in the Public Record Office. Later service records are still in the custody of the Ministry of Defence. The NAS sees no reason to interfere with these arrangements.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the member development and member training programmes for councillors carried out in Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council can be implemented in Scotland.
Answer
CoSLA are currently considering the development of a training and development programme for councillors in the light of the modernising local government agenda.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities it believes could benefit from implementing the investment in people policy developed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
Answer
Local authorities, like all other employers, have a responsibility to ensure the highest standards of training and development for their staff and to keep their policies under constant review to ensure success and continuous improvement.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the PFI and PPP projects entered into since 1996, detailing the capital cost and level of advisory fees involved in each project.
Answer
The information requested for Scottish Executive PFI contracts entered into since 1996 is detailed in the table. An up to date list of all currently active projects known to the Executive showing, among other things, the estimated capital value is available from the Parliament's Reference Centre. Information on advisory fees for non-Scottish Executive projects is a matter of commercial confidentiality between the parties to the contract.
| Project Name | Procuring Agency | Financial Close | Capital Value (£ million) | Advisory Fees (£ million) |
| M6 DBFO | Development Department | April 1997 | 95 | 3.46 |
| Kilmarnock Prison | Scottish Prison Service | November 1997 | 32 | 0.23 |
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it will have with Scotland House in Brussels on improving its physical and public profile.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14399.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Scotland House in Brussels receives annually from (a) the Scottish Executive and (b) other Scottish public bodies.
Answer
Scotland House is an inclusive body that involves a range of interests. Its principal components are the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO) and Scotland Europa, which in turn houses a number of its subscribers.
- The SEEUO budget for 2000-01 was £500,000, which was funded entirely by the Scottish Executive.
Scottish Enterprise contributed £455,000 in 2000-01 towards the costs of Scotland Europa, Brussels. A number of other Scottish public bodies, including Highlands and Islands European Partnership and CoSLA provided indirect support by means of fees or subventions paid in relation to membership of Scotland Europa or residence in Scotland House. A full list of Scotland Europa members is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 24 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to raise the profile of Scotland House in Brussels and its activities.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14399.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 23 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12264 how much Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Eilean Siar, Highland and West Lothian Councils spent in each year from 1996-97 to 2000-01 in utilising their discretionary powers to enable tenants to purchase a home on the open market.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 23 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition of community ownership is.
Answer
The Housing Green Paper
Investing In Modernisation published in February 1999 (Cm 4272) stated that community ownership would normally result from the transfer of existing public sector rented housing to alternative community landlords at a price which reflects the value of the stock and under arrangements which ensure that:
- the housing is owned by a non-profit making body on which there is tenant, local authority and community representation;
- there is effective tenant involvement in key decisions;
- housing is available, and continues to be available, to be let at affordable rents to those in housing need, including the homeless and other vulnerable groups, and
there are guarantees for transferring tenants regarding rent increases, tenancy rights and repairs and improvements to housing stock.
