Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-02216

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 11 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive to detail (a) the cost of the establishment of the Public Defence Solicitors' Office in Edinburgh; (b) the operating costs under each budgetary heading for the past year and the projected expenditure for the remaining years of the pilot project; (c) the amount spent on advertising the project and from which budget it was paid, and (d) the number of staff seconded to the scheme, their salary costs and the budget from which they are paid.

All the costs of setting up and operating the Public Defence Solicitors' Office (PDSO) are charged to the Legal Aid Fund. The only expenditure borne by the Board's grant in aid are minor associated administrative costs which it is impractical to charge to the Fund, such as personnel and payroll services. These are estimated at £3,500 to £4,000 to date.

The set up cost of the PDSO to 30 September 1998 was £194,000, including £3,063 for seconded staff salaries.

The operating costs of the PDSO for the 12 months ending 30 September 1999 are shown in the table below.

Budget	£
Salaries, superannuation and other staff costs	220,794
Seconded staff (1 1/2 staff)	32,937
Accommodation	96,083
Case related costs	46,175
Office equipment, printing and stationery etc.	50,032
Advertising	2,749
Total	448,770

As indicated in my reply of 29 October to Duncan Hamilton (S1W-2026), the projected expenditure for future years cannot be predicted with any accuracy because the number and demands of the cases handled by the Office determine costs.

Question reference: S1W-02510

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 11 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions in the last month.

Question reference: S1O-00591

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 11 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions in the last month.

Question reference: S1W-02120

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Andrew Hardie on 10 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government as to why information regarding litigation by the Ministry of Defence against manufacturers of the Chinook FADEC system was apparently not made available to the fatal accident inquiry in 1996 into the crash of ZD576 RAF Chinook on the Mull of Kintyre, and whether it can confirm that it has now received all documentation relating thereto.

When allegations about the FADEC system were first made the Crown Office immediately sought and thereafter obtained a very full account of the issue from the Ministry of Defence. The litigation, which was settled out of court, related to the test of a pre-production version of the software in conditions of simulated battle damage. There is no evidence to suggest that information about that matter would have made a difference to the outcome of the Fatal Accident Inquiry and, accordingly, no further documentation is required.

Question reference: S1W-02121

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Andrew Hardie on 10 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any information was held by or known to the Lord Advocate and the Crown Office but not produced at the time of the fatal accident inquiry in 1996 into the crash of ZD576 RAF Chinook on the Mull of Kintyre relating to litigation by the Ministry of Defence against the manufacturers of the Chinook FADEC system and investigations by Boeing Corporation into cracking in the gearbox in the Chinook Helicopter.

Question reference: S1W-02212

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 10 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money is anticipated to be recovered by health authorities in respect of charges pursued and recovered under the National Health Service (Penalty Charge) (Scotland) Regulations 1999; how many individuals will be subject to such proceedings, and what criteria, if any, will be specified for the initiation of proceedings or the writing off of charges.

It is not possible to predict how much money will be recovered or how many individuals will be subject to proceedings until the new regulations have been in force for a reasonable period. A sample of NHS prescription forms, dental claim forms or claims for other benefits such as free sight tests or optical vouchers will be subject to post payment checking. Where such checks confirm that a patient has evaded NHS charges or wrongfully claimed entitlement to NHS benefits or payments, that patient will be served with a penalty notice. There are no plans currently to write off charges wrongfully evaded.

Action to combat patient evasion of NHS charges stems from a scrutiny of NHS prescription fraud commissioned by the Department of Health in 1997 which estimated that between £70 million and £100 million is lost to the NHS in England annually by patients wrongfully claiming entitlement to free prescriptions. This suggests that, pro rata, between £7 million and £10 million may be lost to the NHS in Scotland each year from prescription charge evasion.We already have some evidence of wrongful claims by patients in Scotland. Point of dispensing checks by community pharmacists of patient entitlement to free NHS prescriptions were introduced in Scotland last October. Since then, there has been an increase in the number of prescriptions on which charges have been collected by pharmacists, and in the number of pre-payment certificates ("season tickets") purchased by patients.

Question reference: S1W-00459

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 5 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to allow local authorities to designate streets as "Home Zones" and to reduce the speed limit in such 'ones to 10mph.

Local authorities in Scotland already have powers which can be used to deliver the main features of "Home Zones". They can introduce:

traffic calming measures, under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, designed to reduce the speed of vehicles; and

10mph speed limits, after receiving consent from the Scottish Ministers, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

A feature of many continental "Home Zones" is a provision that drivers are held responsible for injuries to pedestrians and cyclists. Any proposal for the introduction of a similar provision in Scotland would have to be considered in light of the existing law on civil liability, and criminal responsibility, for road accidents.

When assessing the case for wider powers, the Scottish Executive will take note of all relevant information, including the conclusions of research now taking place, in England, into both the extent to which the aims of 'Home Zones' can be achieved by traffic management measures introduced under existing legislation and the need for additional legislation.On 16 June, the United Kingdom Government removed the statutory requirement for local authorities to obtain the Secretary of State's consent before making 20 mph speed limit orders. As a result, local authorities in Scotland now have freedom to set 20 mph speed limits in locations where they feel this would be appropriate.

Question reference: S1W-01398

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 4 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive to detail (a) the costs incurred by Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise Ltd (LEEL) in the acquisition and development of a site at Peffermill, Edinburgh for Brown Brothers; (b) any additional or ancillary costs incurred by LEEL in respect of the proposed move to the site; (c) any expenditure incurred by Craigmillar Initiative or any related organisation in the attempt by LEEL to provide a site for Brown Brothers, and (d) any expenditure incurred by Fife Enterprise or any other public funding body in the relocation of Brown Brothers to Dalgety Bay.

Question reference: S1W-01822

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 2 November 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive to list the location and si'e of sites in Scotland currently used for the production of genetically modified foods, and when consent was given for trials in each site.

No genetically modified (GM) crops are currently grown in Scotland either for human consumption or for use as animal feed.There are, however, a number of small-scale GM plots in Scotland for research and development activities. All sites have been approved under GMO Deliberate Release Regulations and locations were provided in the form of a written answer to Parliamentary Question S1W-1010. This information is also available on a public register which is held by the Health & Safety Executive, Belford Road, Edinburgh, or from the Scottish Executive, Rural Affairs Department; it is also on the DETR website.

Question reference: S1W-01944

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 29 October 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the number of incidents of nuclear emissions or leaks investigated or noted by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) over the last five years, the dates on which they occurred and the actions taken by SEPA in each case.