- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 19 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what it believes the impact on devolved areas of responsibility will be if Trident missiles in Scotland are (a) replaced and (b) removed.
Answer
Matters concerning the basing of Trident missiles are reserved to the Westminster Parliament and all questions of detail are for the Ministry of Defence.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, whether it will seek parliamentary time to debate its representations to the UK Government on counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.
Answer
No. These issues are reserved. Consequently we do not intend to seek Parliamentary time for such a debate.
However, the Scottish Executive works with the UK Government to help develop effective responses to terrorism and related national security issues, including the non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, whether it will approach the Parliament's European and External Relations Committee to debate its representations to, and negotiations with, the UK Government on counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.
Answer
No. These issues are reserved. Consequently we do not intend to approach the Committee in this regard.
However, the Scottish Executive does work with the UK Government to help develop effective responses to terrorism and related national security issues, including the non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, with which partners around the world it has directly co-operated with in respect of (a) the non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons and (b) counter-terrorism.
Answer
The Scottish Executive works with international partners through the UK Government to develop effective cross-border responses to terrorism and related national security issues, including the non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14858 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 March 2005, whether it has made, or plans to make, representations to the UK Government regarding the replacement of Trident missiles in Scotland and, if so, what form these representations will take.
Answer
Policy on defence and the nuclear deterrent is reserved to Westminster and, as such, is a matter for the UK Government.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 15 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions, when and for what purpose it has announced lottery funding as "Scottish Executive" or "Scottish Government" funding.
Answer
I am not aware of any occasions on which the Scottish Executive have suggested that lottery funding comes from the Exchequer. The National Lottery has been a great success story bringing £1.7 billion to almost 25,000 projects in Scotland since 1994 and transforming funding for the arts, heritage and sport as well as funding flagship projects in health, education and the environment and provided a valuable source of funding for charities. The National Lottery is UK public funding, but it is accounted for separately from Exchequer funds.
Many projects supported by the lottery are also supported by Exchequer funds, with some lottery distributors aligning their lottery and Exchequer funding to maximise effectiveness. There are also examples of major projects and initiatives which are co-financed by the Executive and lottery distributors. Scottish ministers are actively involved in the work of the National Lottery in Scotland and therefore take part in a variety of announcements involving lottery funding.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14805 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March 2005, what its contribution to the UK Government was to the topics to be discussed at the G8 summit and when this contribution was made and by whom.
Answer
The Prime Minister has stated publicly that the key themes of this year’s G8 summit will be climate change and Africa. I, my ministerial colleagues, and our officials, have regular discussions with our counterparts in the UK Government on various aspects of these very important issues.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14734 by Mr Tom McCabe on 10 March 2005, what the nature and cost was of all the activities undertaken to promote Scotland as a place to work in the 10 EU accession states, broken down by country in which each activity took place.
Answer
As part of our efforts to raise Scotland’s International Image announced by the First Minister on 1 July 2004 international journalists from both Poland and the Czech Republic visited Scotland in Autumn 2004. The cost of the visit amounted to £6,805.78 and resulted in a range of television and other media coverage in Poland and Czech Republic. We continue to work with these established links to ensure that Scotland and Fresh Talent continues to receive attention as the initiative goes forward. Officials recently attended the DNI Careers-Work Fair in Wroclaw and the Perspectives 2005 Careers and Education fair in Warsaw to promote Scotland as a destination of choice for migrants from Poland seeking new opportunities. A range of media activity was also included in the visit and we expect additional coverage in the Polish media to reinforce Scotland’s Fresh Talent ambitions. The cost of the visit amounted to £3,163.91. Poland is second only to the United Kingdom in terms of visitors to
www.scotlandistheplace.com, which reflects the existing strong links between Scotland and Poland and the increased promotional activity we have undertaken. In recognition of these strong links with Poland we have asked First Public Relations to ensure that we continue to reinforce Scotland’s strengths and to take advantage of suitable opportunities as they present themselves.In general, promotion to the accession states is an integral part of the wider international promotion of Scotland activity through our website and distribution of Fresh Talent information leaflets via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Council and Scottish Development International. In addition, all ministers promote Scotland as a place to visit, study and work both during overseas visits and when receiving visiting foreign dignitaries.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to article 2 of the Proposal for a European Council Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record (COM (2004) 664 final), what central authority it expects will be designated in respect of the exchange of Scottish criminal records.
Answer
The Proposal for a European Council Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record for mutual legal assistance requests requires each member state to designate a single central authority for initial contact. It will be possible, however, to designate more than one central authority for on-going contact, for the exchange of information in connection with such requests and for sending information back to the state of nationality at the time of conviction in individual cases. The question of which authority should be designated for the exchange of Scottish criminal records is under consideration.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many enquiries have been made to the Relocation Advisory Service since it was opened, broken down by (a) month and (b) country of origin.
Answer
The web-based element of the Relocation Advisory Service opened on 12 October 2004. The Service became fully operational at the end of that month. Between 12 October 2004 and 30 March 2005, a total of 4,524 enquiries have been received. These can be broken down as follows:
By Month
| Enquiries received prior to service opening | 21 |
| October 2004 | 324 |
| November | 477 |
| December | 737 |
| January 2005 | 1,018 |
| February | 727 |
| March | 1,220 |
| Total | 4,524 |
By Country
The data on incoming enquiries has only been analysed to 31 January 2005, therefore the following figures relate to enquiries between 12 October 2004 and 31 January 2005.
| Unspecified | 376 |
| Algeria | 1 |
| Argentina | 1 |
| Australia | 17 |
| The Bahamas | 2 |
| Bangladesh | 4 |
| Belarus | 1 |
| Belgium | 5 |
| Botswana | 2 |
| Brazil | 2 |
| Brunei | 1 |
| Bulgaria | 4 |
| Cameroon | 1 |
| Canada | 45 |
| Chile | 1 |
| China | 3 |
| Cyprus | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 6 |
| England | 87 |
| Eritrea | 1 |
| France | 5 |
| The Gambia | 1 |
| Germany | 15 |
| Ghana | 3 |
| Greece | 11 |
| Guyana | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 4 |
| Hungary | 2 |
| Iceland | 3 |
| India | 767 |
| Indonesia | 1 |
| Iran | 2 |
| Italy | 6 |
| Japan | 3 |
| Jordan | 2 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| Kuwait | 1 |
| Malaysia | 4 |
| Malta | 3 |
| Mauritius | 4 |
| Mexico | 11 |
| Morocco | 3 |
| Nepal | 1 |
| Netherlands | 9 |
| New Zealand | 3 |
| Nigeria | 87 |
| Northern Ireland | 3 |
| Oman | 1 |
| Pakistan | 22 |
| Panama | 1 |
| Peru | 1 |
| Philippines | 7 |
| Poland | 227 |
| Portugal | 6 |
| Qatar | 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | 4 |
| Romania | 7 |
| Russia | 7 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 |
| Scotland | 260 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 1 |
| Singapore | 9 |
| Slovakia | 1 |
| South Africa | 25 |
| Spain | 17 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 |
| Sweden | 3 |
| Taiwan | 5 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3 |
| Tunisia | 1 |
| Turkey | 4 |
| Uganda | 5 |
| Ukraine | 13 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 |
| United Kingdom | 175 |
| United States | 236 |
| Venezuela | 1 |
| Wales | 4 |
| Zambia | 2 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 |
| Total | 2,577 |
