- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive under what conditions the Scottish Agricultural College buildings at Auchencruive were inherited by the nation and whether any change of use of the buildings and land away from agricultural education purposes would negate their current ownership.
Answer
This is a matter for the Scottish Agricultural College which has title to the land and buildings at its campus at Auchincruive.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 27 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) females and (b) males were charged with abuse of children in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answer
The available information is contained in the following table. The statistics relate only to those offences where by definition the victim was a child. Information on proceedings in relation to other offences which may involve child victims, e.g. assault, cannot be identified separately within the data held centrally.Persons Proceeded Against for Selected Offences
1, 1997-2001
| Sex | Year |
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| Males | 404 | 648 | 386 | 322 | 386 |
| Females | 133 | 148 | 121 | 114 | 111 |
| Total | 537 | 796 | 507 | 436 | 497 |
Notes:1. Where main offence involved was cruel and unnatural treatment of children, child stealing, drunk in charge of a child, lewd and libidinous practices (excluding shameless indecency), defilement of a girl under 16 or possession of indecent photographs of children.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports of child abuse were submitted by the police to procurators fiscal and how many of these reports concerned complaints against (a) females and (b) males in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answer
This information is not held centrally at present, but action is currently being taking to improve how this type of information is recorded. It is hoped that it should be possible to complete the improvements to our record keeping systems in the coming months.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many farms in the East Ayrshire Council area remain under restrictions imposed after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986 and what those restrictions are.
Answer
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that 10 farms in the East Ayrshire Council area remain under restrictions imposed after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, restrictions were placed in designated areas where levels of radiocaesium in sheep meat exceeded the 1,000 Becquerels per kilogram control level. In order to protect the foodchain, statutory orders were made under terms of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, which restrict the movement and slaughter of sheep in the designated areas.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial arrangements are now in place in respect of the M77 extension between Malletsheugh and Fenwick.
Answer
It is proposed to take forward the M77 extension as a joint PPP contract with the Glasgow Southern Orbital project. Scottish ministers, East Renfrewshire Council and South Lanarkshire Council, will each pay the charges due under the contract in predetermined proportions.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it played in the appointment of Joan Aitken as Scottish Traffic Commissioner.
Answer
A senior Scottish Executive official was a member of the selection panel which interviewed candidates for the post.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-6561 by Iain Gray on 6 March 2003, how long the public consultation process will take after receipt of the successful preliminary design proposals for the A77 southern section improvements.
Answer
The duration of the public consultation period prior to the finalisation of the necessary statutory processes will depend on public reaction to proposals once they have been published.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-6561 by Iain Gray on 6 March 2003, why it could not proceed on a design and construct fixed-cost tender basis for the improvements on the southern section of the A77.
Answer
It would not be possible at this stage to define the scope of a potential fixed-cost, fixed-time contract. Contracts of this type involve higher tendering costs and longer tendering periods, and the decision as to which type of contract to employ on any scheme must balance this against the scale of costs and potential savings.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S10-06561 by Iain Gray on 6 March 2003, why it could not proceed on a design and construct fixed-cost, fixed-time, tender basis for the improvements on the southern section of the A77 and what experience it has of using such an approach.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34559 today. The majority of major trunk road projects are procured through design and construct contracts. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the tenders for the preliminary design of the A77 southern section improvements will be issued; what the closing date for receipt of such tenders will be, and how long it will take to scrutinise the tenders and decide upon the successful contractor.
Answer
The Scottish Executive intend to procure the preliminary design of the improvements on the A77 southern section through a framework contract and have already initiated the tender process. Service providers wishing to bid for the work have until 28 March to intimate an interest. Tender invitations will be issued to prequalified contractors in April and the bids should be returned at the end of May with a view to the contract being awarded in July.
