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-26869

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 2 July 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it distributes news releases to opposition parties and other interested groups at the same time as to the media.

The main audience for news releases lies in media organisations, but the Press Office also sends by email copies of press releases to a small number of MSPs, researchers and others in Parliament who have requested copies. In practice the best vehicle to keep in touch with Executive news releases is the Executive news website which carries all news releases shortly after they have been issued to the media: (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/today.aspx).

Question reference: S1W-26808

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 June 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive why a press release advising of the transmission error that occurred on 31 May 2002 in relation to the Judicial Appointments Board was not issued until the afternoon of 12 June 2002.

A press release announcing the appointment of the new Judicial Appointments Board was issued on 12 June. This advised the media of a transmission error which had occurred on May 30 which was intended to automatically defer release to May 31. The error was not noted until a call from a journalist alerted the press office to the error. Steps were immediately taken to rectify the situation by issuing the news release with an explanation of the delay. The transmission error is being investigated to ensure any technical problems are not repeated.

Question reference: S1W-26807

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 June 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive why its announcement on the Judicial Appointments Board on 12 June 2002 has been placed in the news archive section of its website for 31 May 2002.

Question reference: S1W-26809

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 June 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many news releases were in the archive section of its website on 31 May 2002; whether any of these were removed; if so, which ones and whether these were removed or amended to allow for the entry of the announcement on the Judicial Appointments Board made on 12 June 2002, and whether an announcement on Scotsheep 2002 was removed from the archives section of the website for 31 May 2002.

There were three items in the archive section of the news website on 31 May 2002. The announcement on Scotsheep 2002 was one of them but was accidentally over-written by another item - £2 million boost for pig industry - which was posted the same day. When this error was discovered at a later date the Scotsheep 2002 item was deleted. It has now been restored.The item on the Judicial Appointments Board was meant to be posted on 31 May but a transmission error meant it was never received for posting on the website. When this omission was noted the release was issued on June 12, a note explained it should have been made public on May 31. The news website then placed the item under the original date, May 31. The presence of the Judicial Appointments Board release in the archive has no bearing on what happened to the Scotsheep item.

Question reference: S1W-26174

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2002
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 10 June 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the inaccuracies in the figures on abuse against women used in its recent campaign have resulted in any videos sent to schools being withdrawn and whether it will give an assurance that no videos using this information will be shown in any school.

There is no inaccuracy that we are aware of in the estimate that one in five women experience threats or force from a partner during their lifetime, which was used in the recent campaign. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) did, however, rule that this statistic did not justify the inference that one in five women lived with a "constant threat" which was made in some of the campaign material. All local multi-agency partnerships on domestic abuse have been informed of this ruling. They have been requested to ensure that the new wording approved by the ASA, which is "A recent survey suggests that one in five women in Scotland will experience domestic abuse within their lives", is provided in any situations in which the Executive's domestic abuse advert is used.

Question reference: S1W-25836

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2002
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 27 May 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5139 by Hugh Henry on 9 May 2002, whether it will give details of the six replies received, including from what individual or organisation each such reply was received.

Replies were received from South Ayrshire Council, Heritage Scotland Ltd (the applicant), Robert Drysdale Planning Consultancy (on behalf of the applicant), United for Heathfield (Ayr United supporters), Burness (representing AXA Real Estate Investment Managers UK Ltd, (the owners of an existing retail park) and you. As these views were requested in terms of rule 21(4) of The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (Scotland) Rules 1997 and the Scottish ministers have not completed their consideration of this matter, I am unable to divulge the contents of the submissions.

Question reference: S1W-25310

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2002
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 May 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional cost will be to local authorities in respect of indirectly employed staff of the increase in National Insurance contributions announced in the UK 2002 Budget.

Question reference: S1W-25311

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2002
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 May 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional cost will be to police and fire services of the increase in National Insurance contributions announced in the UK 2002 Budget.

Question reference: S1W-25309

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2002
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 May 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional cost will be to local authorities in respect of directly employed staff of the increase in National Insurance contributions announced in the UK 2002 Budget.

Question reference: S1W-25308

Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2002
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 May 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the additional cost to the NHS will be of the increase in National Insurance contributions announced in the UK 2002 Budget.