- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 27 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how it encourages small-scale hydro power schemes.
Answer
All new hydro schemes and existing schemes up to 20MW installed capacity are eligible for support under the Renewables Obligations.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 23 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with truancy levels in schools.
Answer
No, any truancy is to be deplored.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to change the regime for Renewable Obligation Certificates to bring exempt suppliers of renewable energy from hydro power within the ambit of the scheme.
Answer
We have no such plans.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive why exempt suppliers of renewable energy from hydro power are not eligible for Renewable Obligation Certificates.
Answer
Output from large hydro schemes (those over 20 MegaWatts) commissioned before 2 April 2002 is not eligible for support under the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2004 (the ROS), as the schemes are long established – support under the ROS would constitute a windfall. Output from these schemes is of course classified as renewable, and will continue to make an important contribution towards meeting the Executive’s targets.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers from each police force are scheduled to be on secondment to police the G8 Summit at the Gleneagles Hotel and for how long.
Answer
Decisions on the number and deployment of police officers in connection with the G8 Summit at the Gleneagles Hotel in 2005 are operational matters for the Chief Constable of Tayside Police.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 10 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to attract more dentists to the NHS.
Answer
The Executive has introduced a range of measures over the last few years aimed at the recruitment of dentists within NHS general dental services. These include allowances for vocational trainees taking up their vocational training year in Scotland and for dentists entering substantive NHS general dental practice in Scotland on completion of vocational training.
Our forthcoming response to the consultation Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland will include further measures to support NHS dental services in Scotland.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 10 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address the issue of whether there are sufficient affordable dentists in Fife.
Answer
Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in the area rests with NHS Fife. NHS boards are encouraged to apply to Scottish ministers for approval for salaried dentist posts where they consider that there is a gap in NHS general dental service provision, which cannot be filled by other means. We continue to support NHS Fife by approving salaried dentist posts where required.
Our consultation Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland took a fundamental look at the way NHS dental services are provided, including remuneration. Our forthcoming response to the consultation will include further measures to support NHS dental services in Scotland.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive why it decided not to carry out improvements to the Ballinluig junction on the A9 until 2005-06, when the then Deputy Minister for Transport and Planning announced in April 2002 that funding for the junction upgrade would come from budgets in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
Answer
The preparation work for thisscheme has been more complex than previously envisaged. Roads engineers are currentlyresolving a number of remaining design issues. I expect draft orders to be publishednext spring, which will allow affected parties and members of the public to commenton the proposals.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how often it will publish progress reports on meeting Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Targets 1 to 3 in Draft Budget 2005-06.
Answer
Enterprise and Lifelong Learning’s targets 1 to 3 refer to increasing business expenditure on research and development, improving the productivity of Scottish industry, and improving Scotland’s entrepreneurial performance respectively. Progress towards meeting these targets will be reported through the annual budget documents, along with all others set out in
Building a Better Scotland: Enterprise, Opportunity and Fairness (Bib. number 33956).
In addition to this, Targets 1 and 2 are progress measures for A Smart, Successful Scotland (SSS) and are reported on in the reports Measuring Progress Towards a Smart, Successful Scotland (Bib. number 34212).
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take as a result of its Comparative Study of Business Tax Revenue showing that business property taxation in Scotland is 17% higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answer
I refer the member to the question S2W-11981 answered on 18 November 2004, and would again stress the limitations of such comparisons.
The Scottish Executive is committed to creating the conditions to maximise sustainable economic growth in the medium and long term. The Executive’s strategy to deliver this is laid out in the recently refreshed editions of The Framework for Economic Development in Scotland (Bib. number 33705) and Smart Successful Scotland (Bib. number 34212).
