- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many drivers it currently employs for the Government Car Service.
Answer
The Government Car Service currently employs 19 drivers, as has been the case since 2001.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many overnight stays in hotels have been charged for by Government Car Service drivers since may 2007.
Answer
Over the period 16 May 2007 to 29 February 2008 170 claims for overnight accommodation were made by the drivers of the Government Car Service. This excludes claims for overnight accommodation at training courses.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs of travel by official car were for each minister from May 2007 to January 2008.
Answer
Costs incurred by Cabinet Secretaries and ministers for journeys arranged through the Government Car Services (GCS) are not available in the format requested. Overall running costs for GCS for the period May 2007 through to January 2008, was £703,791.
GCS provides/arranges transport for a wide range of customers, including Scottish Cabinet Secretaries/ministers, ministers of UK Government Departments when in Scotland, some senior officials at the Scottish Government, visiting dignitaries, and where necessary the transportation of official documents.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the turnover has been of Government Car Service drivers since May 2007.
Answer
There has been no turnover of drivers since May 2007.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of petrol for the Government Car Service has been since May 2007.
Answer
The Government Car Service's average annual expenditure on fuel over the past three years is £64,500. It has spent £60,947 on fuel since May 2007. Fuel costs are of course rising.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to renew the Government Car Service fleet.
Answer
The programme for the replacement of Government Car Service vehicles falls within a policy that applies across the whole Scottish Government fleet. This requires that vehicles are normally considered for replacement only once they are four years old or have covered 80,000 miles.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which bus operators ministers have met since May 2007; when these meetings took place; who was present, and what issues were discussed in each case.
Answer
Meetings ministers have had with bus operators since May 2007 and what was discussed are outlined in the following table.
| Date | Minister | Bus Operator | Issue Discussed |
| 13 July 2007 | Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change | Stagecoach | Launch of Hovercraft Trial, Kirkcaldy to Portobello |
| 20 August 2007 | Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change | First | An introduction to First Glasgow and future developments. Tour of depot |
| 27 August 2007 | Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change | Lothian Buses | Launch of 10 new airport buses tour of depot |
| 31 October 2007 | Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change | Stagecoach | Opening of Stagecoach's New Insch Bus Depot and presentation by the company on their work |
| 19 November 2007 | Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth | First | Overview of the company |
| 8 January 2008 | Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change | Stagecoach | Bus Route Development Grant, Hovercraft project, Organic Passenger Growth and Success with Bus Networks |
| 11 January 2008 | Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism | West Coast Motors | Competitiveness of the local economy, financial support for transport, concessionary fares and Argyll & Bute Transport Summit |
| 21 January 2008 | Minister for Community Safety | Stagecoach | Souter Charitable Trust |
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what correspondence it has had with the European Commission regarding the cross-Forth hovercraft service; when that correspondence was exchanged, and who was involved.
Answer
The Scottish Government has had no correspondence with the European Commission regarding the cross-Forth hovercraft service.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it received advice regarding the legal implications of providing a direct operating subsidy to a single operator for the cross-Forth hovercraft service and, if so, what the detail was of that advice.
Answer
The Scottish Government has previously received advice from Scottish Government Legal Directorate on a range of issues and implications on providing any subsidy on cross-Forth travel including hovercraft. The Scottish Government does not normally publish the legal advice which it receives.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 6 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any ministers have met representatives of British Energy and, if so, when the meetings were, who was present and what was discussed in each instance.
Answer
As part of a series of introductory meetings with Scottish businesses, I met with both the Company Secretary and Public Affairs Officer of British Energy on the 20 September 2007. I was accompanied by two officials with responsibility for Energy Policy.
During the course of the meeting we discussed a range of issues including the Scottish Government's policy on new nuclear power.
In addition, I met British Energy personnel at our Energy consultation event on 25 June 2007, at a dinner arranged by Paul Foley of Kynesis on 31 January 2008 and at the National Economic Forum in Edinburgh on 6 February 2008.
