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: S2W-32355

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many junior doctors it expects to be unemployed as a result of Modernising Medical Careers recruitment and selection process.

Competition for speciality training positions in medicine continuesto be highly competitive. The modernising medical careers recruitment and selectionprocess is open, fair, transparent and competency based, which will ensure thatthe best candidates are selected for posts. Scotland will have at least the samenumber of training posts available under the new system as was available under theold regime. Whilst we expect to fill all our Scottish vacancies with the best availablecandidates, it is impossible to predict how many of those currently working in Scotlandwill be successful in securing posts in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-32354

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been received from junior doctors about the Modernising Medical Careers recruitment and selection process.

There is a formal appeal and complaintsprocedure that is available to all applicants which is publicised through the MMCScotland website. This process can be invoked where recruitment processes or procedureshave not been followed, or there is evidence of unfairness in how the process hasbeen implemented and the objectivity of decisions is called into question. Wherethese reasons are cited, applicants can request a review by the Medical TrainingApplication System (MTAS) administrators or the appropriate postgraduate dean.

To date no complaints meeting these criteria have been receivedin Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-32536

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve performance measurement and reporting within police forces.

I am pleased to announce thepublication today of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework. The frameworkwill be effective from 1 April 2007. It will for the first time establish a singlenational suite of performance indicators for every police force in Scotland.

The framework has been developedthrough close partnership working by the Scottish Executive, Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, individual constabularies, Her Majesty'sInspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland, Audit Scotland andthe Scottish Police Authorities Conveners’ Forum. The framework provides a coherentnational model for the measurement and reporting of performance information. Itis intended to assist managers throughout the police service to provide more effectivepolicing, to assist chief constables in discharging their operational responsibilitiesand police authorities in holding forces to account for efficiency and best value.It is based on four areas of policing, which encompass the wide range of policingactivities within Scottish communities. The four areas are Service Response, PublicReassurance and Community Safety, Criminal Justice and Tackling Crime and SoundGovernance and Efficiency. In each of these areas, high level objectives have beenidentified, which reflect national policing priorities. Performance measures havealso been developed in each area, as well as several indicators which will providecontextual information on the environments within which police forces are operating.Individual forces will develop appropriate local indicators to complement the corenational suite.

The framework for 2007-08 isa first step towards more coherent national measurement and reporting of performanceinformation across Scotland. It is intended to be sufficiently flexible to respondto developments in policing, in order that measures can be added or removed overtime as necessary.

The framework aims to improveaccountability at local and national levels through the publication of consistentand transparent performance information, which will support Scottish ministers,police authorities and the general public in their understanding of policing performance.Quarterly reports will continue to be provided to police boards and a national reportwill be published annually. The first annual performance report is expected in autumn2008.

Copies of the framework are availablein the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 42199).

Question reference: S2W-31790

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 27 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the British Dental Association.

Question reference: S2W-30728

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 23 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to any possibility that the public information campaign for the new local government electoral system will lead to confusion in respect of the constituency section of the ballot for the Scottish parliamentary elections, given that this will now be the only election involving marking a single “x”, and what representations have been made to the (a) Scotland Office and (b) Electoral Commission to ensure that the public remains well-informed for participation in all levels of democracy.

The Scottish Executive is workingclosely with the independent Electoral Commission to deliver a joint informationcampaign for the 2007 elections. We consider that because the local government andScottish parliamentary elections are combined, a joint public information campaignis likely to be more effective. The Electoral Commission has statutory responsibilityfor the promotion of the Scottish parliamentary elections.

The primary aim of the campaignis to spread awareness of and information about the forthcoming elections to ensurethat people who want to vote are able to do so in May. A vital element of this willbe explaining the two different voting systems being used on 3 May. The campaignplan and content are based on research into current knowledge of the voting systemsand are designed to minimise any confusion on how to vote. The effectiveness of the campaign will be monitored throughout.

The Scotland Office has no officialrole in the public information campaign, however, they are kept aware of the developmentof the campaign through their participation in the 2007 Elections Steering Group.

Question reference: S2W-29450

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when the new prison at Addiewell will be ready for use.

Question reference: S2W-29451

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that a decision will be made on the planning application appeal in respect of HM Prison Low Moss.

Question reference: S2W-29452

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is taking steps to increase the availability of prisoner places, in light of an anticipated rise in numbers of prisoners.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

Yes.

A new 700 place prison has beencontracted for at Addiewell, West Lothian and will come into use at the end of 2008.

Subject to planning permissionbeing given, a new 700 place prison will be contracted for at Low Moss.

The SPS is also investing morethan £1.5 million a week on upgrading and expanding the prison estate at HM Prisonand Young Offenders Institute Cornton Vale, HM Prison Edinburgh, HM Prison Glenochil,the SPS Open Estate, HM Prison Perth and HM Young Offenders Institute Polmont.

Question reference: S2O-10918

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2006
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 2 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the availability of socially rented housing in Glasgow.

TheExecutive is making unprecedented levels of investment available in Glasgow to increase the availability ofgood quality social rented housing through both improvement and new buildprogrammes.

This yearwe are providing £70 million to fund over 1,000 new and improved social rentedhomes in the city.

On top ofthat, our support will lead to a further 900 new homes being approved this yearin Glasgow as part of 6,000 new replacement homes for those affected by GHA’sdemolition proposals.

Question reference: S2W-27319

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what special challenges in respect of recycling it considers exist in (a) tenements, (b) high rise properties and (c) other areas of above average population density and what support and guidance is available to local authorities in relation to improving recycling opportunities in such properties and areas.

Multi-occupancy propertiesface particular problems and difficulties in the storage and collection ofrecoverable waste. The challenge for many local authorities is to implementviable recycling schemes for multi-occupancy properties in a cost effectivemanner.

To help tackle this issue, the Scottish Executive commissioned a research project on multi-occupancy propertyrecycling in 2005. The report on this project, Multi-Occupancy PropertiesRecycling Feasibility Project, will be published shortly.

Following this research, the Scottish Executive is making an award of a maximum of £46 million from theStrategic Waste Fund to a consortium of six local authorities, includingGlasgow City Council, for the period 2006-07 to 2019-20 to provide recycling facilitiesto over 200,000 multi-occupancy properties.