- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many elderly people in hospital or at home who had been assessed for nursing/residential care died before securing a placement, in each local authority area, in the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or will make, representations to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority regarding the reinstatement of the rail line from Edinburgh to Carlisle in the context of any assessment it has made on how the line's reinstatement would fit into the overall expansion of the rail network, both for passenger rail use and freight, as set out by the Deputy Prime Minister in July 2000.
Answer
On 28 November the Scottish Executive published its consultation paper on the strategic priorities for Scotland's railways as part of the process of developing directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority on the franchise for passenger rail services that start and end in Scotland. During this process we will give consideration to a wide range of issues, including proposals for additions to the passenger rail network such as the reinstatement of the Borders railway.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10632 by Sarah Boyack on 8 November 2000 and to motion S1M-922 agreed by the Parliament on 1 June 2000, whether it is making or has made any representations to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority regarding funding for full reinstatement of the line between Edinburgh and Carlisle.
Answer
On 10 November I announced an award of £1.865 million to the Scottish Borders Council under the third round of the Public Transport Fund for the cost of securing the necessary permissions for reinstating the railway between Edinburgh and the Central Borders.
On 28 November, the Scottish Executive launched its consultation paper on the strategic priorities for Scotland's railways as part of the process of developing directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority on the franchise for passenger rail services that start and end in Scotland. During this process we will give consideration to a wide range of issues, including proposals for additions to the passenger rail network such as the reinstatement of the Borders railway.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10385 by Sarah Boyack on 1 November 2000, whether instructions were given that actual comparative environmental costing of transporting timber by road and by rail be drawn up as part of the Borders Railway Feasibility Study and, if so, whether it will detail the actual costings on the basis of which the conclusion was reached that the impact of the Borders railway would be to make it environmentally more acceptable to extract timber from the Kielder Forest.
Answer
An extensive analysis of the environmental impacts of transporting timber by rail from the Keilder Forest can be found in Volume 3, Parts 5 & 6 of the Scottish Borders Railway Feasibility Study.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 20 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the absence of central heating in a pensioner household is the only criterion used to estimate that 70,000 pensioner households will benefit from its proposed central heating scheme or whether other criteria are used to arrive at this figure and, if so, what the criteria are.
Answer
The estimate that 70,000 pensioner households will benefit from the central heating initiative was based solely on the number of such households who do not have central heating.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Health and Community Care will respond to my letter of 16 May 2000 regarding the retirement age of Scottish Ambulance Service staff.
Answer
I replied to the member's letter on 30 June 2000. I have arranged for a further copy to be sent to you.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7091 by Susan Deacon on 8 September 2000, whether the occupational health and safety minimum datasets have been issued and when the information to be collected will be made available to the Parliament.
Answer
The occupational health and safety minimum dataset is expected to be published to the NHS in Scotland shortly. When published, a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Library and on the "Scotland Health on the Web (SHOW)" site. The first set of information collected is expected to be available in late summer 2001.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7091 by Susan Deacon on 8 September 2000, how many accident and emergency ambulance crew left the ambulance service in (i) 1995-96, (ii) 1996-97, (iii) 1997-98, (iv) 1998-99, (v) 1999-2000 and (vi) 2000 to date because of (a) ill health, (b) early retirement and (c) transfer to non-emergency service duties, expressed in numbers and as a percentage of the total number of accident and emergency ambulance staff.
Answer
The information requested is not available centrally. The Scottish Ambulance Service however may hold the data locally and you may therefore wish to write to Mr Adrian Lucas, Chief Executive, Scottish Ambulance Service, National Headquarters, Tipperlinn Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5UU with your request.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 19 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11098 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 23 November 2000, whether it will appoint and fund a water safety officer, similar to the post that already exists in England, with the remit of preventing drowning and other accidents.
Answer
Question S1W-11098 was answered in the belief that it referred to the regulation of drinking water quality, which is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. Prevention of drowning and other accidents is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 14 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce the level of personal debt.
Answer
Tackling debt is a key element of the Scottish Executive's Social Justice agenda and we have been working in partnership with a wide range of organisations to improve the financial services available to people on low incomes. Measures being developed or under consideration include:- Arrangements to provide free, high quality money advice for all who need it;- Encouragement of the provision and use of basic bank accounts;- Delivering wider access to low cost credit through the development of credit unions;- Provision of low cost insurance with rent schemes.The Executive is also providing active support to moves by the Department of Trade and Industry to improve lending practices of credit providers and transparency of information provided to consumers.
