- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 4 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will obtain from local authorities a detailed breakdown of the cost of recovery of council tax and poll tax arrears through the summary debt collection procedure for the last three financial years.
Answer
Scottish Executive officials undertook to examine this matter for the Justice and Home Affairs Committee. I have today laid in the SPICe a copy of the letter to the clerk.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 3 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether European Regional Development Funding is available for the Borders railway.
Answer
The new South of Scotland European Objective 2 programme will be worth over £40 million over the next seven years and will bring a valuable additional boost to investment in the area. It will cover a range of issues including economic development and social justice but it is not likely to provide significant funding opportunities to invest in the railway.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 27 January 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer what efforts the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made to publicise to the general public the new regulations on the operation of cross-party groups.
Answer
The Standards Committee's report on the
Regulation of Cross-Party Groups, which sets out the regulations, was published on 30 November 1999. In keeping with normal practice, the report was placed on the Parliament's web site on that date. Most of the partner libraries in each of the 73 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies provide public access to Internet facilities.
Details of Committee reports also appear in the Business Bulletin and in the publication What's Happening in the Scottish Parliament (WHISP), copies of which are available for public inspection in many of the partner libraries and for purchase in Stationery Office outlets. Journalists were notified prior to the publication of the Report.
The Regulations on Cross-Party Groups were the subject of a debate in the full Parliament on 15 December 1999. Advance notice of that debate appeared in the Business Bulletin and in WHISP and the record of the debate appeared in the Official Report for that day. Copies of the Official Report are also available for public inspection in many of the partner libraries and for purchase in Stationery Office outlets.Parliamentary staff are currently looking at the possibility of producing a fact sheet on Cross-Party Groups to be made publicly available in the Parliament's Visitor Centre.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will request Her Majesty's Government to obtain from the Department of Trade and Industry, North East of England, figures of the number of Borders workers formerly employed by Viasystems and employed by Viasystems North Tayside over the past 17 months, and to obtain a breakdown of these figures on a month by month basis with these numbers categorised under the heads "managerial" and "non-managerial".
Answer
The Department of Trade & Industry obtain appropriate information from the company to allow them to monitor the investment project which they are assisting on North Tyneside.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was on legal advice from the Scottish Office that the responsible medical officer reviewed his opinion that Noel Ruddle should not be discharged and, if so, who gave this advice, and what was the nature of it.
Answer
I refer to the answer given to question S1W-1354.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, when in March 1998 Noel Ruddle announced his intention to appeal his detention, what legal advice was taken with regard to resisting his appeal, when was it sought, by whom and from whom.
Answer
I refer to the answer given to question S1W-1356.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether during the appeal proceedings any offer was made by Noel Ruddle's legal advisers to settle the appeal by agreeing to a conditional discharge, and if such an offer was made, what were the grounds for refusing it.
Answer
I refer to the Lord Advocate's letter of 10 September 1999 to Mrs Graham which addressed this point. A copy of that letter was placed at the time in SPICe.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what was the nature of the legal advice, given on or around 19 March 1998, which led to the transfer of Noel Ruddle to Broadmoor not proceeding and who gave that advice.
Answer
I refer to the answer given to question S1W-1356.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when on 9 April 1998 the Carstairs medical subcommittee told Noel Ruddle and the appropriate Scottish Office departments that it was recommending discharge, further legal advice was sought with regard to Mr Ruddle's appeal and, if so, what advice was received.
Answer
The Scottish Executive cannot provide information about the actions of the previous administration.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, once the Noel Ruddle hearing was in progress, what legal advice was received on the prospects of resisting the application for discharge, in particular given that the responsible medical officer had changed his views to support those of the Carstairs medical subcommittee.
Answer
Mr Ruddle's appeal was heard in April and May 1999. The Scottish Executive cannot provide information about the actions of the previous administration.On 2 September the Lord Advocate and I gave Parliament a full account of the significant events in relation to Mr Ruddle's appeal. The additional information sought would mean disclosing confidential medical and legal advice, which I am not prepared to do.
