- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 14 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5715 by Susan Deacon on 26 April 2000, why it believes that the General Agreement on Trade in Services will not have any impact on health services.
Answer
As stated in my reply to question S1W-5715, services supplied in the exercise of government authority, including health services, are excluded from the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The UK Government is clear that any liberalisation under GATS must bring benefits and will not allow the GATS negotiations to impact on the NHS in any way which is damaging to our interests.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 14 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5715 by Susan Deacon on 26 April 2000, why it believes that the Government Procurement Agreement will not have any impact on health services.
Answer
As stated in my reply to question S1W-5715, contracts for the procurement of health services are excluded from the scope of the Government Procurement Agreement. There are currently no plans to include EC health services within the scope of the agreement.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9958 by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000, whether the proposed consultation will focus only on ground-based masts and will exclude other installations, such as those sited on buildings such as schools and hospitals.
Answer
The consultation exercise will extend beyond the installation of ground-based telecommunications masts.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 7 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9958 by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000, when the consultation pack will be issued.
Answer
My intention is to issue the consultation package in November.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 6 November 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer to what extent, for what reason, and by whom the communications of MSPs and their staff are monitored, with particular reference to telephone calls, postal communications and electronic communications which originate from or are directed towards the offices at Parliament Headquarters.
Answer
Mail coming in to PHQ is screened for security purposes but no other monitoring takes place. Outgoing mail is logged so that each member's usage can be reported, as required by the Equipment and Furniture Allowance Scheme.
Automated call logging on the Parliament's telephone system logs telephone usage for determining costs and exceptional patterns of use. Reports may be derived from the call logger and made available for this purpose.
All electronic communications are automatically subject to IT security screening systems for the purposes of detecting any characteristics (e.g. computer viruses) that would be harmful to the integrity and functionality of the Parliament network services or external systems. The Scottish Parliament IT Security Policy and Standards are available for reference on SPEIR.
There is no proactive monitoring of the emails and phone calls of members and their staff. Facilities exist to make investigations and take remedial action in response to complaints or threats that are formally reported using the procedures outlined in the Scottish Parliament IT Security Policy and Standards document.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 30 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many candidates for each of the different qualifications for which the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has responsibility were affected by the recent problems at the SQA and whether any candidates are still waiting for awards due to delays in confirming their results or delays connected with the verification, accreditation, validation or any other procedures which the SQA has to carry out before awards can be made.
Answer
This is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Evidence submitted by the interim Chief Executive of the SQA to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee for its meeting on 9 October provides the information requested. A copy of this evidence is available in the Parliament's reference centre (Bib. number 9330).
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current status is of the Larkhall to Milngavie rail link.
Answer
The Larkhall to Milngavie rail route project is the responsibility of the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority as the public passenger transport body for the area. The Scottish Executive has still to receive the authority's Full Business Case for the project and until this information is received and analysed Scottish Ministers will not be in a position to reach a view about the project's value for money.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes were of the planning and telecommunications summit held at Victoria Quay on 4 September 2000 and what its current position is on this issue in the light of the summit.
Answer
The Summit helped the Executive to gauge the views of a number of interested parties, including telecommunications operators and environmental bodies, on the issues surrounding telecommunications development in the wake of the reports of the Transport and the Environment Committee and the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones. It also provided an opportunity for the different interests groups represented to appreciate the differing perspectives of others.
The Summit is informing the consultation package which I intend to issue in October.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of the contract for Her Majesty's Prison, Kilmarnock will be to the Scottish Prison Service and what proportion of this is the capital element.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The total cost over the 25-year period of the contract is approximately £130 million in Net Present Value terms. The capital element is approximately £32 million.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what vetting was done of the organisations who form Premier Prison Services Limited prior to the awarding of the contract for Her Majesty's Prison, Kilmarnock in 1997.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
All consortia bidding for the contract were subject to extensive evaluation and vetting as part of the procurement process.
