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-29193

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many whole-time equivalent police civilian support staff were in post in each month from December 2005 to September 2006.

Police civilian support staffnumbers are collected on a quarterly basis. The available information is shown inthe following table.

No. of Police Civilian SupportStaff (Whole-Time Equivalent)

As at:
31 December 2005	7,030
31 March 2006	7,187
30 June 2006	7,249
30 September 2006	7,294

Question reference: S2W-28671

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27679 by Mr Andy Kerr on 26 August 2006, what the initial projected costs were of the review of car parking arrangements in each NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-28673

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive , further to the answer to question S2W-27681 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006, whether the assurance statements obtained from NHS board chief executives or directors of finance to confirm that boards are not generating income that is being used for purposes other than providing and maintaining car parking facilities are legally binding.

Question reference: S2W-28674

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27681 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006, what legal action it can take if monies raised from car parking charges are being used for purposes other than providing and maintaining car parking facilities.

Question reference: S2W-28676

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer S2W-27681 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006, which NHS board chief executives or directors of finance have provided assurance statements in respect of hospital car parking charges.

Question reference: S2W-28666

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27679 by Mr Andy Kerr on 26 August 2006, what stage the review of car parking arrangements in each NHS board has reached.

The review, in the form of aquestionnaire, was sent out to all boards for completion by 31 August 2006. Certainboards failed to meet the deadline due to holidays but all boards havecompleted the questionnaire.

Health Department officialsare currently putting together a full report from the information received andI expect to receive this in due course. There are currently no plans to publishthe report.

The review was carried outby officials as part of their normal duties and accordingly there were no projectcosts. There were administrative costs but as the questionnaire was issued andresponses were returned electronically, these were minimal.

Question reference: S2W-28672

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27681 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006, whether it will provide a copy of the assurance statements obtained from NHS board chief executives or directors of finance to confirm that boards are not generating income that is being used for purposes other than providing and maintaining car parking facilities.

NHS boards that charge for parkingare NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Tayside and NHS Lothian.

Assurance statements were receivedfrom all NHS boards who charge and were also received from NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Borders,NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHSLanarkshire. The boards which did not respond to the request to confirm whetheror not they complied with HDL (2004) 19 were NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife,NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles. None of these boards charge forparking, and hence no follow up action was taken on assurance statements.

I will send, under separate cover,the nine assurance statements we have on file.

The assurance statements arenot deemed to be legally binding as they are statements of a state of affairs whereasthe term legally binding usually refers to an undertaking or commitment.

The Health Department Letter(HDL), as guidance, does not have the same legal effect as regulations or Directions.It is not mandatory but NHS boards are obliged to have regard to it and are generallyexpected to act in accordance with it.

No actions can be taken againstNHS boards as an action can only be taken if it can be established that the NHSboard has in fact breached a statutory duty and this is not the case in this instance.

The Scottish ministers can takeaction to terminate the appointments of the chairman and/or other members of theboard. As a last resort they could use the power in section 77 of the 1978 act tohold an inquiry and (if appropriate) make an order declaring the board to be indefault. The members of the board would have to vacate office and new appointmentswould be made. This power however could only be exercised if the board has failedto comply with any “regulations, schemes, proposals or directions”, not guidance.

Question reference: S2W-28667

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27679 by Mr Andy Kerr on 26 August 2006, when the findings of the review of car parking arrangements in each NHS board will be published.

Question reference: S2W-28670

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27679 by Mr Andy Kerr on 26 August 2006, what financial costs have been incurred to date in respect of the review of car parking arrangements in each NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-28675

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27681 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006, what action it will take if monies raised from car parking charges are being used for purposes other than providing and maintaining car parking facilities.