- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 24 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the accommodation booking module of the Ossian Project was originally planned to be introduced in February 1999; when it will be introduced; whether there will be a consequential delay in the implementation of the proposed Tourist Information Centres (TICs) accommodation booking system, and when all TICs will become operational to employ the Ossian accommodation booking system.
Answer
It has been possible to book accommodation using the Ossian database since August 1999. Pre-payment using e-commerce will be piloted during the first quarter of 2000. The full system will then be available to all ATB members who wish to use it. TICs will also be able to provide a booking and payment service to their customers. Each ATB is responsible for their own TIC connection schedules, therefore timescales for delivery in each area will vary.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 22 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-779 by Henry McLeish on 13 August 1999, whether it has made specific representations to Her Majesty's Government opposing their plans to have benefit payments moved from rural post offices to automated credit transfer and what assessment has it made or plans to make of any impact upon rural post offices such a move might have.
Answer
The UK Government has indicated its commitment to maintaining a network of post offices throughout the country. The UK Government has also given an assurance that those benefit recipients who wish to collect their benefits in cash at post offices will continue to be able to do so.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 22 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what input it will have into the meeting organised by the Department of Trade and Industry for 20 December 1999 to discuss the loss of jobs at the Barmac fabrication yards.
Answer
The Oil and Gas Industry Task Force, of which I am vice-chair, has agreed to establish an Oil and Gas Fabrication Support Group to address the difficulties faced by all the fabrication yards in the UK. The Group had a preliminary meeting on 20 December to discuss how to manage the changes that face the industry. The Scottish Executive will play its full part in this Group, which will also involve the Department of Trade and Industry, local enterprise agencies and training and export agencies.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will state for the financial year 1997-98 the amount of money spent as a proportion of the total budget of the Scottish Arts Council on (a) opera, (b) traditional Scottish music, (c) ja'' and (d) ballet.
Answer
The grant in aid received by the Scottish Arts Council in 1997-98 amounted to £27,313,000. From this the allocations were:
| | £000 | % |
| a) Opera | 6,074 | 22.23 |
| b) traditional Scottish music | 177 | 0.65 |
| c) jazz | 223 | 0.82 |
| d) ballet | 2,453 | 8.98 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 17 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that doctors should be allowed to refuse necessary medical treatment to a patient solely for the reason that the patient is pursuing litigation for industrial injury, and whether doctors can as a precondition of carrying out such treatment insist that the patient discontinues a legal action for recovery of damages for personal injuries.
Answer
Doctors owe a professional duty of care to their patients. They should do their best to establish and maintain a relationship with each patient and treatment should be based on the exercise of their clinical judgement, assessing the patient's needs and the likely effectiveness of the treatment.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 17 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the practice of declining medical treatment to a patient unless the patient discontinues legal action for the recovery of damages for personal injuries is an infringement of that patient's human rights and in particular of the right to a fair and public hearing under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights as amended to include the provision of Protocol No.11.
Answer
A patient's right to pursue an action for recovery of damages for personal injury is a separate matter from and should not be related to the provision of medical treatment to that patient if such treatment has been considered necessary and appropriate in a doctor's clinical judgement. Whether the circumstances pertaining to a particular patient amount to a breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights would have to be considered on the facts of that case.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 16 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the health implications of the study Mortality and Morbidity of members of the British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association and their families by Sue Rabbitt Roff of the University of Dundee, and whether it will contact each of the survivors resident in Scotland to establish the state of their health.
Answer
The possible consequences of nuclear weapons tests are reserved matters. All UK citizens are, of course, entitled to receive NHS treatment for whatever ailments they have.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 16 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the plight of the survivors of the UK nuclear weapons test carried out in Australia and at Kiribati between 1952 and 1963 who are resident in Scotland and, in particular, urge it to reassess previous decisions to refuse such survivors compensation and/or backdated pension payments.
Answer
The possible consequences of nuclear weapons tests are reserved matters.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 16 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from Highlands and Islands Enterprise on the consultation paper Tackling Congestion; whether it supports Highlands and Islands Enterprise's suggestion that the value of the element of the fuel duty escalator collected in designated "extreme rural areas" be returned by Her Majesty's Government to those areas to fund essential transport provision, and whether the estimated amount of such value is approximately #12 million per annum.
Answer
The Executive has received a response from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to its consultation paper Tackling Congestion. A copy of this response has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). The Executive is considering that response, and has taken into account the views of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and others in its regular meetings with the UK government on this and other reserved issues.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 16 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any letters or other communications to third parties inviting views in connection with the appointment of a new Chairman of Caledonian MacBrayne and, in particular, whether the recipients of any such letter or other communications were (a) invited to respond in confidence (b) assured that their reply would be confidential or (c) given other advice as to whether their reply would or would not be treated as confidential and, if (c), what that other advice was.
Answer
We have no plans to publish letters to third parties. The advertisement for the post of Chairman to Caledonian MacBrayne Limited stated that all correspondence would be treated strictly in confidence. This includes correspondence with referees. Referees were sought in respect of all candidates invited to interview. Referees were provided with the criteria for the post, which were agreed by Ministers at the outset, a background note on the Company and details on the role of Chairman. They were asked to report frankly on their view of the candidate's suitability for the post and were advised in writing that any information provided would be treated in the strictest confidence.
