- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 14 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to extend the Childsmile School initiative to the NHS Grampian area.
Answer
A Childsmile programme developedparticularly for the needs of the population in NHS Grampian will be introducedin 2008, starting with a training programme for staff in the first half of 2008and an incremental introduction of the comprehensive programme which will ultimatelyserve very young, nursery and school children.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 14 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS board areas are currently involved in the Childsmile Practice initiative.
Answer
The Childsmile Practice initiativeis currently operational in areas covered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lanarkshireand NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
Representatives from NHS Highlandmet with the Childsmile Practice Programme Manager on 6 December 2007 to discussintroducing the Childsmile Programme in NHS Highland in early 2008.
A Childsmile programme developedparticularly for the needs of the population in NHS Grampian will be introducedin 2008 starting with a training programme for staff in the first half of 2008 andan incremental introduction of the comprehensive programme which will ultimatelyserve very young, nursery and school children.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 13 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers have had with the Aberdeen Prison Visiting Committee since the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced his decision on 24 August 2007 to close Aberdeen prison.
Answer
No formal discussionshave taken place between ministers and the Aberdeen Visiting Committee. However,there has been correspondence from the Visiting Committee addressed to both myselfand to the First Minister. This has now been dealt with by officials and a letterwas issued on 2 December 2007 to the Clerk of the Visiting Committee.
It was thought appropriateto arrange to meet with representatives of Aberdeen City Council and AberdeenshireCouncil prior to issuing that reply. It is my understanding that contact has nowbeen established with both councils.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 11 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with OFGEM, since May 2007, about proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
The Scottish Government has regular discussions with OFGEM and expects to discuss shortly its proposals and feasibility studies which would help take them forward.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the recent publication of figures showing that there are currently 295 registered sex offenders resident in the Grampian Police force area, whether it will now publish comparable figures for other police force areas.
Answer
The informationrequested is shown in the following table, which is available and updatedmonthly on the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) website found at:
http://www.spsa.police.uk/foi/classes_information/public_interest. | Scottish Police Force Area | Numbers registered as at 1 November 2007 |
| Central | 185 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 111 |
| Fife | 247 |
| Grampian | 315 |
| Lothian and Borders | 648 |
| Northern | 215 |
| Strathclyde | 1,268 |
| Tayside | 328 |
| Other | 187 |
| Total | 3,504 |
Numbers ofregistered sex offenders fluctuate on a daily basis.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to achieve increased numbers of visitors to Scotland from Wales.
Answer
As part of the workto meet the shared ambition of a 50% growth in tourism revenue in the decade to2015, VisitScotland undertakes extensive marketing to promote Scotland, both overseas and in the UK,as a quality tourism destination.
To ensure that thismarketing achieves maximum effectiveness, VisitScotland undertook a significant research programmein 2006 to develop its understanding of the UKtourism market. This identified 10 consumer segments within the UK, some currently “cold” in terms of their propensity totravel to Scotland and some already “warm”. From the segmentsidentified, and in light of the 50% ambition, VisitScotland is concentrating onthe six segments which offer the best potential for increasing the volume and valueof domestic tourism to Scotland. As 73% of holiday-takers in Wales and theWest Country appear not to be disposed towards visiting Scotland, Wales is not currently a specific target for VisitScotland’smarketing and resources.
However, as VisitScotlandmakes use of satellite TV nationally to promote Scotland, as well as using press advertisements in some national press, many peoplein Wales will be exposed to Scotland’s tourism marketing. Of course any visitors that do stayhere will experience a wonderful welcome and wish to return; also spreading theword. This can be the most-effective form of marketing, accounting for more thanthree out of four decisions on holiday destination.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Norwegian Government on proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets in Norway or elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
We are keen to asses the potential for sub-sea grid links between Scotland and Norway and will shortly commission a pre-scoping study exploring these as well as other possible offshore grid links between Scotland and northern Europe.
The First Minister intends to meet with the Norwegian Government to discuss this early next year.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned any individuals or organisations to work on proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets elsewhere in Europe and, if so, at what cost.
Answer
In June, we commissioneda consortium led by WSP Environmental to undertake a pre-scoping study of the requirementsfor offshore electricity grid connection between Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire.
The study cost around£21,810 which was fully covered by the EU Interreg Cross Border Programme.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff are working on proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
As part of wider responsibilities,officials in the Renewables Policy team of the Enterprise Energy and Tourism Directorateare involved in studies along with colleagues in Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, SDI and Scotland Europa to explore sub-sea grid options between Scotland and Ireland and possible links between Scotland and northern Europe.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis involved in two studies looking at the potential for future offshore renewablesgeneration to connect to other regions in Europe. These studies will explore potential sub-sea transmission links with Ireland and northern Europe, respectively.
It is hoped that thiswill lead to further work which will help make the business case for future commercialinvestment in offshore grid development.
