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-30591

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 15 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive from what source an additional £2 million has been obtained for the Linksfield sports facility in Aberdeen and whether this provision will have any impact on other projects funded under the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy or from sportscotland’s budget.

In principle allocations at Stage1 are only intended to give an indication of financial support which may be availablefor any project. However, actual investment decisions are only made after receiptof a Stage 2 application and after careful consideration of such by sportscotland.sportscotland approved the investment of £7 million toward the Stage 2 applicationfor the North East facility. The £7 million is made up of a mixture of sportscotlandLottery funding and Scottish Executive Exchequer funding.

Question reference: S2W-30357

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 21 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from any of the local authorities that have been allocated funding under the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy for additional financial support to ensure that the facility is developed and, if so, which local authorities have requested additional funding, and how much they have requested.

Ten projects were allocated fundingin response to their Stage 1 application. However, this is not a funding decisionbut an in principle allocation. A funding decision is made in response to a LocalAuthority’s Stage 2 application and thus far two projects have been awarded fundingat Stage 2: Glasgow City Council for their Toryglen project and Aberdeen City Councilfor their Chris Anderson Stadium project.

Sportscotland has been workingwith each local authority allocated funding at Stage 1 to develop a Stage 2.

Question reference: S2W-30593

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 21 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding for the implementation of the Changing Lives social work review has been allocated to each local authority, showing the purpose for which each amount has been paid.

Question reference: S2W-30592

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 21 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated for the implementation of the Changing Lives social work review.

Question reference: S2W-30356

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 18 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the funding earmarked for implementation of Changing Lives: Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review has been allocated; which local authorities have been allocated funding; how much each has been allocated, and for what purpose.

The Executive has earmarked £15million over the first two years of the five year implementation programme for ChangingLives. For 2006-07 we plan to spend around £1.5 million. No specific funding withinthis has been allocated to individual local authorities.

The five Change Programmes todrive forward this work have had their initial meetings and their workplans willbe firmed up in the new year. We are also currently analysing the self assessmentreturns from local authorities on the priority areas for work they are undertaking.This will feed into the work of the Change Programmes and inform future allocationof funding, whether directly to individual local authorities or elsewhere.

Question reference: S2O-11351

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 7 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there were for offences related to noise pollution in town centres in the last year for which figures are available.

Data held by the Executive doesnot indicate how many prosecutions relate specifically to noise pollution in towncentres. Problems of noise can be dealt with in many ways, including prosecution,action under the Antisocial Behaviour Scotland Act 2004, action under the EnvironmentalProtection Act 1990 or through mediation and education. I recognise the tremendousdistress noise causes to people and their communities, and that is why the Executivehas put in place strong and effective measures.

Question reference: S2W-29489

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 4 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive why the estimated completion date for the Forthbank curling academy and sports hall in Stirling has moved from October 2007 to April 2008 and whether it expects any further delay to the project.

The start and completion datesfor the Forthbank project were based on projections from Stirling Council whichhave proved to be unrealistic as the project has progressed. A contributory factorin the delay of this project has been the difficulty Stirling Council have experiencedin financing the project. Stirling Council advise that the estimated completiondate for this project is April 2009.

Sportscotland are concerned aboutdelays in the timescales for the National and Regional Sports FacilitiesStrategy projects and are in regular discussions with Stirling Council to try andresolve any problems as they arise.

Question reference: S2W-29497

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 21 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its response to sportscotland’s National Audit of Sports Facilities in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-26568 on 7 June 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

In fulfilling their statutoryresponsibilities, it is for local authorities to consider the five areas highlightedin the Audit’s Planning for the Future. The Executive through sportscotland standsready to assist local authorities and future funding will be committed to facilitiesthat clearly sit within a local authority’s sport strategy.

Question reference: S2W-29496

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 16 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a list of all the organisations and projects that received funding from its International Development Fund in 2005-06 and will receive funding in 2006-07, showing the purpose of each project and the level of funding allocated.

I refer the member to the followinginformation on the Scottish Executive website:

Projects funded from the firstround of the International Development Fund:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/News-Extras/intdevfundnov2005.

Projects funded from the secondround of the International Development Fund:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/internationaldevelopment/malawi/idfsept2006.

Question reference: S2W-29455

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it provides to each local authority for the provision of Dial-A-Journey services.

No funds are provided tolocal authorities specifically for dial-a-journey services. All Scottish localauthorities except the four city Councils receive grants under the Rural PublicPassenger Transport Grant Scheme which they are free to spend as they see fit onconventional bus services, community transport services or demand responsivetransport such as dial-a-journey in rural areas.

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Dundee City, Edinburgh City, Fife, Glasgow City andHighland Councils received Scottish Executive funding in the period 2003-04 to2005-06 under a demand responsive transport pilot scheme. These Councilscontinue to receive assistance in 2006-07 and 2007-08 in respect of successful projectsunder the scheme.