- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 29 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to establish its "Children's Hearings" website and what the annual operating costs are of the site.
Answer
The initial design and development of the site was as part of the main Scottish Executive website and undertaken by Scottish Executive staff. No development costs are available. Around £300 was spent in registering and setting up the separate website. Operating costs for the first two years have been less than £1,100 per year.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any intention of entering into any contracts with the private sector for a period in excess of 10 years in the light of its announcements on the Scottish Prison Service Estates Review.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Yes. Twenty to 30 years for new prison facilities is the norm.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 22 October 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether any element of the planned opening ceremony for the new Parliament building could represent any taxable benefit to members.
Answer
Planning for the opening ceremonies is at a very early stage. It is not possible to say what the elements will be.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Watson on 17 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available towards the establishment and development of (a) local and (b) national tourist trails.
Answer
The establishment of tourist trails is an operational matter for the local authorities.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28419 by Mr Andy Kerr on 11 September 2002, whether it will publish evidence and/or statistics on the effectiveness of any one advertising campaign that any of its departments have carried out since 1999; whether it will place a copy of such evidence and/or statistics in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and, if it does not produce or publish such evidence and/or statistics, what the estimated cost of such production and publication would have been.
Answer
I have placed a copy of the research report (Bib. number 24369) and questionnaire (Bib. number 24368) on the Scottish Executive's road safety campaign Foolsspeed in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The report is titled Changing speeding behaviour in Scotland: An evaluation of the "Foolsspeed" campaign. This five-year campaign began in 1999 after a baseline survey in November 1998. Follow-up surveys were conducted in spring 1999, spring 2000 and summer 2001. The research, carried out by the Centre for Social Marketing, University of Strathclyde found "robust evidence that the campaign was associated with a change in attitudes towards speeding".
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29052 by Mr Andy Kerr on 9 September 2002, whether the figures include the costs of any staff and/or officials who may have accompanied ministers and, if not, what the costs of any such staff and/or officials were and how many staff and/or officials accompanied each minister on each visit.
Answer
The figures do not include the costs of staff and/or officials who accompanied ministers. This information and the numbers of staff and/or officials who accompanied ministers could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reduce the amount it spends on advertising.
Answer
The First Minister has said that he believes that there is scope to reduce expenditure on advertising by up to 25% within the next 12 months. This is currently being reviewed by myself and I will be providing advice to the First Minister shortly.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 30 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of grant funding are available for small business start-ups, and specifically cafes, in rural Aberdeenshire.
Answer
The provision of advice and support for business start-ups in Scotland is primarily a matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Individuals wishing to start a business in rural Aberdeenshire should, in the first instance, contact their local Small Business Gateway outlet, where business advisers can advise on all relevant sources of advice and financial support available both locally and nationally. However, support is not automatic and will be dependent on the specific support criteria.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to protect farmers who are in a quality assurance scheme from any impact on their certification of the actions of persons that walk across their land with dogs that have not been adequately treated against diseases.
Answer
On-farm quality assurance schemes are industry-led and the Scottish Executive has no direct control over standards and certification procedures. There are no specific provisions to protect farmers who are in quality assurance schemes which would wholly protect them against animal contamination, wild or domestic. However, the Scottish Executive has recently produced a Bio-Security Code of Practice - currently before the Scottish Parliament - which includes guidance to walkers when using farm land to reduce any risk of disease transmission.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 27 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue guidelines to double gla'ing companies regarding the appropriate types of windows to install in conservation areas in order to prevent householders that have not complied with relevant regulations becoming subject to enforcement action and the subsequent additional cost of replacing the windows.
Answer
Government advice on window replacement is given in the Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas. The latest edition of the memorandum was published by Historic Scotland in 1998 and is the document to which all planning authorities are directed by Scottish Office Development Department Circular No.13/1998 in their consideration of conservation and listed building consent matters.Although principally aimed at planning authority staff, the guidelines about windows set out within it are of use also to applicants and their agents, and to manufacturers of replacement windows. The first point of enquiry about replacement windows should always be the local planning authority, which will offer advice on the basis of both local plan policies and Government guidance within the memorandum.
