- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the publication of the Draft Referendum (Scotland) Bill, what estimate the Scottish Government has made as to what the level of deficit would be in an independent Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentintends to promote and encourage the maintenance and expansion of Scotland’s international air connections which avoid the needfor travellers to use connecting flights and reduce reliance on UK internal flights. The mechanism to assist the developmentof direct international air links is currently being revised in view of EuropeanUnion Guidelines on start-up aid for new air services.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the start date for the upgrade work to the A9 Ballinluig junction was moved as a result of either the outcome of the Parliament elections in May 2007 or of the subsequent formation of the new Scottish Executive.
Answer
The government attachesthe highest importance to taking the earliest steps to upgrade the A9 Ballinluigjunction.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-980 by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July 2007, why, if formal statistics of participation in higher education are not available for the whole of the period since the Reformation, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning stated to the Parliament on 13 June 2007: “The age participation index, which measures the proportion of young Scots who are engaged in higher education, has fallen since the graduate endowment fee was introduced from 51.5 per cent in 2001-02 to 47.1 per cent in 2005-06. Believe it or not, for the first time since the reformation, there has been a drop in the share of the population studying in higher education in Scotland.” (Official Report c. 629).
Answer
I was making thepoint that the Scottish education system has been leading by example forcenturies. The Member may be interested in the facts and statistics describedin a book by Prof R.D. Anderson: Scottish Education since the Reformation,Studies in Scottish Economic and Social History No 5, Edinburgh 1997.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 31 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out or is aware of any research into the importance of providing staffed public toilets in locations visited by high numbers of tourists.
Answer
Decisions concerning theprovision, management and funding of public toilets are for individual localauthorities and not a matter for the Scottish Executive. We have not conducted nor are we aware of anyresearch into the importance of providing public toilets or the views oftourists on such matters.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 31 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the provision of staffed public toilets in locations visited by high numbers of tourists.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-2265 on 31 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 31 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides any financial assistance to local authorities for the provision of staffed public toilets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-2265 on 31 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children with autism have been diagnosed as having Fragile X syndrome in each year since 1990.
Answer
Children with autismspectrum disorder are most likely to be diagnosed in an outpatient clinic andmanaged in the community or general practice. Diagnostic information forpatients attending outpatient clinics is not available centrally.
On-going research inmolecular genetics and development of the brain should help to establish thenature of the association between fragile X and autism. A SIGN guideline forassessment, diagnosis and clinical interventions for children and young peoplewith autism spectrum disorder was recently published, which identifies andrecommends areas for further research.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what action Forestry Commission Scotland and Forest Enterprise are taking to protect forests from squirrelpox-infected grey squirrels.
Answer
Forestry Commission Scotland(FCS) and its agency Forest Enterprise Scotland are helping SNH and the RedSquirrels South Scotland project to develop and implement a response plan. FCSis helping to monitor the incidence of squirrelpox virus in the populations ofgrey and red squirrels in the affected area, and it has trained the projecttrappers and some private estate trappers to enable them to carry out greysquirrel control.
FCS and the Executive’sRural Directorate have also proposed measures under the Scottish Rural Development Plan for new targetedgrants for grey squirrel control to help red squirrel conservation.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 26 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the creation of a national Roman centre in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government,through Historic Scotland, is supporting the creation of an Antonine WallInterpretation Centre in the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow. This Centre, to be opened in 2008, will providevisual and virtual information on the Antonine Wall and on the Roman occupationof Scotland.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 26 July 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the Antonine Wall gaining a World Heritage Site designation.
Answer
Yes. The Antonine Wallnomination for World Heritage Site status was prepared by Historic Scotland, onbehalf of Scottish Ministers, and submitted to the United Nations Education, Science and CultureOrganisation (UNESCO) by the Secretaryof State for Culture, Media and Sport on behalf of the UKgovernment in January 2007.
