- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 12 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) police officers and (b) other public sector workers contracted (i) HIV, (ii) hepatitis B or (iii) hepatitis C following exposure to the bodily fluids of another person as a result of that person committing or allegedly committing an offence in the last year.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
For police officers, the Scottish Police Federation has advised that during the year 2003-04 there were 24 incidents (not all of them necessarily involving an alleged offence) following which police officers embarked on a course of post-exposure prophylaxis as a precaution against possible HIV infection. One officer is thought to have been infected with hepatitis B during that period, but none with HIV or hepatitis C.
Health Protection Scotland would keep records of any such incidents if brought to their attention by health boards. However, they are not aware of any cases over the last 12 months.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 11 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what costs it has incurred (a) to date and (b) in the last year in respect of the M74 northern extension project, broken down into (i) scheme designs, (ii) publicity and lobbying, (iii) the public inquiry and (iv) all other costs associated with the project.
Answer
Executive expenditure on the M74 completion project to date and for the last financial year to end March 2005 is shown in the following table:
| | Spend to date | Spend in Financial Year to End March 2005 |
| Scheme Design | £3,232,270.57 | £117,878.83 |
| Publicity and Information | £333,006.58 | £3,565.33 |
| Public Local Inquiry | £479,098.15 | £182,121.26 |
| All Other Costs | £36,923,858.21 | £18,233,002.72 |
| Total | £40,968,233.51 | £18,536,568.14 |
Notes:
1. The Executive contributes 87.35% to the total cost of the scheme.
2. Publicity and information costs relate to setting up and running the M74 completion website, public exhibitions (preparation of display material, hire of halls etc), production of brochures and advertising of statutory material.
3. Other costs principally relate to land purchase and compensation but also include ground investigation, archaeological surveys, topographical surveys and traffic surveys.
4. Spend in financial year to end March 2005 is estimated.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the recommendations in the report of the Working Group on Hate Crime.
Answer
Scottish ministers are considering the detailed recommendations of the Working Group on Hate Crime and will respond to it in due course.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive which of its 29 social justice milestones have been met; whether it experienced any difficulties measuring milestones and, if so, which of the milestones were difficult to measure and why.
Answer
Our last report on progress towards the social justice milestones (
SocialJustice: Indicators of Progress 2003) showed that 17 of the milestones were moving in the right direction. Since then, one of the milestones (number 12) has been achieved. We were unable to measure one milestone (number 26) because of insufficient data. The latest data on the milestones continues to be made available on our Closing the Opportunity Gap webpages:
www.scotland.gov.uk/closingtheopportunitygap.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 11 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a statement on its intended use of the national identification database.
Answer
As has been stated on more than one occasion, the Scottish Executive has no plans to make provision of any devolved service dependent on an individual being registered on the National Identity Register. Should that position change, it would require an Act of the Scottish Parliament - clause 44 of the Bill makes this clear.
The Bill would give the Home Secretary regulated power to disclose information from the Register to the Scottish police for the prevention and detection of crime. Scottish Ministers recognise the need to ensure that Scottish police are not unduly hampered in their ability to prevent and detect serious crime. However, conferring power on a UK government minister to disclose information from a register established for intrinsically reserved purposes is outwith the competence of the Scottish Parliament.
In response to the recent suggestions that a Sewel motion is required in respect of clauses 17(6) and 18(4), both of which state “in this section ‘enactment’ includes an enactment comprised in an Act of the Scottish Parliament”, I can confirm that this is not the case. The references to ASPs reflect the fact that the Scottish Parliament would have power to require registration on the National Identity Register for devolved purposes. The provisions address the consequences that would flow from any such requirement.
Neither clause alters: devolved purposes; the legislative competence of the Parliament; or the executive competence of Scottish Ministers. No Sewel motion is therefore required.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor and evaluate Closing the Opportunity Gap's (CtOG) objectives and targets.
Answer
The CtOG objectives are underpinned by 10 specific targets. These targets will be monitored and progress against them will be published as data becomes available, on our Closing the Opportunity Gap webpages.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish annual reports on Closing the Opportunity Gap's targets and objectives.
Answer
We will not publish annual reports on our Closing the Opportunity Gap targets and objectives. The targets will be monitored and the latest data showing progress against them will be published as it becomes available on our Closing the Opportunity Gap webpages.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will monitor and evaluate Closing the Opportunity Gap's targets in respect of gender and, if so, how.
Answer
We will disaggregate published data on the targets by gender, age, ethnicity, disability and geography where possible.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to involve people with experience of poverty and social exclusion in the monitoring of Closing the Opportunity Gap's targets and objectives and how it will report on any activity undertaken in this area.
Answer
All departments have been asked to develop plans for involving service users and those with experience of poverty and social exclusion in the delivery of their targets. In addition, the Poverty Alliance are currently developing a programme of work that will enable the views of those with direct experience of poverty and social exclusion to be fed into the policy development, monitoring and review process.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are living in residential caravans or mobile homes on unprotected sites.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally.
