- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 25 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new affordable houses will be made available by 2011 as a result of the £100 million from the Affordable Housing Investment Programme, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
In allocating this accelerated funding we will prioritise bringing forward new construction but will also spend on off the shelf units and land acquisitions where this is strategically sensible and offers good value for money. Allocations will be made to projects rather than to specific local authority areas. This re-profiling of spend will have a neutral affect on total unit approvals for the three year spending review period.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will restrict any planned development of existing opencast mines where it has been clearly established in a court of law that the operating company has previously committed a breach of on-site safety regulations leading to on site employee accidents and deaths.
Answer
There is no provision within planning or health and safety legislation to restrict development at one site because of a conviction for a health and safety offence at another site. Planning permission, if granted, does not remove the need to comply with other statutory regimes. This includes the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and other general health and safety legislation covering workers in the opencast industry. Specific regulations, the Quarries Regulations 1999, also apply. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing this legislation and has powers to take action to secure compliance when necessary. HSE can also apply lessons from one investigation to other sites.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 24 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the £100 million from the Affordable Housing Investment Programme will be earmarked for new affordable housing in the south of Scotland region, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15759 on 16 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk./webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 23 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what work is being undertaken in conjunction with trading standards officers and others to protect the Scottishness of tartan.
Answer
There is currently no requirement in UK or EU law for goods to bear marks indicating their origin, nor is there anything to prevent voluntary origin marking where traders wish to do so. However, Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) came into force on 26 May 2008 and require traders not to mislead consumers in respect of where goods are made. This includes tartan. The CPRs are enforced by Trading Standards Services and the Office of Fair Trading. Possible breaches of the CPRs are a matter for the local authorities'' Trading Standards Services.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 17 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how Dumfries will benefit from the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, detailing those benefits and showing the knock-on effects on local projects and investments.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15672 on 2 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 11 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that community sentences are seen as effective and sufficiently severe and have the capacity to punish offenders as soon as they are sentenced, avoiding any delays in their discharge.
Answer
Following publication in November 2007 of the
Report of the Review of Community Penalties work has been taken forward in partnership between the Scottish Government and local authorities to delivery improvements to the immediacy and speed of completion of community service orders.
Local authority criminal justice social work teams operate against the framework of national standards, which are currently being reviewed. We seek to issue jointly agreed guidance by the end of the year to ensure that offenders do not leave court without being given a copy of their order and reporting instructions and that most work placements commence within seven days of imposition of the order.
We will build on this work in our publication of the Scottish Government''s plans for a coherent penal policy, which will issue before the end of 2008.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether emergency grant aid exists for community warden services in circumstances where local authorities are unable to continue funding but the need for such a service is well recognised and documented.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-7746 on 19 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can provide short-term emergency funding for community warden services in circumstances where local authorities are unable to continue funding but the need for such a service is well recognised and documented.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-7746 on 19 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to reduce reoffending rates.
Answer
We are delivering a more effective penal policy, with accelerated justice for offenders and a better targeted and more robust range of sentences for the courts. We are also addressing the underlying causes of offending through our early intervention strategy, including support for young parents, more constructive activities for young people and tackling the three D''s of drink, drugs and deprivation.
- Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 2 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale will benefit from the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, detailing those benefits and showing the knock-on effects on local projects and investments.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15672 on 2 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.