- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 20 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Fife Council can, on grounds of commercial confidentiality, withhold information concerning any rental income it pays in respect of premises sublet from any MSP's constituency office and whether individuals will have the right to access such information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
Whether Fife Council would decide to release such information, or withhold it on grounds of commercial confidentiality, is a matter for the council. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill would, if enacted, provide individuals with a right of access to information, balanced by provisions intended to ensure that commercially sensitive information is afforded appropriate protection. Consideration of whether information would be disclosed would be made on a case by case basis.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 20 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs of special advisers to the First Minister were for the financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-01, what the estimated total costs of such advisers are for the financial years 2001-02 and 2002-03 and whether it will provide a breakdown of such costs and estimated costs.
Answer
The total cost for the financial year 1999-2000 is 拢398,062 and for 2000-01 it is 拢560,843. Details are:
| 听 | Salary | ERNIC | 16% Pension Contribution | Total |
1999-2000 | 拢310,530 | 拢37,847 | 拢49,685 | 拢398,062 |
2000-01 | 拢440,884 | 拢49,842 | 拢70,117 | 拢560,843 |
It is not possible to estimate the total costs for the years 2001-02 and 2002-03 as the number of special advisers in post from time to time is a matter for the First Minister.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 20 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what shrieval appointments have been made in each year since l997 of any individuals known to have been members of (a) the Scottish National Party, (b) the Labour Party, (c) the Conservative and Unionist Party (d) the Liberal Democrats or (e) any other political party.
Answer
This information is not collected from candidates for judicial appointments.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what the agreed allocation of funding for financial years (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02 is for each further education college, (b) what the total debt to be serviced by each college and cost of servicing such debt (i) was for 2000-01 and (ii) will be for 2001-02 and (c) what proportion of each college's grant-in-aid remains after any payments have been made in respect of servicing debts.
Answer
The allocation of public funding to individual colleges of further education is a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. Details of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 grant-in-aid allocation rounds have been made publicly available on the council's website. The council's annual reports also contain an overall summary analysed by college of all funding allocations made during a year. The most recently published annual report by the council is that for 1999-2000. The details of a college's indebtedness and the cost and source of funds to service debt will be set out in the audited annual accounts. College accounts for 2000-01 are required to be laid before the Parliament by 30 April 2002, and those for 2001-02 by 30 April 2003.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the European Commission in opposition to the draft Physical Agents Directive on vibration and place copies of any such representations in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre or, if it will not make direct representations, whether it will make such representations to Her Majesty's Government and place copies of these in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the Health and Safety implications in the proposed European Commission's Physical Agents Directive. Therefore representations to the European Commission will be a matter for the UK Government.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 November 2001
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Executive has confidence in the ability of BEAR Scotland Ltd to fulfil its obligations in maintaining and keeping clear roads in the north of Scotland.
Answer
All the private sector companies responsible for trunk road maintenance need to demonstrate that their arrangements meet the detailed and exacting requirements set out in their contracts.Contractors' performance is reviewed and monitored continuously by the Performance Audit Group who report to the Scottish Executive. If the contractors fail to perform there are a range of sanctions that the Scottish Executive could take.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Neil Davidson on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will re-consider its decision that the local Procurator Fiscal carry out a re-investigation into the death of Neil Gillies on 24 December 1999, and instruct that the investigation be carried out by a Procurator Fiscal from another area.
Answer
Decisions as to the investigation of deaths are taken independently by the Lord Advocate. It is for the Lord Advocate to determine which of his officials carries out an investigation.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 October 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 13 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its policy on community ownership extends to property owned by Scottish Natural Heritage and, in particular, to the communities on Rum.
Answer
The Scottish Executive's proposals, contained in the draft Land Reform Bill which provides for a community right to buy, extend to the whole of rural Scotland, including property owned by Scottish Natural Heritage.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 October 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 13 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost has been of the survey and research work carried out in relation to Rum by, or on behalf of, Scottish Natural Heritage from April 1992 to date.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19505.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 October 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 13 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16955 by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001, how many residential units have been built on the Isle of Rum in each year from 1957 compared with the total annual population of the island in each year from 1957 for which figures are available.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19505.
