- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 September 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether information is made public about individuals who have had sexual offences prevention orders granted against them and, if not, (a) how the public is made aware of any restrictions on the liberty of a sex offender and (b) whether the Executive will consider making such information public.
Answer
Sexual Offences PreventionOrders are intended to protect the public from the risk posed by sex offendersby placing restrictions on their behaviour. In order to manage that risk to thepublic it is essential that the police are able to monitor offenders. The mosteffective method of achieving this is for the police to undertake limited andsensitively managed disclosure of such information to relevant individuals andorganisations, for example local authority parties or head teachers of localschools. This limited disclosure, assessed on a case by case basis by thepolice is designed to minimise the risk of driving the offender underground andis an important element in ensuring public safety.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 13 September 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will replace the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme and, if so, on what date any new scheme will commence.
Answer
The Community EnvironmentalRenewal Scheme was designed to assist communities in the vicinity of past or presentquarries subject to the Aggregates Levy (in the case of disused quarries providedthat they would have been subject to the levy had they been in operation today).
The Aggregates Levy proceedswere available first from 2002 to 2004, and again from 2004 to 2007. Over this period拢7.1 million has been offered or paid to 287 projects. The position on funding afterMarch 2007 will follow from decisions on the levy still to be announced by the Chancellor,and on subsequent decisions by Scottish ministers on distribution of any funds.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 September 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the publication of Choosing our Future: Scotland鈥檚 Sustainable Development Strategy in December 2005, which states that complex funding streams caused problems for those seeking to promote local environmental regeneration projects, when it will bring forward proposals to simplify the range and scope of these streams and on what date any new funding will be available.
Answer
We expect to bring forward proposalsto simplify the range and scope of funding streams for local environmental regenerationprojects by the end of this financial year and to implement new arrangements forfunding as soon as possible thereafter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 September 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of supervision of sex offenders has been, including the associated cost of police and council services and housing costs, in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.
Answer
Supervision of offenders isa function of local authorities. The information held centrally relates only tofunding allocations to authorities for the supervision of offenders in generaland not separately for the supervision of sex offenders.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 17 August 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20465 by Tavish Scott on 17 November 2005, whether it will review its position in respect of contributing to the costs of the Inverness Southern Distributor Road and classifying it as part of the trunk road network.
Answer
Consideration of the InvernessSouthern Distributor Road in the regional transport strategy for the area is a matterfor the Highland Council to discuss with the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership.Capital funding of 拢3,530,227 in 2006-07, and 拢3,530,227 in 2007-08 was made availableto the Partnership, by the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 July 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 August 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take in light of Item 12 of the conclusions of the EU Council of Ministers on 1 to 2 June 2006 on women鈥檚 health, with particular reference to osteoporosis.
Answer
The Executive recognisesthat, whilst osteoporosis affects both men and women, there is a higherprevalence of the disease amongst women. Our work on smoking, diet and exercisewill help reduce the risk of people developing osteoporosis.
The Executive alsorecognises that some diseases such as CHD, cancer and mental health problemsaffect men and women differently, and that others such as endometriosis andcervical cancer affect women exclusively. The principles set out in Deliveringfor Health are about making sure that services are responsive to the needsof the person.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 9 August 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any assessment of the impact of increased freight traffic on Scottish roads as a result of any reduction in the use of the Channel Tunnel for rail freight after 1 December 2006.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken any steps to secure continued access to the Channel Tunnel by Scottish exporters and importers and what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government in respect of a new charging regime for freight trains using the tunnel from 1 December 2006.
Answer
The Channel Tunnel Rail Linkis a reserved matter for the Department for Transport (DfT) and as such TransportScotland do liaise with DfT to ensure that Scottish rail freight interests are appropriatelyconsidered.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has obtained any information from EWS regarding the importance of continued use of the Channel Tunnel for transporting freight to and from Scotland.
Answer
We have not received any informationor representations from EWS on this matter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 July 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Johann Lamont on 3 August 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether senior citizens who live in properties where heating is provided by a coal fire, with heat circulating from the fire, qualify for the central heating and warm deal programmes and whether it is aware of the number of homes in Scotland which are heated by coal fires.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond.
Her response is as follows:
Eligibility for the Central Heatingand Warm Deal Programmes is determined by a set of defined criteria. Those criteriaare assessed on an individual basis and eligibility determined by the ProgrammeManaging Agent. As a general rule, providing an applicant met those criteria theywould be eligible if:
they are over 80 and the heatingin their home was provided by an open coal fire, including heating arrangementsconnected to a system of two or more radiators or ducts, or
they are over 60 and the heatingin their home was provided by a coal fire, excluding heating arrangements connectedto a working system of two or more radiators or ducts.
The criteria covering the WarmDeal Programme are not dependent on the type of heating system in a property. Toqualify for the programme householders must be in receipt of one or more of a rangeof specified state benefits. Those over 60 not on a qualifying benefit are eligiblefor a reduced grant of 25%.
The most recent reliable estimatesof the number of households which use coal as a primary source of fuel are takenfrom the Scottish House Condition Survey 2002. This survey estimates the numberto be around 15,000 dwellings.
