- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 1 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answers to questions S2W-25710 and S2W-25711 by Mr Tom McCabe on 17 May 2006 stating that the information on statutory performance indicators (SPIs) is not held centrally, whether the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform has been advised that information related to SPIs is held in the Executive’s briefing exchange (Brix) system and whether, in light of this, he is now in a position to provide the information requested.
Answer
I refer the member to the answersto questions S2W-25710 and S2W-25711 on 17 May 2006. As made clear, information on statutory performanceindicators is publicly available and can be found on the Audit Scotland websiteat
www.audit-scotland.gov.uk.
PerformanceBrix notes previously included salient points from the statutory performance indicators.However, the approach to the performance Brix notes is currently underconsideration. In the meantime full performance information on localauthorities for 2004-05, and for previous years, can be accessed through Audit Scotland’swebsite.
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: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Johann Lamont on 31 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered voluntary organisations have closed down in each year since 1999.
Answer
Voluntary organisations havenot been required to register with any regulatory body. Consequently, this informationis not collected centrally.
However, following the creationof the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR), voluntary organisationsseeking charitable status in Scotland are required to meet the new charity test set out inthe Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, in order to be awarded charitable status andbe placed on the Scottish Charity Register.
Charitable status was previouslygranted by the Inland Revenue (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) under the CharitiesAct 1993. Under section 3 (7) (b) trustees of charities were required to notifythe commissioners (Charity Commission) if their charities were winding up and thisinformation can be obtained from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive , further to the answer to question S2W-25267 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 May 2006, how many people who were placed under covert surveillance involving interception of communications following authority from Scottish Ministers, but were not subsequently prosecuted, have made a complaint under Section 65 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Answer
This is a matter for the InvestigatoryPowers Tribunal. The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25267 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 May 2006, when Scottish Ministers last discussed the Wilson Doctrine with the Prime Minister.
Answer
I have nothing to add to my answerto question S2W-25267. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be found at
www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive , further to the answer to question S2W-25272 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 May 2006, whether it considers that it is in the public interest to determine whether MSPs are, or have been, under covert surveillance involving interception of communications authorised by Scottish Ministers and what impact such action would have on the Scottish democratic process.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25806 on 23 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25267 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 May 2006, how many covert surveillance operations involving the interception of MSPs' communications it has authorised since 1999 and, of these, what percentage resulted in any formal, non-covert action by police.
Answer
Details of the number of interceptionwarrants issued by the Scottish ministers are contained in the annual reports of the Interception ofCommunications Commissioner. The most recentreport – Bib. number 37809, document number SE/2005/203 – was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 3 November 2005.
It is not in the public interestto give details relating to interception warrants beyond the figures reported bythe commissioner. To do so could potentially damage the effectiveness of what is an important part of our ability to tackle seriousand organised crime.
The use of Interception as aninvestigative technique is governed by strict safeguards within the Regulation ofInvestigatory Powers Act 2000. The commissioner has stated in successive annualreports Scottish ministers take considerable care to satisfy themselves that warrantsare necessary and proportionate for the authorised purposes – preventing and detectingserious crime.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25267 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 May 2006, how many covert surveillance operations involving the interception of MSPs' communications it has refused to authorise since 1999.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25806 on 23 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be found at
www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25267 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 May 2006, what plans it has to introduce a convention to prevent Special Branch carrying out covert surveillance operations against MSPs and to extend their protection and freedom in a similar way to that provided to MPs by the Wilson Doctrine.
Answer
There are no plans to introducea convention of this sort.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 18 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recent announcement by the Department of Trade and Industry of funding for the rural post office network to 2008, whether the Executive anticipates that it will have any powers to fund Scottish post offices after 2008.
Answer
The Executive already hassome, limited, powers to support individual post office businesses. Anamendment to the Scotland Act makes an exception to the reserved status ofpostal services for “financial assistance for the provision of services (otherthan postal services and services relating to money or postal orders) to beprovided from public post offices.” Communities Scotland has used thisprovision to enhance Government assistance to post offices through a £2 millioncapital grants scheme and recently-announced business improvement trainingopportunities for post offices in deprived areas. Any extension of thesepowers, through primary legislation or an order under the Scotland Act, wouldrequire the approval of both the Scottish and the UK Parliament.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has put in place to support allied health professionals to provide adequate levels of service to children with autistic spectrum disorder, in light of the significant increase in their number.
Answer
The Scottish Executive EducationDepartment provided funding of £3 million per year for the last two years to NHSboards to meet their obligations under the Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004. These resources are being used in a variety of ways, includingthe recruitment of speech and language therapists and other professionals to workwith autistic children in schools.
