- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 11 December 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) received any information from the Audit Committee or the Scottish Commission for Public Audit in relation to the remit given by the Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) to Gardner & Theobold and the subsequent report prepared by Gardner & Theobold to the AGS which assisted in the preparation of the AGS report, The new Scottish Parliament building: An examination of the management of the Holyrood project; if so, what information the SPCB received and whether a copy of the remit and the Gardner Theobold report will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and whether the Commission has made any directions to the SPCB under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 on this matter.
Answer
No. I am informed by the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that Gardiner & Theobold were employed as consultants by Audit Scotland to assist the Auditor General for Scotland in the preparation of his report on the Holyrood Project in 2000. Any questions about their work should be addressed to the Auditor General for Scotland. Neither the Corporate Body nor the Scottish Commission for Public Audit has a locus in this matter.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 26 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibilities it and its agencies have to ensure the timely and effective use of extra resources released for flood prevention in Edinburgh.
Answer
The Executive is maintaining close contact with Edinburgh City Council as it develops and takes forward its plans for flood defences for Edinburgh. The council's plans have not progressed to the stage where it would be appropriate for the council to make a request for additional funding from the Executive. No request has been made and, accordingly, no additional resources have been released for flood defences in Edinburgh. However, should the council make such a request in the future, it will be given due consideration.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the target time is for out-patients to receive an appointment at a dermatology clinic; whether the Lothian University Hospital Trust is currently unable to meet this target, and, if so, what the reasons are for this position.
Answer
The national target in relation to out-patient waiting, set out in Building a Better Scotland, which was published on 12 September 2002, is that, by 2006, no patient should wait more than six months for a first out-patient appointment. Provisional information for the year ended 30 June 2002 shows that the median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in dermatology at Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust, following a GP referral, was 64 days. This is a reduction of five days on the position in the previous year.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 14 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are required to report the results of environmental impact assessments on proposals for new or extended landfill sites for ha'ardous waste.
Answer
Yes.Under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999, when a decision is made on a planning application to which they apply, the planning authority must inform the Scottish ministers in writing and inform the public by a notice in a local newspaper or such other means as are reasonable in the circumstances. They must also make available for public inspection a statement containing:(i) the content of the decision and any conditions attached thereto;(ii) the main reasons and considerations on which the decision is based, and(iii) the description, where necessary, of the main measures to avoid, reduce and, if possible, offset the major adverse effects of the development.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Simpson on 24 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give COSLA an assurance that it will be fully included in any review or negotiations regarding firefighters' pay and conditions.
Answer
COSLA, representing the Fire Authorities who are the employers, are an integral part of the National Joint Council where firefighters pay and conditions are negotiated. They will unquestionably be part of the consultation process now taking place under the chairmanship of Sir George Bain who is leading the Independent review of the fire service, which will include examining the pay and conditions of service of firefighters.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 10 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue updated planning advice on open space.
Answer
A Planning Advice Note on planning and open space will be published shortly.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it or any of its executive agencies have made into whether Glasgow Airport or Edinburgh Airport would be the most suitable, on cost and other grounds, as a future Scottish hub and what conclusions any such studies came to.
Answer
Neither the Scottish Executive, nor any of its executive agencies, has carried out any detailed study focused on determining the comparative suitability of Glasgow and Edinburgh airports for a hub operation. The prospect of a niche hub for Scotland is raised in the consultation document The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: Scotland, as an idea for consideration by stakeholders.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 July 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 27 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to combat any detrimental impact of the EC Directive on food supplements on the provision of supplements, vitamins and minerals produced by UK companies whose production standards are outwith the directives.
Answer
There is no specific disadvantage to UK manufacturers or their competitiveness compared with manufacturers from other member states. Implementation of the Directive will not immediately outlaw any products already on the UK market. The Executive intends to take advantage of Article 4 of the Directive which enables member states to allow, subject to criteria being met, the continued sale of products containing vitamin and mineral sources not yet on the permitted lists up until 31 December 2009. The Executive are committed to the view that, in the interests of consumer choice, the law should allow food supplements that are safe and properly labelled to be freely marketed.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 20 June 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-10684 on 9 November 2000, how the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and the Holyrood Progress Group will ensure that, following the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd, new contractual arrangements for the supply of granite for the new Parliament building will ensure that the granite is neither quarried by children nor produced under conditions at variance with the Ethical Trading Initiative and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.
Answer
It is the responsibility of the appointed Trade Contractors to provide proof that all materials being used in the project are obtained from responsible and ethical sources, in accordance with the contract documentation. The insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd does not affect that principle and the Holyrood Progress Group is satisfied that suitable checks on the sources of granite being procured for the project are being made. The vast majority of the granite to be used at Holyrood is being obtained from Kemnay Quarry in Aberdeenshire.
- Asked by: Margo MacDonald, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what conclusions it has drawn from the Right Fit project, sponsored by Barnardo's and GlaxoSmithKline and how and when it plans to take action in respect of any such conclusions.
Answer
I was very impressed by the projects to promote young people's health, funded through this partnership between Barnardo's and GlaxoSmithKline. I would like to congratulate the two organisations and the young people involved on their sterling achievements. The Executive will be discussing with Barnardo's how best to ensure dissemination of the important lessons for practice to the NHS, local authorities and their partner agencies.
