- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 24 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in examining, along with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, ways to ensure that MSPs are fully informed about the progression of planning cases and appeals within their constituencies and regions, as identified in Your place, your plan, its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.
Answer
A planning web page is available on the internet at
www.scotland.gov.uk/planning/pc/pc.asp.This provides information on planning applications that come before the Scottishministers showing, on a weekly update basis, the current status of each case. Casesare presently listed by local authority area, and work is on-going to also identifyeach case by MSP constituency.The Executive’s Inquiry Reporter’sUnit also has a website – www.scotland.gov.uk/planning_appeals/seiru.Within the site is a planning appeals search facility which makes it possible toview progress on appeals and retrieve appeal decision letters online, without charge.The use of ICT to provide andreceive planning related information is constantly under review and further refinements,consulting as necessary with the Parliament’sReference Centre, will be introduced as appropriate.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 24 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the proposals for (a) a national consultative group on planning and (b) local planning forums, as identified in Your place, your plan, its proposals for public involvement in the planning system.
Answer
TheExecutive is committed to bringing forward the measures contained in Your place,your plan as time and resources permit. The timetable for taking this workforward has yet to be finalised.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact technological advances in neonatal patient care have had on the survival rate of babies born in Scotland.
Answer
I am not aware of any evidencewhich would determine the impact that technological advances in neonatal patientcare have had on the survival rate of babies born in Scotland. Otherfactors, such as developments in obstetric care and prenatal diagnosis of congenitalabnormalities, and improvements in the health of the reproductive population ingeneral will also contribute to changes in this rate.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 24 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement on the Ministerial Working Group on Prostitution, what the remit and timetable of the group will be.
Answer
The Expert Group on Prostitution,chaired by Sandra Hood OBE, will report to ministers on the first stage of theirwork in autumn 2004.
The remit of the group is toreview the legal, policing, health and social justice issues surrounding prostitutionin Scotland and to consider options for the future. Amongst otherissues the group will discuss the eradication of prostitution and exit strategiesfor prostitutes. In addition, the group has been asked to look at the proposalsfor a new offence of kerb crawling.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 24 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration the Ministerial Working Group on Prostitution will give to an exit strategy for prostitutes.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answergiven to S2W-2216 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliaments website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce legislation on household waste recycling, similar to the Household Waste Recycling Bill in England and Wales.
Answer
The Local Government inScotland Act 2003, Part 6, includes a duty on local authorities to prepareIntegrated Waste Management Plans. These plans will set out performance targetswhich the local authority shall, in performing its waste management functions,endeavour to meet.
The Executive will ensurethat these plans include measures to achieve national targets as outlined in APartnership for A Better Scotland, including that for local authorities torecycle or compost 25% of waste by 2006 and 55% by 2020 through increasing theuse of doorstep collection and through provision of recycling facilities inevery community.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the annual report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner will be laid before the Parliament.
Answer
A copyof the Interception of Communication Commissioner’s annual report for 2002 hasbeen laid before Parliament today in accordance with the Regulation ofInvestigatory Powers Act 2000. With the agreement of the Prime Minister, theconfidential annex to the report, which contains sensitive information, hasbeen excluded from the published report. Copies have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29093).
Interceptionof communications is one of the ways in which the police and other lawenforcement agencies prevent and detect serious and organised crime in Scotland. The commissioner’s reportmakes it clear that warrants authorised by the Scottish ministers are onlyissued where their use is absolutely necessary and proportionate to what issought to be achieved by the interception.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 4 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage an upturn in bus passenger journeys.
Answer
A range of Executive funded initiatives is in place to encourage more people to travel by bus. These initiatives include:
bus service operators grant;
free local off-peak bus travel for people aged 60 and over and those with disabilities;
provision for supported services;
expenditure through the Public Transport Fund on bus improvement and bus priority measures, and
expenditure through the Rural Public Passenger Transporton rural public transport services.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 3 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to domesticity licences in the consultation paper, Mandatory Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation, and the research commissioned from Heriot Watt University on houses in multiple occupation.
Answer
The term “domesticity licence” is not recognised in relation to housing matters. It is not used in either the consultation paper or the research on houses in multiple occupation.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 August 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 3 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report on the results of its consultation paper, Mandatory Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation.
Answer
The Scottish Executive undertook an overall review of the Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing scheme, which took into account:
the findings of the research report, A review of the first year of the mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation in Scotland,commissioned by the Executive from Heriot Watt University;
the responses to the consultation paper on possible changes to exemptions from the scheme;
the report of the Social Justice Committee into HMO licensing, and
other correspondence and representations received by the Scottish Executive.
The outcome of this review was announced by the Minister for Social Justice on 19 March 2003, accompanied by an official letter to all local authorities, respondents to the consultation paper and other interested bodies and correspondents. The Scottish Executive provided its response to the report of the Social Justice Committee on 24 March. A summary of responses to the consultation paper is available on the Scottish Executive website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/DD/H2/00016501/page634519723.pdf.The Scottish Executive does not intend to report separately on the results of the consultationpaper. The recommendations of the research will be further taken into account bythe working group which is being convened to produce revised guidance for localauthorities, and to devise a self-certification scheme for publicly accountableHMO landlords.
