- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 16 January 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer what the total cost has been of fees (a) paid and (b) payable to Shepherd and Wedderburn WS for legal advice provided in connection with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd, Flour City International Inc. and the Holyrood project.
Answer
Further to my answer to S1W-30169 on 10 October 2002, the expected costs (invoice awaited) for the additional work by Shepherd and Wedderburn, solicitors, in advising on claims against both Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and Flour City International Inc are £13,680 plus VAT and outlays for US agents of £1,370.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 23 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 16 January 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-32000 on 10 December 2002, what the names were of those present at the meeting on 4 September 2001 with Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Ltd and representatives of Flour City International Inc. and Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd, whether there were any other meetings with these bodies other than that which took place on 4 September 2001 and, if so, on what date or dates such meetings took place and who attended.
Answer
Those attending the meeting on 4 September 2001 were present in their capacity as representatives of their respective organisations, not as individuals in their own right. Any agreed actions or decisions are made on behalf of the organisations they represent and it would be inappropriate to identify individuals. I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that no other meetings took place involving members from the Holyrood Project Team.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 16 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the medication of the water supply with fluoride.
Answer
Water fluoridation is one of the options on which views are sought in our current consultation paper Towards Better Oral Health in Children, and, as stated previously, the Executive is neutral on this particular issue.But this consultation is not simply a debate on fluoride. By any measure, oral health in Scotland compares poorly with other countries, and we need to build a consensus about how best to tackle this problem. Negative responses, simply rejecting one option or another, do not help build that consensus. As such, I would encourage individuals and organisations wishing to contribute substantively to the consultation to identify also the actions they favour.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 15 January 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer on what date the decision was taken to put out to tender the works package for the windows and cladding work for the MSP block of the new Parliament building at Holyrood, which was subsequently awarded to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd; who took the decision; whether it was an alteration of any previous decision, or plan, not to put the work out to tender and to, for example, put out the works package in smaller units or parcels, and by what date bids were to be received from tenderers.
Answer
The procurement strategy for the project was developed by Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Limited following their appointment by The Scottish Office in January 1999. The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that the strategy always included one trade package for all of the MSP Building Cladding works and this approach was agreed by the Holyrood Project Team prior to the issue of tender documentation on 16 August 2000. Initial bids were due to be received from tenderers on 19 September 2000, but this was extended by two weeks to 3 October 2000 at the request of all of the tenderers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 15 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the cost of the Holyrood project will continue to be met from the Scottish block grant; what steps it can take, or is taking, to minimise or control the impact of the allocation of that expenditure; whether it intends to appoint a member to the Holyrood Progress Group, and whether it intends to take any further steps to secure the protection of the public interest in respect of the allocation of expenditure to the project.
Answer
Funding for the project is provided to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB), is hypothecated from Scotland's total budget and is not allocated from the Executive. The Holyrood Progress Group (HPG) was established by the SPCB as its principal advisory body in taking the project forward and financial control is exercised through regular reporting to the Finance Committee by the SPCB. The Scottish Executive is represented at official level on the HPG and is in regular contact with the SPCB over costs as the project develops. However, responsibility for the Holyrood project rests with the SPCB and the Parliament.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 23 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 15 January 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-32047 on 11 December 2002, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has yet seen the contents of the quarterly accounts of Flour City International Inc. for the quarter to 31 July 2002; whether these accounts have been seen by the Holyrood Projects' construction managers, and, if so, when they first became aware of the contents.
Answer
No, neither the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body nor the Holyrood Project's construction managers have seen the quarterly accounts of Flour City International for the financial period to 31 July 2002.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 13 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from Strathdearn Community Council in respect of the Tomatin junction on the A9; if so, what action it intends to take and, in particular, whether it will implement (a) improved lighting, (b) coloured hatched markings similar to those in place at the Moy junction, (c) double white lines, (d) 50 mph speed restriction at a point before the end of the dual carriageway and (e) installation of speed cameras similar to those at the Ballinluig junction.
Answer
Yes, the Strathdearn Community Council wrote to the Executive on 5 December 2002. The answers to your specific queries are:(a) there are no plans to install lighting at the Tomatin junctions,(b) red infill material within the hatched area at the northern Tomatin junction is programmed for completion (weather permitting) before the end of the financial year,(c) there are no plans to install a double white line system,(d) there are no plans to lower the speed limit and(e) the Safety Camera Partnership rules introduced recently set out accident and speed criteria under which it may be appropriate to install safety cameras. These junctions will be considered as part of any future programme to identify locations to install cameras.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 13 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24133 by Dr Elaine Murray on 28 March 2002, whether the annual Scottish Award for the best publicly-funded building will be awarded in 2003; if so, what consultation there will be regarding the award and the process to be followed in relation to it, and whether buildings constructed under private finance initiatives and public private partnership schemes will be eligible for consideration for the award.
Answer
The introduction of the annual Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Award for Best Building in Scotland in 2002 which promotes good architecture in both private and public sectors has lessened the need for a further high profile Scottish based buildings award. Scottish public sector projects are also eligible for the annual Prime Minister's Better Public Buildings Award which is a UK-wide award scheme. The commitment to introduce an additional Scottish award for the best publicly-funded building remains under review, although I have no plans at present to launch the award in 2003.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the number of people suffering from impingement syndrome of the shoulder and whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government about the recognition of the syndrome as a prescribed disease for the purpose of industrial injuries disablement benefit, given the impact any such recognition would have on health and social justice issues.
Answer
Information derived from the Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR) system based on a sample of Scottish General Practices estimates that approximately 500 individuals were seen in respect of impingement syndrome of the shoulder in the year ending December 2001.The Executive has no plans to make representations to HM Government about this syndrome.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 9 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to resurface the A9 at Altnaslanach.
Answer
Maintenance works, such as resurfacing, are identified and carried out on a needs basis taking into account safety, operational issues, budgetary restraints and competing priorities across the entire trunk road network. There are no current plans to resurface the A9 at Aultnaslanach.
