- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what Transport Scotland’s budget was for (a) participation and (b) public relations in 2007-08.
Answer
Separate figures for participation and public relations are not available. The costs are mainly subsumed within the Transport Scotland budget for communications which amounted to £115,000 in 2007-08.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many board meetings of Transport Scotland there have been since May 2007 and what subjects were discussed at each meeting.
Answer
There have been 20 meetings of the Transport Scotland Board since May 2007. The following table provides dates and the agenda items discussed.
| Meeting Date | Agenda Items |
| May 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Transport Scotland Internal Communications Audit |
| June 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Efficient Government Targets Strategic Spending Review 2007 Transport Scotland Annual Report and Accounts 2006-07 High Level Output Statement |
| July 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Transport Scotland Annual Report |
| August 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Strategic Spending Review |
| September 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Corporate Risks Transport Scotland Communications Strategy |
| October 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Transport Model for Scotland Annual Report STAG Refresh Exercise Outcomes Transport Scotland Business Plan 2007-08 Future Board Meetings Ministerial Support |
| November 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Transport Scotland Business plan 2007-08 Strategic Spending Review |
| December 2007 | Monthly Board Pack Traffic Scotland Service M74 Strategic Spending Review Future Strategic Board meetings |
| January 2008 | Monthly Board Pack 20MPH Zones at Schools Corporate Business plan Follow up on current financial position |
| February 2008 | Monthly Board Pack The Role Of The Transport Scotland Board Climate Change Transport Scotland Corporate Plan Risk Register |
| March 2008 | Monthly Board Pack Transport Scotland Corporate Plan |
| April 2008 | Monthly Board Pack FOI Publication Scheme Transport Scotland Corporate and Business plan 2008-09 Calendar of Board Discussion STPR |
| May 2008 | Monthly Board pack Transport Scotland Business plan Transport Centre of Excellence Stakeholder Survey Team Briefing |
| June 2008 | Monthly Board Pack Risk Workshop Transport Scotland Annual Report, Corporate And Business Plans Asset Management For The Scottish Trunk Road Network The Role Of ITS In Delivering Government Objectives |
| July 2008 | Monthly Board Pack Scottish Landslides Study Transport Scotland Annual Report |
| August 2008 | Monthly Board Pack Transport Scotland Audit Committee Chair Report Climate Change Action Plan Concessionary Fares Transport Scotland Stakeholder Strategy Transport Scotland Corporate Plan |
| September 2008 | Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme |
| October 2008 | Monthly Board pack Audit Committee report Rail Improvements in South West Scotland |
| November 2008 | Monthly Board Pack FOI Publication Scheme Scotrail Franchise Reviewing Board Performance Horizon Scanning Risk Register Review Against Annual Business Plan Targets |
| December 2008 | Monthly Board Pack Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme Staff Conference Business Plan 2009-10 Road Maintenance |
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Saturday, 05 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the arrangements are for the appointment of a new chief executive of Transport Scotland.
Answer
As with all Senior Civil Service (SCS) vacancies in the Scottish Government, the first consideration is whether there are any existing SCS staff available with the appropriate skills and experience to fill the post. David Middleton who is currently Head of the Scotland Office will be moving to become the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland on a date to be agreed.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Saturday, 05 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that it owes to suppliers for the provision of goods and services and what action it is taking to speed up payment.
Answer
The total value of invoices outstanding at 6 January 2009 was just under £800,000.
Suppliers'' terms vary but are typically 30 days. The Scottish Government is committed to helping businesses by paying invoices early and, to that end, the First Minister announced on 9 October 2008 the intention to pay invoices within 10 working days. Processes have been reviewed and amended as necessary to facilitate this and we have made significant progress in achieving this goal with 84% of invoices paid within 10 working days in December 2008 and 97% of invoices paid within suppliers terms over the same period.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Saturday, 05 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how and to whom the chief executive of Transport Scotland intimated his intention to retire and when the retirement will take effect.
Answer
In line with normal practice the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland gave notification in writing of his intention to retire to the Scottish Government''s Director of Change and Corporate Services. The date of his retirement is under discussion.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Saturday, 05 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many and which of its or its agencies’ senior officials receive private medical insurance as part of their remuneration packages.
Answer
None of the remuneration packages for Senior Civil Servants employed by the Scottish Government includes provision for private medical insurance.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Saturday, 05 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been in the provision of telephone services to its offices since May 2007.
Answer
Telephony Services used by the Scottish Executive are managed by Information Services and Information Systems (ISIS), a division of the Change and Corporate Services Directorate. Telephony services are supported by internal staff and delivered by a number of suppliers. There have been no significant changes to service and support contracts since May 2007.
Telephony Services are currently provided by THUS, C&W, and BT.
The principal contract for hardware maintenance of Scottish Government telephony systems is held by Affiniti.
The value for money in the provision of telephony services is regularly tested by procurement competition. The current voice services contract with THUS is due to expire in March 2009. A procurement competition is almost complete and due to award a new contract for voice services in January 2009.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it will make to the purchase of the Titian painting from the Duke of Sutherland and from which budget.
Answer
The Scottish Government will make an announcement about its funding contribution towards the purchase of Titian''s Diana and Actaeon, and the consequent continued public access to the world-renowned Bridgewater Collection, once the arrangements for the purchase have been finalised between the National Galleries and the Duke of Sutherland.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many press releases have been issued by its Communications Directorate in each month since May 2007.
Answer
The information sought is set out in the following table. The figures show both the national and local news releases issued each month.
| Period | Numbers |
| May 2007 | 30 |
| June 2007 | 104 |
| July 2007 | 129 |
| August 2007 | 190 |
| September 2007 | 187 |
| October 2007 | 167 |
| November 2007 | 136 |
| December 2007 | 220 |
| January 2008 | 194 |
| February 2008 | 220 |
| March 2008 | 160 |
| April 2008 | 176 |
| May 2008 | 170 |
| June 2008 | 311 |
| July 2008 | 99 |
| August 2008 | 132 |
| September 2008 | 225 |
| October 2008 | 203 |
| November 2008 | 208 |
| December 2008 | 149 |
| Total | 3,410 |
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Saturday, 05 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 16 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects a contract for the construction of a replacement Portobello High School to be approved.
Answer
This is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council.
