- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 3 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of changing the public title of the Scottish Executive to Scottish Government.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-4381 on 19 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 3 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all the diary engagements of the Minister of Europe, External Affairs and Culture between and inclusive of 11 and14 July 2008.
Answer
I had no official diary engagements during the period 11 and 14 July 2008 inclusive.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 3 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new council houses can be provided for each million pounds of expenditure in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Inverness and (d) Glasgow.
Answer
The number of new council houses that can be provided for a given level of expenditure in these cities, as elsewhere in Scotland, will depend on the details of any projects taken forward by the local authorities in these areas.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 3 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what contacts there have been between Scottish ministers and the Quebec Government regarding its relationship with the Scottish Government.
Answer
The First Minister has received two letters from the Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, the first congratulating him on his election as First Minister and a second letter inviting him to attend a ceremony in Quebec celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. The First Minister was unable to attend the ceremony but has extended an invitation to the Premier to visit Scotland in the future.
Pierre Boulanger, Agent General for Quebec has written to me to request a meeting when next he is in Scotland and my office are in the process of setting this up.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Bruce Crawford on 3 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria the First Minister uses for assessing the competence of his ministers.
Answer
The assessment of ministers'' performance is entirely a matter for the First Minister. Scottish ministers are appointed directly by the First Minister under the terms of Section 47 of the Scotland Act 1998.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 30 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations the First Minister has made to BBC Scotland in the last year and which of these related to contributors to radio and television programmes, including Mr Iain Macwhirter.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16541 on 22 October 2008. In addition, the First Minister sought confirmation that BBC Scotland upholds the principle of any individual being able to express their view to government appointed bodies without prejudice.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 30 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16530 by Jim Mather on 2 October 2008, how many representations it has received regarding its policy on nuclear power generation; how many of these representations called for it to review the policy, and whether it will publish the details of the individuals and organisations that have asked for it to review the policy.
Answer
As the previous answer stated, we receive a number of different representations on energy policy matters, including nuclear power. Some of these are in written form and others are oral, such as through ministerial meetings with companies and organisations.
While some correspondents question the current policy on nuclear, others support our position. As this Parliament has agreed, we are focusing attention on development of our renewable potential, coupled with clean baseload and energy efficiency.
With regard to publication, in the main the majority of such formal correspondence comes from individuals. It is not normal practice for such correspondence to be published unless part of a formal consultation process which is not the case in this instance. Publication of correspondence would raise issues relating to privacy especially in the case of responses from individual members of the public. We therefore do not intend to publish the details of any correspondence received on this issue.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 30 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has made with Electricité de France regarding the future of British Energy and what responses it has received.
Answer
After the announcement by Electricit© De France (EDF) on 24 September 2008 regarding their offer for British Energy (BE), the First Minister spoke with Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive of EDF, by telephone to discuss the implications of the offer for Scotland. Following this conversation EDF have committed to keep an office presence in East Kilbride. As they are also increasing their investment in renewables, they anticipate increasing activity in Scotland. EDF have also expressed a clear intent to maintain and develop further their portfolio in Scotland.
The First Minister is due to meet Bill Coley, Chief Executive of British Energy shortly to discuss the future of the company in Scotland, both in terms of keeping existing headquarter jobs in Scotland, but also the possibility of new investment in renewable opportunities in Scotland.
In addition, I am due to meet with EDF soon to highlight the advantages of investing in Scotland, especially in terms of the existing skill and supplier base but also to highlight the fact that Scotland has considerable skills and capability in renewable energy.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 29 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received about the funding of organisations organising and promoting the recruitment of volunteers.
Answer
We engage regularly with organisations concerned with volunteering, in the course of which funding is a normal topic. Most volunteering is a local activity and the focus on community planning partnerships we have agreed with local authorities offers opportunities for investment in volunteering at the local level.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 29 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister of Europe, External Affairs and Culture was invited to IslamExpo in July 2008.
Answer
The Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture was invited to IslamExpo in July 2008, but did not attend.
