- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 20 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate discussed the matter of detention of suspected terrorists with the First Minister or the Cabinet Secretary for Justice before announcing her opposition to the proposal for a maximum of 42 days detention for suspected terrorists.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 20 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive to which prosecution evidence the Lord Advocate was referring when she announced her opposition to a maximum of 42 days detention for suspected terrorists.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14083, answered on 20 June 2008. 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: Wednesday, 11 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 20 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive why the Lord Advocate announced her view on the maximum period for the detention of suspected terrorists a few days prior to a vote on the matter in the House of Commons.
Answer
The Lord Advocate confirmed her position on the pre-charge detention provisions in the Counter Terrorism Bill on 3 June 2008 in response to ministerial correspondence from Alistair Carmichael MP received on 8 May 2008. The Lord Advocate’s reply was not discussed with the First Minister or the Cabinet Secretary for Justice.
In response to subsequent media enquiries on 6 and 9 June, the Lord Advocate’s position, as set out in her letter of 3 June 2008, was confirmed to the media.
The Lord Advocate’s opinion on the pre-charge detention provisions is based on prosecution experience to date of cases reported and investigated under the Terrorism Act 2000 in Scotland.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 20 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what its total costs were for St Andrew’s Day celebrations in 2007 and what its total planned expenditure is for the celebrations in 2008-09.
Answer
In 2007 our total expenditure on St Andrew’s Day celebrations across Scotland was £447,469. Current spending projection for 2008 is £434,000.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what limitations it has imposed on ministerial car usage, in light of the current cost of fuel and whether ministers have been given guidance regarding increased use of public transport for official visits.
Answer
Travel is always made with a view to supporting the efficient conduct of government business. Wherever practicable cabinet secretaries and ministers use public transport and walk to their engagements. 8,243 car journeys were taken by Scottish ministers and law officers between the period 16 May 2007 to 31 March 2008, this compares with a total of 8,931 car journeys during the comparable period in the previous year. This is a reduction of 7.7% over the period.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times its special advisers have used government cars from its car pool and how much the service has cost since May 2007.
Answer
None.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times its special advisers have travelled unaccompanied in ministerial cars since May 2007.
Answer
None. Special advisors do not have an entitlement to use the cars operated by the Government Car Service unless accompanying someone who has that entitlement.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what rural bus services have been discontinued since May 2007.
Answer
This is a matter for the Traffic Commissioner for the Scottish Traffic Area. The information requested is not held centrally. The Traffic Commissioner is the licensing authority for the bus industry in Scotland and applies the regulatory regime. Operators are legally required to register their local services with the Commissioner. The Traffic Commissioner can be contacted at: J Floor, Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9SE.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the First Minister to take his first journey by train since his appointment
Answer
The First Minister has travelled by train since his appointment.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements have been made to roads for which it has responsibility in (a) Edinburgh, (b) West Lothian and (c) Midlothian since May 2007.
Answer
The A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass, which is in Midlothian, is currently under construction and is due to be completed in August 2008. A short-term £2.5 million improvement of the A720 Sheriffhall Roundabout is programmed to commence on 23 June 2008.
