Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-26550

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is not currently available to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice which prevents him from making a decision regarding Abdelbasset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

Question reference: S3O-07660

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how it reconciles freezing council tax with its guarantee to increase police numbers and maintain law and order, when Scotland’s biggest police force is reporting a cash shortfall of up to £34.7 million.

Question reference: S3W-26549

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 2 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it expects its audited accounts for 2008-09 to be published.

Question reference: S3W-26546

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Tricia Marwick on 2 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will now review its decision to close the Parliament building to the public on Sundays.

: The SPCB decided that the Parliament building would close to general public visitors on Sundays, with effect from Sunday 10 February 2008. This change was part of the SPCB''s wider considerations on how to best use our resources to achieve the aims in our management plan, including public engagement.

Visitor statistics illustrated that numbers of visitors remained proportionately very low on Sundays; the majority of visitors arriving during the working week when Parliament is sitting and when there is an opportunity to see parliament in action and meet with MSPs.

The change to public opening does not affect members'' ability to sign-in guests on Sundays, and catering provision is maintained for such guests in the Garden Restaurant.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body therefore has no plans at this time to review opening of the Parliament building to the public on Sundays.

Question reference: S3W-26256

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 31 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any member of the executive board of Transport Scotland (TS) has declared shareholdings in companies that have received contracts from TS in the last two years; if so, which companies were invovled, and whether a conflict of interest arose.

Shareholdings of members of the Transport Scotland board are declared and published in the Transport Scotland annual report and accounts which are available at:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/reports/publications-and-guidance/corporate.

As stated in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 annual report and accounts, the former Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Guy Houston, held shares and share options in First Group plc.

The Scottish Government response to the Scottish Parliament''s Public Audit Committee on the First Scotrail Passenger Rail Franchise sets out the position in relation to any potential conflict of interest on this matter http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/FOI/Disclosures/2009/08/PAC.

Question reference: S3W-26254

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 31 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been recruited to Transport Scotland as (a) engineers, (b) environmental specialists, (c) transport planners, (d) procurement specialists and (e) project managers since May 2007 and how in each category this compares with the previous two years.

The available information is provided in the following table:

Date	Engineers (including appointees to the Graduate Training Scheme)	Environmental Specialists	Transport Planners	Procurement Specialists	Project Managers
January 2007 “ to-date	22	1	5	0	3
January 2006-December 2006	4	0	1	0	3
January 2005-December 2005	20	0	0	0	4

Note: *Five of this complement have been offered positions but not yet accepted.

Question reference: S3W-26308

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official engagements in July of each Cabinet Secretary and the means of travel to each engagement.

The information you requested is listed in the following table:

Cabinet Secretary	Date of Travel	Official Engagement	Means of Travel
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney	1 July 2009	Interview, STV	Private Car
	1 July 2009	Interview, Newsnight, the Tun	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Meeting at Qinetiq, Western isles Task Force, Benbecula	Scheduled Flight
	2 July 2009	Visit to Qinetiq, West Camp, Balivanich	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Visit to Qinetiq, Range Head, South Uist	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Visit to MOD pier facility. Loch Carnan	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Visit to Salar Salmon, Loch Carnan	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Meeting at Qinetic, Western Isles Task Force, Benbecula	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Meeting with Susan Bain, NTS Area Manager, Benbecula	Private Car
	2 July 2009	Interview, Am Paipear, Benbecula	Nil
	3 July 2009	Visit to Diageo, Hill Street Kilmarnock	Official Car
	3 July 2009	Meeting with East Ayrshire Council, Kilmarnock	Official Car
	3 July 2009	Meeting ,CoSLA, Perth Council offices	Official Car
	13 July 2009	Interview, GMTV Glamis	Private Car
	14 July 2009	Phone interview with Real Radio	n/a
	14 July 2009	Meeting, Diageo task force	Official Car
	14 July 2009	Interviews, Various media	Nil
	15 July 2009	Meeting, Macquarie Capital	Nil
	15 July 2009	Meeting, Scottish Water	Nil
	15 July 2009	Meeting with Sir John Arbuthnott	Nil
	15 July 2009	Meeting, SEPA	Nil
	15 July 2009	Meeting with Allied Vehicles	Nil
	15 July 2009	Interview, News drive	Nil
	15 July 2009	Dinner with Sir Angus Grossart	Walked
	16 July 2009	Visit ,Diageo, Port Dundas	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Visit,NPI Solutions, Irvine	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Meeting and SOA signing, North Ayrshire Council, Irvine	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Visit, Booth Welsh Automation, Stevenson	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Interview, STV Glasgow	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Dinner at Bute House	Official Car
	17 July 2009	Interview, Ian Fraser	Nil
	17 July 2009	Interview, STV in constituency	Private Car
	17 July 2009	Visit, A9 Junction, Bankfoot	Private Car
	20 July 2009	Meeting, SDI Japan, Tokyo	Scheduled Flight
	20 July 2009	Dinner, SDI Japan	Private Car
	21 July 2009	Lunch, British Embassy representatives, Tokyo	Private Car
	21 July 2009	Reception, Tokyo University	Private Car
	21 July 2009	Dinner, Globalscots Group, Tokyo	Private Car
	22 July 2009	Meeting, Mitsubishi Tokyo	Private Car
	22 July 2009	Meeting, Sumitomo Corp Tokyo	Private Car
	22 July 2009	Meeting, Saltire Foundation intern at RBS securities	Private Car
	22 July 2009	Visit, Nikka whisky, Tokyo	Private Car
	22 July 2009	Meeting, Terumo, Marunouchi	Private Car
	22 July 2009	Reception, British Embassy	Private Car
	23 July 2009	Meeting, Shionogi, Osaka	Bullet Train
	23 July 2009	Meeting, Panasonic Corporation, Osaka	Private Car
	23 July 2009	Meeting, Terasaki, Consul General''s residence	Private Car
	23 July 2009	Reception, Consul General''s residence	Nil
	27 July 2009	Meeting, Friends of the Far North Line, Helmsdale	Train
	27 July 2009	Homecoming Reception, Melrose	Official Car
	28 July 2009	National Conversation Event, Melrose	Private Coach
	28 July 2009	Meeting, the Legal Post Scotland	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Meeting, South Ayrshire Council, Ayr	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Meeting, Jennie Formby, Unite, Edinburgh	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Meeting, Public Procurement Reform board	Nil
	29 July 2009	Interview, GMTV	Nil
	29 July 2009	Meeting with Barry White SFT	Nil
	30 July 2009	Meeting, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen	Official Car
	30 July 2009	Visit, Union Square development, Aberdeen	Walked
	30 July 2009	SOA signing, Aberdeen City Council	Walked
	30 July 2009	Visit, Hot Spot Caf©, Peterhead	Official Car
	30 July 2009	Meeting and SOA signing Aberdeenshire Council, Peterhead	Walked
	30 July 2009	Launch of Oil fund Paper, Kings College, Aberdeen	Official Car

Cabinet Secretary	Date of Travel	Official Engagement	Means of Travel
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead	1 July 2009	Campbeltown Creamery	Flight
	6 July 2009	Orkney Preserves	Official Car
	6 July 2009	Marine Scotland Compliance	Official Car
	7 July 2009	Euro Marine Energy Centre	Official Car
	7 July 2009	Salmon Farm, Stromness	Official Car
	7 July 2009	Orkney Fisherman''s Association	Official Car
	7 July 2009	Crofting Area Assessors, Kirkwall	Official Car
	7 July 2009	Stephen Hagan, Orkney Council	Nil
	13 July 2009	Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Brussels	Flight
	15 July 2009	Single Farm Payment Meeting, Inverurie	Official Car
	17 July 2009	Meeting with Tenant Farming Association	Nil
	21 July 2009	Glenlatterach Waterworks	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Highland Grain Plant, Inverness	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Homecoming and Cabinet Reception	Official Car
	28 July 2009	Cabinet and National Conversation Event	Nil
	28 July 2009	Barony College, Dumfries	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Girthton Farmhouse, Castle Douglas	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Sea Angling, Solway Firth	Official Car

Cabinet Secretary	Date of Travel	Official Engagement	Means of Travel
Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill	2 July 2009	Meeting SGoRR	Walked
	3 July 2009	Launch Scottish Policing Strategies	Car
	6 July 2009	Meeting with Libyan Government	Walked
	7 July 2009	Launch Festival of Spirituality	Official Car
	9 July 2009	Meeting Domestic Abuse Court	Official Car
	9 July 2009	Visit Dalmarnock Youth Project	Official Car
	9 July 2009	Visit Govan/Govanhill	Official Car
	10 July 2009	Meeting with High Commissioner for Jamaica	Official Car
	10 July 2009	Launch of Alcohol Diversion Pilot	Official Car
	11 July 2009	Visit - Policing T in the Park	Official Car
	14 July 2009	Visit to DunCarron	Official Car
	14 July 2009	Visit to Community Alternatives Project	Official Car
	14 July 2009	Visit to Shotts prison	Official Car
	15 July 2009	Interview BBC	Walked
	16 July 2009	Visit Local Knife Crime Initiative	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Visit Apex Scotland Youth project	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Visit Falkirk Scottish Prison Service College	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Visit Falkirk Sheriff Court	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Visit Youth Justice- Argyll and Bute	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Visit Stramash Youth project	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Visit Inverarary Highland Games	Official Car
	22 July 2009	Meeting with Law Society	Walked
	22 July 2009	Attend funeral of Lothian and Borders Fire Officer	Walked
	22 July 2009	Reception Police Negotiating Board	Official Car
	23 July 2009	Launch of Turnaround Residential Unit	Official Car
	23 July 2009	Meeting with Lockerbie relatives	Official Car
	23 July 2009	Meeting with Chinese Justice Minister	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Conference Leadership/Diaspora	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Visit Duns market garden project	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Visit cash back event Coldstream	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Meeting at Melrose Police Station	Official Car
	28 July 2009	Meeting Youth Offending Team	Official Car
	28 July 2009	Meeting Selkirk Sheriff Court	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Meeting Brigadier Hugh Munro	Walked
	30 July 2009	Visit Up2Us project	Official Car
	30 July 2009	Visit Tullochan Trust	Official Car
	30 July 2009	Visit Cornton Vale	Official Car
	30 July 2009	Visit Stirling Sheriff Court	Official Car
	31 July 2009	BBC Interview	Walked

Cabinet Secretary	Date of Travel	Official Engagement	Means of Travel
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop	1 July 2009	Reception to celebrate US Independence Day	Official Car
	2 July 2009	South Lanarkshire Council Single Outcome Agreement Signing and meeting with Council	Official Car
	2 July 2009	Visit to Coatbridge College	Official Car
	21 July 2009	North Lanarkshire Council Single Outcome Agreement Signing and meeting with Council	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Visit to North Lanarkshire Supported Employment Service	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Visit to University of West of Scotland	Official Car
	22 July 2009	Visit to Barlanark Family Learning Centre	Official Car
	22 July 2009	Visit to Action for Children''s Youthbuild Project	Official Car
	22 July 2009	Get Ready for Work - South West Arts and Music Project	Official Car
	27 July 2009	International Summer School on School Leadership Event	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Visit to Cherrytrees Nursery	Official Car
	27 July 2009	Homecoming Reception	Official Car
	28 July 2009	Meeting with Borders Council	Official Car
	28 July 2009	Dinner with John McClelland CBE FRSE, Chair of Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Meeting with Perth and Kinross Council, and Single Outcome Agreement Signing	Official Car
	29 July 2009	Meeting West Lothian Council	Official Car

Cabinet Secretary	Date of Travel	Official Engagement	Means of Travel
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon	1 July 2009	Cabinet Civil Contingencies Teleconference	Nil
	1 July 2009	Meeting with the Scottish Patients'' Association	Nil
	1 July 2009	Interview with Solus Productions	Nil
	1 July 2009	Teleconference with UK Health Ministers	Nil
	1 July 2009	BBC Scotland Debate	Official Car
	1 July 2009	STV Debate	Official Car
	2 July 2009	Infection Control Conference	Official Car
	2 July 2009	Meeting with Trish Godman MSP	Official Car
	2 July 2009	Visit to Bethany Trust	Official Car
	8 July 2009	Teleconference with UK Health Ministers	Nil
	8 July 2009	Interview with STV	Nil
	8 July 2009	Receive Attend Flame	Official Car
	13 July 2009	Visit to LG Pharmacy	Official Car
	13 July 2009	Meeting with OCHRE (Standards for Oesophegal Cancer)	Official Car
	13 July 2009	Visit to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	Official Car
	13 July 2009	Teleconference with UK Health Ministers	Official Car
	16 July 2009	Cabinet Civil Contingencies Teleconference	Nil
	21 July 2009	Interview with Sunday Express	Official Car
	21 July 2009	Meeting with Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police	Official Car
	23 July 2009	Visit to Institute of Life Sciences, Wales	Air and Official Car Service Wales
	23 July 2009	UK Health Ministers'' Conference	Official Car
	24 July 2009	Interview with BBC	Official Car
	24 July 2009	Real Radio Interview	Nil
	27 July 2009	Homecoming Reception	Coach
	29 July 2009	Meeting with Des McNulty MSP	Nil
	29 July 2009	Signing of Single Outcome Agreement	Official Car
	30 July 2009	Teleconference with UK Health Ministers	Nil
	30 July 2009	Cabinet Civil Contingencies Teleconference	Nil
	31 July 2009	Launch of Foundation	Official Car

Question reference: S3W-26482

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has corresponded with people with medical conditions affected by the use of compact fluorescent or low-energy light bulbs in relation to the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs.

Question reference: S3W-26255

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what process of competitive tendering was undertaken prior to the award to CG Cope of the contract for ongoing recruitment campaigns.

The Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise placed contracts with two separate service providers in 2008 to provide recruitment advertising services and to provide assessment centre services. Both contracts were awarded after a full competitive tendering exercise, including advertisement in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU), using the restricted procedure (as defined in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006).

Question reference: S3W-26483

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that incandescent light bulbs will still be available to people with medical conditions affected by the use of compact fluorescent or low-energy light bulbs after 2012.

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