- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it has in place for Scottish patients with long-term conditions requiring regular medication to have their prescriptions issued when visiting England.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22935 on 7 May 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Awaiting answer
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total payment made to the First Minister was in 2008-09, broken down by (a) salary, (b) expenses and (c) other payments.
Answer
Awaiting answer
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 30 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive , in light of the current economic climate, what further support it is offering to homeowners in government supported shared equity schemes.
Answer
Households on low to moderate incomes can buy their home through our Open Market Shared Equity Pilot and New Supply Shared Equity scheme within the Scottish Government''s Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT). From 1 April, the Open Market scheme has been temporarily expanded from the previous ten council areas to the whole of Scotland with an increased budget of £60 million.
In addition, our Mortgage to Shared Equity scheme opened for applications on 16 March, as part of the Scottish Government''s concerted action to address repossessions. It allows Scottish ministers to take an equity stake in a home owner''s property, thus enabling them to remain in their home by reducing the level of debt secured against it to a more manageable level.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the First Minister or his officials have had with UK ministers in the (a) Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (b) Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and (c) Scotland Office on the objectives of his forthcoming visit to China.
Answer
Officials were in frequent contact with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office about the objectives of the First Minister''s visit, in particular through the First Secretary, Scottish Affairs based within the British Embassy in Beijing.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what public relations agencies have been engaged by it in (a) Scotland, (b) Hong Kong and (c) China to support the First Minister’s forthcoming visit to China and what budget has been allocated for each contract.
Answer
No public relations agencies were engaged in Scotland.
In Hong Kong, Communique were engaged by the Scottish Government as event managers for one evening reception. Event management and logistics support were provided for Scottish Development International (SDI) events in Hong Kong by Communique. Public relations support for business events and associated media outreach were provided through an existing SDI agreement with Edelman.
In Mainland China, Edelman were engaged by the Scottish Government as event managers for a reception in Beijing and Shanghai, and to provide event management for a whisky-related media event in Shanghai. Public relations support for business events and associated media were provided through an existing SDI agreement with Edelman for Beijing and Shanghai events.
In Hong Kong and in mainland China an estimated 1900 people were reached through direct participation in events during the visit. Ministerial media events in Hong Kong and mainland China were attended by around 200 media representatives, resulting in significant broadcast, print and online coverage, including interviews on Bloomberg TV, China Business Network TV and CCTV; print coverage in the South China Morning Post, China Daily, the Shanghai Financial News and the National Business Daily, and widespread web coverage. Potential audience reach from the Hong Kong and China media coverage so far is well in excess of 100 million. Media coverage in Scotland was also widespread and focussed on the key messages and announcements from the ministerial programmes.
The costs for the visit programme will be met from within existing budgets allocated to supporting engagement with China.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations the First Minister has received from the Chinese Government ahead of his forthcoming visit to China.
Answer
The First Minster and officials were in frequent contact with the Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh in arranging the programme for his visit.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) officials and (b) special advisors will accompany the First Minister on his forthcoming trip to China and what budget has been allocated for the visit.
Answer
The visit to China was made by the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning. In support of the two ministers there was a total of six officials and two special advisers. The costs for the visit programme will be met from within existing budgets allocated to supporting engagement with China; travel and subsistence costs will be met by the relevant Ministerial Private Office or, in the case of officials, divisional budget.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister’s decision to visit China was taken.
Answer
The invitation to visit China was extended to the First Minister by the Chinese Consul General in Edinburgh in 2007. The decision in principle to visit China was taken in 2008 and the dates confirmed in the letter the First Minister sent to the European and External Relations Committee on 27 January 2009. The First Minister''s visit was timed to build on and complement the visits to China by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Ms Hyslop, and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Economic Growth, Mr Swinney which both took place in 2008. The visit was also timed to take place after the busy Olympic and Paralympic Games period, as opportunities to discuss other business with the Chinese Government would have been limited during the games period.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism has had with representatives of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Group since November 2008; who was involved, and what the outcome was in each case.
Answer
Since November 2008, in addition to my attendance at Financial Service Advisory Board meetings which are also attended by Lloyds Banking Group Executives. I attended an informal dinner on 10 November 2008 hosted by Magnus Linklater, Scottish Editor of
The Times.
Dr Andrew McLaughlin, Group Economist Royal Bank of Scotland also attended.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the objectives are of the First Minister’s forthcoming visit to China.
Answer
The objectives of the First Minister''s visit to China were set out in his letter of 27 January 2009 to the European and External Affairs Committee. Copies of this letter have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47920).
