Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-26071

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the installation of speed cameras has had on the number of casualties in areas within the range of such cameras.

The independent Four-Year EvaluationReport on the National Safety Camera Programme published by PA Consulting and UCL(December 2005) concludes that safety cameras throughout the UK continue tomake a significant and valuable contribution to the reduction of casualties at camerasites.

The headline figure for personalinjury collisions between April 2000 and March 2004 fell by around 22% in total,which represents a reduction of 4,200 personal injuries at camera sites. Approximately85% (3,590) of this reduction occurred in urban areas while 15% (639) occurred inrural areas.

This report can be obtained fromthe Department for Transport website www.dft.gov.uk.

Question reference: S2W-26144

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 31 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that the Patients’ Forum reflects the diversity of the population and what outcomes have resulted from views expressed through the forum.

Each community health partnership(CHP) is required to maintain an effective and formal dialogue with its local communitythrough the development of a local Public Partnership Forum. Guidance on the establishmentof Public Partnership Forum can be found at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/11/20168/45831#6.

The duty placed on healthboards to involve and consult the public applies equally to CHPs, and national guidanceon public involvement should underpin their work. A key role for the Public PartnershipForum is therefore to engage local service users, carers, the public and key localpartners, such as the voluntary sector, in discussion about how to improve healthservices. This means engaging with local people in issues concerning the nature,design and quality of service delivery and outcomes. This in turn should enablethe CHP to respond positively to the needs, concerns, and experiences of patientsand their carers and families, while informing the development of its work plansand decisions about local priorities for service improvement. It is therefore importantthat the Public Partnership Forum is able to represent the views of all the communitiesin the CHP area, particular those who could be socially excluded or face discriminationwhen accessing services.

The Scottish Health Council hasa key quality assurance role in terms of whether or not health boards are effectivelycarrying out their statutory duty to involve the public, both through the work ofPublic Partnership Forum and other involvement activities carried out locally. Wherethe council believes that a CHP is not effectively engaging with its local communitythrough its Public Partnership Forum, then it may ask the health board to ensureappropriate remedial action is taken.

Question reference: S2W-26069

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 30 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what conditions it places on local authorities regarding the allocation of support for learning resources.

Question reference: S2W-26145

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 30 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have left the profession in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-25885

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the companies authorised to discharge radioactive waste into the sea and the sites where discharge takes place.

This is a matter for the independentregulator, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which has provided the informationdetailed in the following table.

Company/Organisation	Site	Discharges To
Scotoil Services Ltd	Scotoil Services Ltd, Aberdeen	Aberdeen Bay
BP Exploration	Andrew	North Sea
	Bruce
	Harding
	ETAP CPF
	Foinavon
	Lomond
	Magnus
	Miller
	Everest North
	NW Hutton
	BP Schiehallion
	Unity Riser
	Clair
Shell UK Ltd	Anasuria	North Sea
	Auk A
	Brent A
	Brent B
	Brent C
	Brent D
	Cormorant A
	Curlew
	Eider A
	Fulmar A
	Gannet A
	Nelson
	Cormorant North
	Shearwater A
	Dunlin A
	Tern
CNR International	Balmoral	North Sea
	Murchison
	Ninian Central
	Ninian Northern
	Ninian Southern
	Tiffany
Chevron UK Ltd	Captain - FPSO	North Sea
	Captain WPP
	Erskine
	Alba North
	Tartan
Talisman Energy UK Ltd	Buchan Alpha	North Sea
	Claymore
	Clyde
	Beatrice A
	Galley FPSO
	Piper B
	Saltire
	Bleo Holm
Mobile North Sea Ltd	Beryl A	North Sea
Mobile North Sea Ltd	Beryl B	North Sea
Apache North Sea Ltd	Fortie Alpha	North Sea
	Fortie Bravo
	Forties Charlie
	Forties Delta
	Forties Echo
ConocoPhilips	Judy	North Sea
ConocoPhilips	Jade	North Sea
Marathon Oil UK Ltd	Brae A	North Sea
	Brae B
	Brae East
	Brae Central
Total Exploration and Production	Alwyn	North Sea
	Dunbar
	Elgin
	Franklin
Britannia Operator Ltd	Britannia	North Sea
Maersk Contractors	North Sea Producer	North Sea
Nexen Petroleum	Scott	North Sea
Petrofac Facilities Management Ltd	Montrose	North Sea
	Arbroath
	Northern
	Kittiwake
	Heather
	Thistle
BG Group	Armada	North Sea
Bluewater Services (UK) Ltd	Haewene Brim	North Sea
Bluewater Services (UK) Ltd	Usgie Gorm	North Sea
Well Ops (UK)	The Seawell	North Sea
Amerada Hess Ltd	Triton	North Sea
PGS Production	Ramform Banff	North Sea
UKAEA	Dounreay	Pentland Firth
University of St Andrews	Sea Mammal Research Unit	Pentland Firth
British Energy Generation Ltd	Torness Power Station	Firth of Forth
Babcock Rosyth Ltd	Rosyth Royal Dockyard Ltd	Forth Estuary
University of St Andrews	University of St Andrews	on or from Isle of May, Firth of Forth
Magnox Electric Limited	Chapelcross Works	Solway Firth at Seafield
Magnox Electric Limited	Hunterston A Power Station	Firth of Clyde at West Kilbride
British Energy Generation Ltd	Hunterston B Power Station	Firth of Clyde at West Kilbride
University of London	Marine Biology Station	Firth of Clyde from Island of Cumbrae
Scottish Association of Marine Science	Scottish Association of Marine Science	Dunstaffnage Bay, Dunbeg, near Oban
University of Stirling	Marine Biology Station at Machrihanish	North Channel

Question reference: S2W-25884

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies are authorised to discharge radioactive waste into the sea.

Question reference: S2W-25929

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25540 by Mr Andy Kerr on 10 May 2006, what ambulance cover has been available in each town in Aberdeenshire and Moray in each year since 1999.

The following two tables showthe ambulance stations based in the NHS Grampian area, which covers Aberdeenshireand Moray, and whether they were on full-time or on-call working patterns since1999.

Station	1999	2000	2001	2002
Aberdeen	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Elgin/Forres	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Buckie	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Banff	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Keith	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Dufftown	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Tomintoul	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Ellon	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Inverurie	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Peterhead	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Fraserburgh	On-call	On-call	On-call	Full-time
Huntly	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Aboyne	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Alford	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Stonehaven	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Braemar	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Banchory	n/a	n/a	Full-time	Full-time

Station	2003	2004	2005	2006
Aberdeen	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Elgin/Forres	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Buckie	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Banff	On-call	On-call	On-call	Full-time (trial)
Keith	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Dufftown	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Tomintoul	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Ellon	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Inverurie	On-call	On-call	Full-time	Full-time
Peterhead	On-call	On-call	Full-time	Full-time
Fraserburgh	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Huntly	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Aboyne	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Alford	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Stonehaven	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Braemar	On-call	On-call	On-call	On-call
Banchory	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time

The following table shows thenumber of paramedics and technicians working across the NHS Grampian area since1999.

	Paramedics	Technicians
1999	67	95
2000	72	90
2001	77	90
2002	83	87
2003	98	103
2004	98	103
2005	107	95
2006	107	110

Question reference: S2W-25904

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 23 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what schemes are in place to assist new entrants to the agriculture sector.

There are no dedicated schemesaimed specifically at assisting new entrants to the agriculture sector. Our priorityis the creation of a profitable and sustainable agriculture industry which providesreal opportunities for all farmers entering and wishing to remain in farming. Newentrants to the agriculture sector can, however, access the generic business supportand advice services that are available to any new business start-ups through theenterprise networks.

Question reference: S2W-25629

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 17 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what value eco-tourism contributes to the Scottish economy.

The term eco-tourism cancover a very wide spectrum of tourism activities related to the appreciation ofScotland’s environment in one form or another. At one end of that spectrum arecarefully planned visits to view our superb wildlife; Scotland isregarded as Europe’s top wildlife watching destination, and this marketsector is increasingly popular. Many more visitors come to enjoy ourbreathtaking scenery at first hand, for example by engaging in hill walking forall or part of their trip. At the other end of the spectrum, eco-tourism canrefer to the growing number of visitors who want to be assured that all aspectsof their stay, whether in a city or in the country, are environmentallysustainable.

It is therefore difficult togauge the value of eco-tourism to the economy. However, VisitScotland’s TourismAttitudes Survey for 2005 revealed that 89% of people questioned said thenatural environment was very or quite important in choosing Scotland asa holiday destination, with 65% saying that it had become more important inrecent years. 37% said scenery was the main attraction about Scotland thatprompted them to book a holiday here, while 14% were specifically interested innature/wildlife, although as many as 51% said they had participated in awildlife-watching activity while here on holiday. It is clear therefore thateco-tourism in whatever form it might take is fundamentally important to theoverall tourism economy, which is worth over £4.5 billion a year in revenueterms to the Scottish economy.

Question reference: S2W-25523

Asked by: Maureen Watt, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 16 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it has given to organisations to promote Doric or Lallan Scots in each year since the inception of the Parliament.

The Scottish Executiveconsiders Scots and its regional forms to be an important part of Scotland’sdistinctive linguistic and cultural heritage. The Scottish Executive does notoffer financial support directly to organisations for the purpose of promotingScots. Such support is provided principally through the Scottish Arts Council’s(SAC) literature department and I will ask the Chair of the SAC to write to themember with this information. Details of grants made by the SAC toorganisations promoting Doric or Lallans Scots are not centrally collated.