- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what input it had to the recent decision to simplify the rail pricing structure in the United Kingdom.
Answer
Officials in Transport Scotland had regular dialogue with the Department for Transport (DfT) to achieve the new simplified structure. We recognise the need for the fares system to be easily understood by passengers and we supported the work by DfT to achieve this outcome.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire has invested in Kilmarnock and Loudoun since May 1999.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its Chief Executive to write to you in this regard.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-11467 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 April 2008, what steps it is taking to ensure that people, especially young people, in Kilmarnock and Loudoun are able to access science projects funded by its science engagement grant scheme.
Answer
The key aim of the Science Engagement Grant scheme is to support informal science engagement outreach activities across Scotland. This competitive grant scheme is advertised on the Scottish Government website (
www.scotland.gov.uk) and is open to all competent science engagement providers to bid for grant.
No bids were received specifically from organisations in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun area for 2008-09. However, Scottish Government has funded initiatives such as Generation Science, a touring science engagement programme managed by the Edinburgh International Science Festival, which this year visited a number of schools in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun area.
While the Scottish Government is keen that successful projects reach as wide an audience as possible, it has not to date taken any steps to target specific areas of Scotland: rather, it responds to bids received. The assessment criteria for the Science Engagement Grant scheme are kept under constant review and currently include a weighting for bids that target areas where engagement is currently low.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 has had on the number of fathers obtaining access to their children.
Answer
Figures on the number of fathers obtaining contact or residency orders are not held centrally. We intend to evaluate the impact of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 in due course.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average (a) numbers and (b) rateable values have been of vacant business premises in (i) Kilmarnock and Loudoun and (ii) Scotland in each year since 1999.
Answer
Information on the number and rateable value of vacant business premises is not held centrally. Information on premises liable for business rates is held on the Scottish Assessors Portal (
www.saa.gov.uk), but the portal does not maintain reliable data on the vacancy history of individual properties.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect it expects the recent changes in alcohol duty to have on underage drinking.
Answer
There is some evidence to suggest that price impacts on consumption, but it is only one factor which may affect how people drink. We are taking some immediate action on underage drinking and have rolled out test-purchasing for alcohol. We want to change the place of alcohol within Scotland’s culture and will shortly consult on proposals for tackling alcohol misuse which will look at a broad range of measures to lower consumption levels.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 9 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the designation of a Scottish craft town, similar to the book town model that has assisted in the regeneration of Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13645 on 9 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: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to NHS boards on the purchase of electronic physiotherapy aids.
Answer
Health Facilities Scotland published a safety warning, which included advice on the purchase of physiotherapy equipment, on 29 September 2007. Safety Action Notice SAN (SC) 06/44 Physiotherapy ultrasound machines: calibration of acoustic power / intensity, advised that “Before procuring new devices, manufacturers and suppliers should be required to provide evidence that their products are built and tested to relevant standards.”
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how the NHS assesses the efficacy of electronic physiotherapy aids.
Answer
Medical devices are regulated in the UK by the Medical Devices Regulations and enforced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK Competent Authority. It is deemed that European Conformity marked medical devices are fit for purpose and all questions regarding the efficacy of medical devices are brought to the attention of the MHRA.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 June 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average rents have been per square metre for business premises in (a) Kilmarnock and Loudoun and (b) Scotland in each year since 1999.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by Scottish Government and it is not possible to obtain this information from external sources as no one calculates average rents per square metre for business premises.
