- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 27 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24402 by Lewis Macdonald on 26 April 2002, what the expenditure on transport improvements will be to 31 March 2004, including schemes that have already been delivered, or will be delivered, but also including additional spending commitments arising from decisions taken after November 2001, (i) expressed per capita and (ii) broken down by each geographical area.
Answer
Additional spending commitments arising from decisions taken since November 2001, broken down by geographical area are presented in the following table. The table also includes revised total per capita spend on transport improvements to 31 March 2004.
| Geographical Area | Commitments | Additional Spend(£ million) | Cost Per Capita(£) |
| Highlands and Islands(including Northern Isles) | Motorways and Trunk RoadsFreight Facilities GrantIntegrated Transport FundPiers and Harbours Grant | 4.20.2893.754.943 | 274.13 |
| North East Scotland | Integrated Transport Fund | 1.185 | 77.69 |
| Tay | Freight Facilities Grant | 10.969 | 111.55 |
| West of Scotland | Freight Facilities Grant | 9.75 | 125.34 |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 27 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the First Minister's speech to the Committee of the Regions' Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance on 26 April 2002, what "greater role" the First Minister envisages for the Parliament in Europe and when this greater role will be outlined to (a) the Convention on the Future of Europe and (b) the Parliament.
Answer
The reference made by the First Minister in his recent speech to giving national and devolved parliaments in Europe a greater role in the EU decision-making process is fully consistent with previous interventions on this issue. The point was included in the Executive's formal response to the recommendation at paragraph 217 of the European Committee's Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe: What Role for Scotland?. The Executive believes that both sub-member state administrations and parliaments have an important role to play in redressing the democratic deficit which currently exists within the EU and it will continue to press this proposal through the many channels available to it. The Executive has already suggested in its joint submission with COSLA in response to the Commission's Governance inquiry that the sub-member state level should be consulted on new Commission proposals at the pre-legislative stage, and might also be involved in the proposed subsidiary watchdog.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Simpson on 27 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug-related deaths there were (a) so far this year and (b) in each of the last five years expressed per capita, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
Data for this year to date and 2001 is not yet available. Data for 2001 will be available in July. The following table details the number of drug-related deaths in each NHS Board area for years 1996-2000 and the rate per 100,000 population.
| Health Board | Number of Drug-related Deaths | Rate per 100,00 Population |
| | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 18 | 16 | 23 | 30 | 31 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 7.3 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 3 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 20 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 5.4 |
| Borders | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0 | 0.9 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Fife | 3 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Forth Valley | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 1.4 |
| Grampian | 29 | 22 | 26 | 38 | 31 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 5.9 |
| Greater Glasgow | 90 | 67 | 93 | 100 | 104 | 9.9 | 7.4 | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.5 |
| Highland | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 0.5 |
| Lanarkshire | 11 | 12 | 21 | 23 | 29 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.2 |
| Lothian | 58 | 48 | 37 | 39 | 37 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
| Orkney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shetland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 | 0 | 4.5 |
| Tayside | 24 | 30 | 23 | 14 | 14 | 6.1 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Western Isles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 | 0 |
| Scotland | 244 | 224 | 249 | 291 | 292 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
Sources: Drug related deaths: GROS Occasional Paper No. 5.
www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/00ddeaths.Populations: GROS mid-year population estimates.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 27 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23526 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 12 March 2002, whether there has been any progress towards launching a replacement for individual learning accounts.
Answer
I expect to make an announcement later in the year. I want to understand fully the lessons from the first Individual Learning Account (ILA) programme and ensure that its successor builds on and improves on that scheme. It is still too early to say when a successor to ILAs will be introduced.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings the Head of its EU Office in Scotland House has had in the last year with (a) the UK Permanent Representative to the European Union, (b) Directors General of the European Commission and (c) the Director General of the General Secretariat of the European Council.
Answer
Staff in the Scottish Executive EU Office have a wide range of meetings, formal and informal, with representatives of EU institutions and bodies, including UKRep, the Commission and the council. It is not our practice to disclose details of such official-level contacts. These contacts are numerous, take place at many different levels, are not all recorded, and can be in the context of confidential negotiations.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government in support of a postponement of the new 10% supplementary charge to the existing corporation tax on oil and gas company profits announced in the UK Budget 2002 until a full economic impact assessment and consultation with the oil and gas industry has been carried out and whether it will seek any amendment to this scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25519 on 21 May 2002.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was consulted prior to the announcement in the UK Budget 2002 of those fiscal measures which impact on oil and gas company profits and, if so, what response it gave and, if not, when it was first informed.
Answer
We are in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the oil and gas industry.The Scottish Executive has no function in relation to UK fiscal policy.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the new 10% supplementary charge to the existing corporation tax on oil and gas company profits announced in the UK Budget 2002 will have on the Scottish economy.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25519.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average age of the pipe infrastructure within the water network was in each of the past five years, broken down by local authority area or as small an area as possible.
Answer
Information on the age of the public water supply distribution network is not held centrally by the Executive. This information may be available from Scottish Water, 6 Castle Drive, Carnegie Campus, Dunfermline.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions since May 1999 it has used (a) hotels, (b) commercial conference centres and (c) any other non-Executive venues for policy launches, press conferences and business breakfasts and how much was paid to the venue in each case.
Answer
Information in the form requested, regarding policy launches, press conferences and business breakfasts is not held centrally.
