Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what the increase in spending per (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupil has been in each year, compared with the previous year, since 1996-97 to date, broken down by local authority.
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing an effective, modern, 21st century public transport system for Edinburgh.
Angus MacKay: I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise the issue of ethical investment in the chamber today. The fact that I am able to do so is testimony to the hard work and perseverance of the People & Planet group at the University of Edinburgh. I put on record my thanks to it for the work that it has done in campaigning in and around the university on ethical investment. The University of...
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to implement the recommendations of the Expert Panel on School Meals.
Angus MacKay: While the minister is on the subject of improving local services, is he aware that when the City of Edinburgh Council's budget was being announced and the Labour group's budget was being adopted today, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition members voted against a proposal for 36 additional police officers in Edinburgh to focus on antisocial behaviour? Sadly, the Scottish National...
Angus MacKay: Will the member give way?
Angus MacKay: I should like to repeat one of the questions that was asked by Wendy Alexander. Will the SNP cancel the Edinburgh schools PPP—yes or no?
Angus MacKay: Given Jamie McGrigor's view on the difference between organically farmed food and non-organically farmed food, does he share the same view with regard to fish-farmed fish and natural fish?
Angus MacKay: I am glad that Mr Morrison made the point that affordability has been mentioned several times in the debate. Many of us support the principles behind the bill and want there to be increased organic production and an increased range of organic products. However, in Scotland, where there is a high level of heart disease and cancer, the primary challenge is for people to eat more fruit and...
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been made available on the decontamination of people exposed to chemical, biological and radioactive substances.
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue final codes of practice on covert surveillance and covert human intelligence sources under section 24 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000.
Angus MacKay: He wants his lunch.
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are for Scotland to celebrate the European Year of Disabled People 2003.
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact has been of HM Treasury’s Technical Note No.1 (Revised), How to account for PFI Transactions, and how it will affect Scotland.
Angus MacKay: To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Executive has any plans to strengthen sentencing policy in relation to weapons of violence. (S1F-2389)
Angus MacKay: Does the First Minister agree that the tough proposals for minimum sentences that have been made by our Labour Home Secretary for those who are guilty of illegal possession of guns and other offensive weapons—which are closely associated with the drugs trade—are the safest form of crime prevention and protection of the public? Does he agree that that policy, together with the creation of...
Angus MacKay: To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it plans to allocate to local authorities in respect of the requirement on them to dispose of refrigerators containing ozone-depleting substances in an environmentally-secure manner.
Angus MacKay: So far, this has not been a terribly surprising debate, although in some respects it has been astonishing, in particular in relation to the speeches from the SNP benches. It took two or three interventions before we got even remotely near anything that addressed the substance of the debate, which is extradition and crime. Even in the substantive speech by Christine Grahame, we heard another...
Angus MacKay: No, certainly not yet. Perhaps I will do so in a moment. I wish to make a number of points and we are not given much time. The bill deals with the current practice of evasion from, and delaying of, criminal prosecution by serious and organised criminals across international borders. It deals with—[Interruption.] Members should re-read what the bill seeks to do, because that is what it seeks...
Angus MacKay: The bill deals with fiscal offences throughout the European Union and elsewhere, although it does not—sadly—deal with people who pretend to have a fiscal policy. It deals with another important issue, which perhaps has not been addressed so far: the rights of defendants—the rights of the accused—to be heard in court earlier rather than later, and to the opportunity to clear their name...