Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive whether an assessment of the two roll-on roll-off ferry services operating on a half-hourly basis between Gourock and Dunoon has been, or will be, carried out.
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the delivery of replacement vessels for the ferry service operated by Caledonian MacBrayne between Gourock and Dunoon; what the proposed replacement vessel specification is, and how much each vessel will cost.
Duncan Hamilton: Is the minister aware of the fears of the Dyspraxia Foundation and those working in developmental co-ordination disorders that such conditions are often ignored? Will she tell us how many of the grants that have been made went to projects in that field? Will she outline—either today or by letter if that is more appropriate—the Executive's strategy on dyspraxia, which affects children and...
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive what paediatric care exists for patients living in Caithness and Sutherland.
Duncan Hamilton: The minister's words were rather complacent. Does he understand that nothing that he has said will lessen the fury of a constituent who contacted me this week to complain about the price of £293 to travel from Stornoway to Edinburgh? Does the minister not understand that the greatest thing that he could do would be to attract low-cost airlines on to those routes? With that in mind, will he...
Duncan Hamilton: Will the member give way?
Duncan Hamilton: As the youngest member to enter the Parliament—and the youngest member to leave it—I hope that I have something to contribute on the issue of youth involvement in politics. To get away from the slightly cosy, sleepy nature of today's debate, I want to set down a number of institutional challenges, which I offer to members on an entirely non-party-political basis. Let me start by...
Duncan Hamilton: I shall not name names, as it is not that kind of debate. We need to look at the philosophy of the parties. Why do we ask, "Have you done your time, son?" instead of asking, "Are you good enough?" Meritocracy needs to be brought back into politics; it is not necessarily being delivered by party structures and by party lists. Parties need to look again at their promotion structures. I say that...
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24181 by Mr Jim Wallace on 2 April 2002, where information on the expenditure by police forces in respect of overtime for police officers attending court is held.
Duncan Hamilton: I am sure that the Deputy First Minister is grateful for Mr Monteith's intervention, which will give him time to recover from Mr Smith's rapier supplementary. On the interface between sustainable development and transport policy, the minister will be aware that the Executive is the sole shareholder of Caledonian MacBrayne. Is he also aware of a policy that was instigated by Malcolm Rifkind in...
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote tourism. (S1O-5022)
Duncan Hamilton: The minister will know that the recent comparative figures for overseas visitors to Scotland and Ireland show a 14 per cent decrease for Scotland, but a 34 per cent increase for Ireland. The minister will also know of the crucial role of marketing in attracting visitors to Scotland. Can the minister tell us why the Irish marketing budget is larger than the entire VisitScotland budget? Can...
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to extend trunk road status to the A83 from Kennacraig to Campbeltown.
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Creagan Road Bridge was commissioned and on what date the bridge was completed.
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive how much is spent by each police force on overtime for police officers and how much such spending is in respect of police officers attending court.
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider incorporating the Jura to Islay ferry service into the tendering process for the routes currently being served by Caledonian MacBrayne.
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make any representations to Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd in order to ensure that the Dunoon to Gourock car ferry service is retained.
Duncan Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22522 by Lewis Macdonald on 21 February 2002, how it defines "the spring" and, in particular, when spring begins and when it ends.
Duncan Hamilton: I want to focus on the right to buy and on the question of valuation, which I do not think has been discussed adequately today. Before I do that, I want to pick up on a number of points that Conservative members made. Their speeches have been hugely disappointing. First, we had Bill Aitken talking about Marxist seizures. He was the only guy in the chamber who looked likely to have a seizure,...
Duncan Hamilton: I will not give way at this point. Much of the debate in the committee and in the chamber today established the fact that the position is unclear. If that is the case, legislation could be a clarifying force. I agree more with some of the comments that Conservative members have made about the right to buy. The Parliament cannot afford to pass another piece of poorly drafted legislation. We...