Adam Ingram: I shall preface my contribution to the debate with some observations on its historical context. I know that that is a wee bit risky given that history is a little out of fashion in the Labour party. Last year we celebrated 50 years of the national health service-probably the single most important peacetime achievement of any Government this century. It was the greatest leap forward for...
Adam Ingram: Yes, it was. It was a creation that was determined to push back the boundaries of the state, and the welfare state in particular. The official justification, however, was the need to reduce the public sector borrowing requirement and to meet the Maastricht criterion that any deficit in public finances should be less than 3 per cent of gross domestic product. Gordon Brown and the new Labour...
Adam Ingram: The reality is that this new Labour Government has the wherewithal to launch a massive public works programme without recourse to public-private partnerships, but it clearly lacks the political will to do so. It would appear that Gordon Brown will use the billions in his rapidly accumulating war chest to buy the votes of middle England with more cuts in personal income tax. Without doubt, it...
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to announce if a buyer has been found for the Volvo Truck and Bus manufacturing plant in Irvine and, if so, whether it intends to name the buyer by 2 July 1999.
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make representations to HM Government to ensure that the potential impact in Scotland on matters within its responsibility of any future multilateral agreement on investment is taken into account during any negotiations to establish such an agreement. (S1O-135)
Adam Ingram: Does the minister acknowledge that such an agreement would cut across the jurisdiction of this Parliament? What areas of the Executive's programme would be constrained by a future MAI agreed by the Westminster Government?
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made or intends to make to Her Majesty’s Government to ensure that there will be a continuing presence in the form of an office and staff to deal directly with complaints from Post Office users in Scotland.
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive what is the catchment area of, and population served by Ayr Hospital and Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to adhere to the expenditure plans for motorways and trunk roads improvement in the period 1999 to 2002 as outlined in Serving Scotland’s Needs (March 1999).
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been made to ensure that students applications for loans will be dealt with by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland timeously.
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the number of people who were admitted for emergency fracture surgery in the last year to Ayr Hospital and Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been admitted to (a) Crosshouse Hospital and (b) Ayr Hospital in each year since 1995 (counting patients only once if they have had multiple appointments).
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were re-admitted to Ayr Hospital or Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock suffering from a similar complaint to their first admission in: (a) 1994; (b) 1995; (c) 1996; (d) 1997, and (e) 1998.
Adam Ingram: A great deal of lip service is paid by unionist politicians to the need for an integrated transport network to serve Scotland's social and economic needs. The reality is that the failure of successive Tory and Labour Governments to invest in infrastructure projects and public transport is leading to a disintegration of our transport links and services. Over the past 10 years the volume of...
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reduce the level of dependency on the private car for those resident in rural areas in the South of Scotland, and if so, to detail these plans.
Adam Ingram: To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations have been made by the Accounts Commission regarding the financial problems of East Ayrshire Council, and what plans the Executive has to implement those recommendations. (S1O-412)
Adam Ingram: Is not the minister aware that the financial mismanagement, which prompted the intervention of the Accounts Commission, is continuing, to the point where council services and jobs are being destroyed? He gives the distinct impression of sitting on his hands while that is going on.
Adam Ingram: Will Mr McAveety take any responsibility for what is happening in East Ayrshire Council?
Adam Ingram: What concerns me about the bill is not what is in it but what is not. In terms of legislating for transparency in a devolved context, the bill is adequate. In the wider context of Scotland's finances, however, much is missing. I want to examine the most basic and fundamental flaw in the Parliament's financial system. The Scottish Parliament is expected to take responsibility for the...
Adam Ingram: I will focus my remarks on the concordat on financial assistance to industry, and on inward investment in particular. Members will be aware that Scotland continues to attract a higher share of inward investment than would be expected for its relative share of UK gross domestic product. During the 1990s, the Scottish share of foreign inward investment projects coming into the UK has typically...
