- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it will give to intervening in the North Lanarkshire local plan.
Answer
This matter will be considered after North Lanarkshire Council have sent Scottish Ministers a copy of the plan they wish to adopt and the advert of their intention to adopt the plan.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would be acceptable to build on greenbelt land.
Answer
It is for planning authorities to set out their policies to manage development in green belt areas in their development plans. Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) states that green belt designation should provide clarity and certainty on where development will and will not take place, and provides examples of types of development that may be appropriate in green belts, such as development associated with agriculture. It also notes that other proposals may be acceptable where they are a national priority or to meet an established need if no other site is available. Green belts are not necessarily permanent, and SPP notes that where it is considered necessary, the proposed release of land previously designated as green belt should be identified as part of the settlement strategy set out in the development plan.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of “necessary” under section 161 of Scottish Planning Policy.
Answer
The word “necessary” in this context is considered to carry its normal meaning.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of houses required to meet the definition of “effective housing land" under Scottish Planning Policy is reduced during a downturn in the housing market.
Answer
Scottish Planning Policy requires that a five-year ongoing effective land supply is available to meet the identified housing land requirements. Housing land requirements are ultimately to be derived from housing need and demand assessments prepared by local authorities for each housing market area. If a downturn in the housing market is reflected in a lower assessment of need and demand, then this could be expected to produce a lower housing requirement.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive at which point in a local plan examination process ministers are no longer able to intervene.
Answer
Ministers have no powers to intervene in the examination process, but may intervene in the planning authority’s subsequent actions to adopt the plan.
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02188 on 12 September 2011. 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/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 22 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money has been spent subsidising bus services in each year since 1999, broken down by parliamentary constituency.
Answer
Local authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis. In addition, the Scottish Government provides subsidy to all local bus services through the Bus Service Operators Grant scheme. Scotland level figures are available from the Scottish Government''s
Bus and Coach Statistics publication which can be found at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/PubBusCoach
Table 10 shows local authority support for bus operators and table 12 shows Bus Service Operators Grant expenditure. This information is not available at Scottish Parliamentary Constituency level.
An updated edition of Bus and Coach Statistics will be published on 12 April 2011.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 22 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties there are for bus companies that fail to satisfy local demand.
Answer
The provision of local bus services is generally a matter for individual bus operators, who use their own commercial judgement on service routes and frequencies including the number and size of vehicles used. Local authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis but this is entirely a matter for the local authority. The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities for this purpose.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 22 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions there are to ensure adequate bus coverage at peak times.
Answer
The majority of bus services in Scotland are operated on a commercial basis by private bus companies. Provided that an operator registers a service with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, they can operate any route to any frequency they wish. Local authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis but this is entirely a matter for the local authority. The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities for this purpose.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 17 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many buses travelled between Moodiesburn and Glasgow on 21 February 2011
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on bus service operations centrally including those between Moodiesburn and Glasgow. We expect bus services to run to their registered timetables. Specific information about services should be referred to the Traffic Commissioner at The Stamp Office, 10 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3EG.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 17 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many bus passengers there have been in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency in each year since 1999.
Answer
This information is not collected or held by Scottish Government.
