- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what car journeys were made using the Government Car Service to and from the Marcliffe Hotel on 3 December 2007, showing who the passengers were and the timetable of all movements of the car involved on that day.
Answer
The information requested islisted as follows.
| Time | Pick Up | Via | Drop Off | Passengers |
| 1145 | Strichen | | Inverurie | Alex Salmond |
| 1700 | Inverurie | Special Adviser’s Home, Aberdeen (Geoff Aberdein dropped off) | Marcliffe Hotel | Alex Salmond Geoff Aberdein Hannah Bardell (Constituency Assistant) |
| 1825 | Marcliffe Hotel | | Strichen | Alex Salmond |
No otherjourneys were made on this day.
As a result of the unusualamount of public interest in the First Minister’s travel to this meeting, thePermanent Secretary has considered what use was made of the Government CarService on this occasion. He has noted that it is commonplace for civilservants, including special advisers, to travel with ministers in governmentcars, in order to assist ministers to use time spent travelling to progressgovernment business. He is satisfied that the use made of the Government CarService in this case was consistent with such general practice and was bothappropriate and pragmatic.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a formal record of the telephone call of 4 December 2007 between the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and the Chief Planner about the call-in of the Trump planning application.
Answer
The phone call was notformally minuted, a record is kept on file showing that the Cabinet Secretaryfor Finance and Sustainable Growth had agreed to call in the application.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executivewhen it intends to respond to all freedom of information requests in relation to the Trump planning application.
Answer
Freedom of Informationresponses will be published as soon as possible. Priority has been given toanswering parliamentary questions and to supporting relevant appearances at theLocal Government and Communities Committee.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on who made the request that led to the meeting between the First Minister in his capacity as the MSP for Gordon and the Trump Organization on 3 December 2007 and on when and to whom this request was made.
Answer
Mr Salmond undertook thismeeting in his capacity as constituencymember for Gordon. It is not for the Scottish Government to comment on ministers’constituency business.
However, Mr Salmond has madeclear in earlier statements that the Trump Organization had called hisconstituency office on 3 December 2007 to request a meeting, which was held inAberdeen for convenience, as he was already due to be travelling to Aberdeen toconduct government business with his special adviser and prepare for governmentbusiness in Aberdeen the next day.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister first became aware that the Trump planning application was being called in, by what means and from whom.
Answer
I informed Mr Salmond afterI had made the decision to call in the planning application.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Chief Planner has been placed under any pressure by ministers or MSPs in relation to calling in the Trump planning application.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth had any conversations about the Trump planning application with the First Minister on 2, 3 or 4 December 2007 prior to the application being called in and, if so, what the timing was of each conversation.
Answer
No such discussions tookplace.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it was appropriate for the First Minister to attend a press conference in St Andrew’s House in his capacity as First Minister on the issue of the Trump planning application, having been specifically prohibited from commenting on the matter as First Minister.
Answer
Yes. The First Minister wasdiscussing the position of the Scottish Government as set out in the answers to54 parliamentary questions on the matter. As in all his public statements onthe issue, the First Minister made no comment that could be interpreted asbeing for or against the development.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether members of the Trump Organization were with the First Minister when he called the Chief Planner on 3 December 2007.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-7663 on 20 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many telephone calls from backbench MSPs the Chief Planner has received since May 2007 asking for meetings to be arranged with developers.
Answer
The Chief Planner regularlyreceives telephone calls from MSPs about planning matters. Information aboutthe number of calls is not held by the Scottish Government because a formal recordis not routinely produced for every call received, as many involve simply theprovision of factual information to MSPs about planning processes. The ChiefPlanner has given information to the Local Government and Communities Committeeon a range of contacts he has had with MSPs. The official report is availableon the Parliament’s website at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/lgc/or-08/lg08-0102.htm#Col425.
