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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S4W-12636

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by (a) local authority and (b) purpose of the allocation of £673,000 to planning departments for 2013-14 and whether the impact will be monitored.

A breakdown of the bids by local authority is available from the planning - renewable energy page of the Scottish Government’s website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/National-Planning-Policy/themes/renewables/windresources. Individual bids, which have also been made available on the website, set out the local purpose of the allocation. We will return to planning authorities later this year to understand what impact the funds have made.

Question reference: S4W-12635

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will evaluate whether planning authorities have met its expectations in dealing with planning applications.

The issue of performance is a key strand of planning reform and the Scottish Government is fully committed to ensuring that planning realises its potential in aiding economic recovery. The Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA are establishing a high level group to monitor and review the performance of planning authorities and to consider proposals to link performance with wider reform of planning fees.

Question reference: S4W-12640

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what issues will be considered in the review of strategic development plans.

Question reference: S4W-12639

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what issues Scottish Natural Heritage will monitor in relation to hill tracks.

Question reference: S4W-12637

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 19 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring is being carried out of the implementation of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 with regard to planning decisions.

The Scottish Government has reported to the Scottish Parliament annually since 2011 on the operation of Section 72 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, as required by and within the terms of Section 73 of the Act. This year’s report will be laid before the Scottish Parliament by 1 April. Previous year’s reports have the following laying numbers: SG/2011/21 and SG2012/38.

The Scottish Government does not monitor implementation of sections 70 and 71 of the Act as the Orders that conferred permitted development rights on domestic air source heat pumps, domestic wind turbines and non-domestic microgeneration installations removed those classes of development from the planning application process.

Question reference: S4W-12527

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 12 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will reconvene the expert panel that it set up in 2007 to recommend measures to improve the energy performance of houses and buildings and what its (a) remit and (b) timetable will be.

Question reference: S4W-12389

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether any criminal liability will automatically pass from the existing boards to the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Provision to this effect has been included in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2013, which was laid in draft in the UK Parliament on 22 January 2013 by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Scotland Office, in exercise of powers conferred by the Scotland Act 1998.

Paragraph 12 of Schedule 3 of the Order states that any criminal offence committed before the relevant day by a relevant authority within the meaning of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 is, on and after that day, to be regarded for all purposes as if it had been committed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and criminal proceedings may be instituted or continued against the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service accordingly. Equivalent transitional provision is made for offences committed by any of the current police bodies or chief constables.

This transitional provision has been included in this draft Scotland Act Order to avoid any doubt that it applies to offences under reserved legislation, which includes in particular the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Question reference: S4O-01773

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects NHS Lothian to achieve NHS Scotland Resource Allocation parity.

Question reference: S4W-12452

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will produce advice for local authorities and other public sector bodies on incorporating a living wage requirement into procurement contracts.

The Scottish Government issued a Scottish Procurement Policy Note in August 2012 which provided advice to Scottish local authorities and other public sector bodies on the potential to encourage contractors to pay their employees a living wage through procurement processes. This note is also available on the Scottish Government website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00399217.pdf.

As part of our public consultation on the Procurement Reform Bill we sought views from stakeholders on the impact and implications of encouraging the living wage through procurement which are currently under consideration. We have published an analysis of the responses:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/01/1908.

Question reference: S4O-01762

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will decide on how much support it will provide for the concessionary travel scheme.