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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-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.

Question reference: S4O-01713

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle unemployment in Lothian.

Question reference: S4O-01662

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what cultural legacy the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs expects for the Lothians following the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Question reference: S4W-11772

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether the tenant information pack required under the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011 will include certification of the last electrical inspection of the property and details of any residual-current device installed.

There is no legal requirement for a landlord to provide such information. However, a private landlord will have the ability to include an electrical safety certificate or details of any residual-current device within the tenant information pack.

The tenant information pack will inform tenants that their landlord must ensure that any electrical installations and appliances provided within a privately rented property are in reasonable repair and proper working order. This is a requirement linked to meeting the repairing standard set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.

The pack will highlight the Electrical Safety Council suggestion that the best way for landlords to meet their statutory obligations is to undertake portable appliance testing at suitable intervals. The pack will also signpost tenants and landlords to further information on this within the Health and Safety Executive website.

Subject to Parliament agreeing the necessary secondary legislation early next year, we aim to introduce the legal requirement to issue a tenant information pack from 1 May 2013.

Question reference: S4W-11601

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to John Swinney's statement on 28 November 2012 (Official Report, c. 14011), what assessment the cabinet secretary has made of the impact of early retirement, particularly among those on higher salaries, on the sustainability of public sector pension funds.

Question reference: S4W-11633

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the change from disability living allowance to personal independence payments for holders of concessionary bus passes.

We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to ensure that appropriate passporting links between Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and eligibility for concessionary travel, under the national concessionary travel scheme for older and disabled people, can be established. We are awaiting further statistical information and final PIP assessment criteria from DWP before decisions can be made about new arrangements. We expect to receive this information later in December.

Question reference: S4O-01599

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will meet the remaining annual emissions targets set out in the Climate Change (Annual Targets) (Scotland) Order 2010.

Question reference: S4W-11244

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how marine (a) planning and (b) licensing decisions will manage competing demands for the use of the sea while protecting the marine environment until the National Marine Plan and its strategic environment assessment process are in place.

Question reference: S4W-11183

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what status draft marine sectoral plans will have in guiding development.

Draft sectoral marine plans and the related reports and documents issued to build the plans are non statutory. The published sectoral marine plans will be a statement of ministers policy, including ministers spatial policies for the sector being covered. Sectoral planning actively incorporates consideration of environmental impacts at all levels and includes strategic environmental appraisal (SEA) and habitats regulations assessment (HRA) to guide development. The SEA and HRA are both required under legislation and statutory consultation is required under SEA legislation to guide development of sectoral plans. These plans and assessments would be relevant considerations in guiding development.

The spatial output of marine renewable sectoral plans will be integrated into the National Marine Plan. This will give the outputs of the sectoral plans full statutory weight.