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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-07930

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the recommended (a) rates of pay for staff and (b) reimbursement for volunteers that assist with local government elections.

Question reference: S4W-07929

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to local authorities for running the 2012 Scottish local government elections and what amount remains outstanding.

The Scottish Government is providing £5 million to local authorities towards the cost of running these elections in light of the additional costs they incurred as a result of decoupling local elections from elections to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government is also reimbursing local authorities for the core costs of the electronic counting system which are approximately £3.5 million.

These costs will be reimbursed in summer/autumn 2012.

Other election costs were met by local authorities from their existing allocations.

Question reference: S4W-07928

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties are valued (a) at under £180,000, (b) between £180,000 and £350,000 and (c) above £350,000, also broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-07131

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 27 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06877 by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012, whether it will publish details of the mechanisms which are in place following the recommendations of the Audit Scotland and Public Audit Committee reports on The Gathering 2009 to provide the necessary accountability and transparency for all public resources invested by the Scottish Government in the Homecoming Scotland 2014 celebrations and to ensure that the related governance arrangements are fit for purpose.

Question reference: S4W-07882

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of extending student loans for living costs for students studying for a Diploma in Legal Practice and how this figure has been calculated.

Question reference: S4W-07885

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether students studying for a Diploma in Legal Practice are eligible to apply for funding under the Professional and Career Development Loans scheme.

Question reference: S4W-07884

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what funding is available under the Professional and Career Development Loans scheme and whether applications for this are weighted in favour of low-income students.

The Professional and Career Development Loan (PCDL) is a deferred payment bank loan to help pay for vocational training, leading to employment in the UK or the EU. The course must be vocational and can be full time, part time or distance learning. The loan can cover up to two years of learning (or up to three years if the course includes work experience) and can be between £300 and £10,000.

The Skills Funding Agency pays interest on the loan during the period of study and the interest rate is 9.9% (equivalent to 5-6% APR over the typical life time of a loan).

As this is a commercial bank loan the banks set the lending criteria and Government Ministers have no powers to intervene.

Question reference: S4W-07883

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of students studying for a Diploma in Legal Practice was eligible for a full loan under the Postgraduate Students' Allowances Scheme in 2011-12.

Loan funding was not available for students studying for the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (DPLP) under the Postgraduate Students’ Allowances Scheme (PSAS) in 2011-12.

In 2011-2, DPLP students could apply for an allowance of up to £3,400 towards the cost of their tuition fees under PSAS. 300 DPLP funded places were available at Scottish Institutions which were allocated on a discretionary basis by the institution.

In academic year 2012-13, all DPLP students (around 700) will be eligible to apply for non-income assessed loan funding of up to £3,400 towards the cost of their tuition fees under PSAS.

Question reference: S4F-00810

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2012

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will instigate a public inquiry into the outbreak of Legionella in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S4W-07817

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-07401 by John Swinney on 31 May 2012, how much has been paid out in council tax discounts through energy efficiency schemes and how many properties are receiving these in each local authority, broken down by (a) type of dwelling and (b) mode of ownership.