- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 11 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executivewhen and where the next meeting of the British-Irish Council is expected to be held and what will be on the agenda, with particular reference to energy issues.
Answer
The next summit meeting of the British-Irish Council is scheduled to take place in October in Jersey; however the agenda is yet to be determined.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the view of the group, Plane Stupid, that expansion of aviation is incompatible with the Scottish Government’s climate change targets.
Answer
All sectors of the economy, including domestic and international aviation, have a collective role in delivering the 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill. That is why we have taken the world-leading step of committing to include from the start the Scottish share of emissions from international aviation in our emissions reduction targets.
We also recognise that air links support Scotland''s economy, including business and tourism, and perform a very important social function, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. We are, therefore, pursuing a balanced approach which recognises the economic, social and environmental impact of aviation in Scotland.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-violent political campaigners came under surveillance in the last 12 months.
Answer
The information requested is not available. Surveillance is undertaken on the basis of necessity and proportionality; not on the basis of individual political motivation. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides that surveillance may only be conducted:
for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime;
for the purpose of preventing disorder;
for the purpose of protecting public health, or
if it is in the interests of protecting public safety.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in light of reports that officers from Strathclyde Police offered to pay a member of the protest group, Plane Stupid, as an informant.
Answer
The use of police informants is an established part of policing and is overseen by the independent Office of the Surveillance Commissioner. Individual operational decisions are a matter for the relevant police force.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has concerns about the operation of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 and, if so, what concerns.
Answer
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 provides a framework for the authorisation and regulation of the use of investigatory powers by public authorities in Scotland. It seeks to balance the protection of individual civil liberties with the safety of the wider public and we have no current concerns with its operation.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to carry out an assessment of the role of surveillance in society.
Answer
There are no plans to conduct such an assessment.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to safeguard the right to protest.
Answer
Existing law safeguards and permits lawful protest. In doing so it strikes a balance between protecting the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly with the rights of the wider community to go about their daily lives safely and without undue disruption. We look to local authorities, the police and other agencies to use their discretion at a local level to ensure that this balance is maintained in respect of individual events.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it considers appropriate to manage spatial conflict in the marine environment and whether those measures should include the provision of financial compensation.
Answer
Marine planning should provide the main mechanism for managing spatial conflict in the marine environment. In general it would not be expected that financial compensation would be paid as part of the process of resolving conflict.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of sites on the Cumbrian coast opposite Dumfries and Galloway being included on the list of potential sites for nuclear reactors announced by the UK Government on 15 April 2009 and with a consultation period of one month, whether it intends to respond to the consultation or provide comment by another means.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to respond to this consultation as it relates to sites in England and Wales only. The Scottish Government has made clear our position that we do not need or want new nuclear power stations in Scotland. However, the we will be consulted by the UK Government on the impact of new nuclear reactor developments in England as part of existing contingency arrangements.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 April 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will expand the remit of its privacy working group to examine all aspects of privacy and to consider possible changes to legislation.
Answer
The Expert Group has been wound up as their work has finished and a public consultation paper will be published in due course.
