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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: S3W-28169

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to any precedent arising from the publication of former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith’s legal opinion on Iraq to the UK Government for making public legal opinions obtained by the Scottish Government on the proposed Referendum Bill.

Question reference: S3W-28168

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether legal opinion on the proposed Referendum Bill was sought from the late Professor Neil MacCormick QC.

Question reference: S3W-27912

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 22 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27347 by Kenny MacAskill on 24 September 2009, what the cost was of recent advertisements seeking applications for membership of prison visiting committees and how such members will fit into the new committees.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The cost of the recent advertisements seeking applications for membership of prison visiting committees to fill expected vacancies at the three Young Offender Institutions at Polmont, Cornton Vale and Perth was £2347.59.

Young Offender Institution visiting committee membership requires that at least one third and a minimum of two members will be women. The most recent recruitment campaign is aimed at addressing shortfalls in this area and maintaining the required level of women visiting committee members.

Question reference: S3W-27900

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how it promotes the Scotland Performs website internally and to its agencies and what the annual cost of doing so is.

Question reference: S3W-27899

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has budgeted to spend on advertising the Scotland Performs website to the public.

Question reference: S3W-27898

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost (a) was to build and (b) is to maintain its Scotland Performs website.

Question reference: S3W-27916

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21592 by John Swinney on 20 March 2009, on what occasions it has been described as the SNP Government in official publications and press releases since May 2007.

Question reference: S3W-27910

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the number of staff employed by Procurement Scotland in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S3W-27909

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the annual budget and running costs of Procurement Scotland in each of the last five years.

Procurement Scotland was officially launched in March 2008, with the task of developing and implementing procurement strategies for national Category A commodities on behalf of all Scottish public bodies. It was established as part of the Public Procurement Reform Programme and in response to the Review of Public Sector Procurement in Scotland report, which was published in March 2006.

The establishment of Procurement Scotland as a new division in the Scottish Government Scottish Procurement Directorate began in July 2007. Therefore, information on the number of staff, budget and running costs is only available from financial year 2007-08. Details are given in the following table:

	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Number of Staff	31	38	40
Budget	£3,723,000	£2,745,000	£2,445,000
Expenditure	£2,457,111	£2,157,955	£1,079,123*

Note: *Expenditure up to end September 2009.

To date, Procurement Scotland has secured savings of £45.9 million over the current spending review period.

Question reference: S3W-27395

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many senior civil service posts in the Scottish Executive and its agencies were eliminated in 2008-09 and what savings have been achieved as a result.