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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-11667

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what strategy is being developed by the Police Service of Scotland to ensure the safety of children on school buses.

The Police support VOSA in this role and will investigate any concerns made known or identified regarding vehicle roadworthiness and safety and will take any necessary action.

Question reference: S4W-11664

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many random spot checks on school buses have been carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in each year since 2003 and how many buses failed.

Ensuring the safety and roadworthiness of vehicles is a reserved matter. It is the responsibility of The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to enforce these standards, ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners. Web-links to relevant VOSA effectiveness reports are provided below. These provide annual data on associated checks carried out in Scotland but the data is not disaggregated at the level of school buses.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/publications/corporatereports/2010-2011reportsuite/corporatereports-2010-2011vosaeffectivenessreport.htm

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/corporatereports-2009-2010vosaeffectivenessreport.htm

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2008%20-%202009%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/VOSA%202007-08%20Effectiveness%20report%20with%20links.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/Effectiveness%20Report%202006%2007%20.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2005%20-%202006%20VOSA%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2004%20-%202005%20VOSA%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/2003%20-%202004%20VOSA%20Effectiveness%20Report.pdf

Question reference: S4W-11663

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many inspections of school buses have been carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in each year since 2003.

Question reference: S4T-00172

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it is making with local authorities for the allocation of the additional £1 million for musical instrument tuition in schools.

Question reference: S4W-11359

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs there are in the renewable energy sector, broken down by category.

Scottish Renewables estimate that there were 11,136 full time equivalent (FTE) posts directly supported by the renewables industry and its supply chain in 2011-12.

These are broken down as follows:

Sector	FTEs
Bioenergy	1,410
Grid	3,223
Solar and Heat Pumps	161
Hydro	503
Onshore Wind	2,235
Offshore Wind	943
Wave and Tidal	521
Working across multiple sectors	1,231
Higher and Further Education	757
Public Sector	152

Of course the sector continues to grow, a fact highlighted by last week’s announcement of a deal with French energy giant Areva that could create up to 750 direct jobs in the East of Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-01604

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4O-01528

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support will be available in 2013-14 for higher and further education students from the most deprived backgrounds.

Question reference: S4W-10703

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has sent to the forestry industry regarding the Chalara fraxinea fungus.

Question reference: S4W-10702

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has sent to farmers regarding the Chalara fraxinea fungus.

Forestry Commission Scotland has sent out two briefing notes (8 and 30 October 2012) on Chalara to its stakeholders and these are also published on its website. These briefing notes are aimed at raising awareness of the threat posed by the Chalara fraxinea fungus and what actions to take. The briefings provide details on the recently introduced UK Government legislation restricting the import and movement of ash plants and seeds and advice on alternative species for planting in native woodlands. Scottish Government has also written to importers, producers and traders of ash to inform them of this new requirement.

Question reference: S4W-10700

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken into the Chalara fraxinea fungus.

Research into Chalara fraxinea fungus is undertaken by the Forestry Commission research agency. As part of the devolution process it was agreed that the research agency, Forest Research, would primarily be funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Forestry Commission Scotland works closely with the research agency which has sites in Roslin, Midlothian and Hampshire, England.

The Scottish Government has increased its own funding in recent years in the resourcing of Forestry Commission Scotland's response to plant health issues.