Chamber and committees

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.

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Question reference: S3W-19917

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 27 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what recourse to arbitration or appeal permanent residents of caravans and chalets located on holiday-home sites with 12-month licences have against increases in pitch fees.

The rights of permanent residents of sites with residential licences, which can include holiday-home sites, are governed by the Mobile Homes Act 1983. This allows mobile home owners to have an agreement with the site owner allowing them to occupy their home on the site as their main residence. A site owner must give each resident a written statement setting out the terms of the agreement between them. The agreement will normally include express terms which fix the pitch fee the resident has to pay the site owner, when it is to be paid and how it is to be reviewed each year.

A resident who is unhappy with an increase in pitch fees should ask the site owner if they are prepared to make changes to that part of the agreement. If the site owner refuses, the resident can apply to the sheriff court, or to an arbiter, to ask for the changes to be made. In addition, residents who are in dispute with site owners who are members of either of the relevant trade bodies representing the parks industry “ the British Holiday and Home Parks Association and the National Caravan Council “ can seek conciliation from either body. If this fails the trade bodies may suggest reference to the Independent Consumer Redress Service (ICRS) which is an independent mediation or arbitration process allowing access to low cost and speedy consumer redress using standard models of conciliation and arbitration.

The 1983 act does not apply to sites which have a licence for holiday use only. This means that people who live on such sites, even if occupying a caravan or mobile home as their main residence in breach of a site''s licence or planning permission, do not have the statutory protection of the act. People who rent pitches on holiday sites for accommodation rather than leisure purposes will have certain rights under common law. However, common law does not impose any restrictions on the amount of rent the site owner can charge for the mobile home and/or pitch, or restrict how often the site owner can increase these charges.

A holiday caravan owner''s rights will be contained within a licence agreement agreed with the site owner. The trade bodies have also agreed a joint code of practice for holiday homes, which covers pitch fees and offers a complaints procedure for objecting to increases. If complaints arise that cannot be resolved between the parties then the trade bodies will offer conciliation and if this fails suggest reference to the ICRS.

Question reference: S3W-19329

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what sanctions will apply if it does not incorporate the EU waste framework directive of 20 October 2008 into national legislation within two years of its publication.

Immediately, none. In order to apply sanctions the European Commission would have to obtain first a judgment from the European Court of Justice in Article 226 proceedings that the revised Waste Framework Directive had not been properly applied in Scots law, and only subsequently obtain a judgment in Article 228 proceedings that a financial penalty should be applied.

The penalty the European Court of Justice may apply at the conclusion of Article 228 proceedings is, within various parameters, a matter for that Court, but may consist of either a lump sum or a daily fine until compliance is achieved, or both.

Question reference: S3W-19915

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) pig, (b) sheep, (c) dairy cattle, (d) beef cattle, (e) poultry (broiler chickens, ducks and turkeys), (f) laying hen and (g) other farmed animal units underwent farm animal welfare inspections by Animal Health in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008, also expressed as a percentage of each category.

Details of animal welfare inspections undertaken in Scotland by Animal Health are given in the following table:

2007	Pig	Sheep	Dairy Cattle	Beef Cattle	Poultry	Laying Hens	Others
Number	79	345	36	338	49	35	18
%	11	2	1.7	3.4	2.6	4.2	*

2008	Pig	Sheep	Dairy Cattle	Beef Cattle	Poultry	Laying Hens	Others
Number	106	437	84	421	39	42	31
%	15	3	4.1	4.2	2	5.1	*

Note: *As there is no requirement for many of the other types of livestock to register, accurate figures for the number of holdings are not available, therefore it is not possible to give a percentage.

Question reference: S3W-19916

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many farm animal welfare inspections undertaken by Animal Health on (a) pig, (b) sheep, (c) dairy cattle, (d) beef cattle, (e) poultry (broiler chickens, ducks and turkeys), (f) laying hen and (g) other farmed animal units were for (i) monitoring compliance with EU animal welfare regulations, (ii) assessing cross-compliance for single farm payments, (iii) investigating complaints about animal welfare and (iv) any other purpose in (A) 2007 and (B) 2008.

Details of animal welfare inspections undertaken in Scotland by Animal Health are given in the following table:

2007	Pig	Sheep	Dairy Cattle	Beef Cattle	Poultry	Laying Hens	Others
SFP Cross Compliance	15	122	12	117	4	5	3
Complaints	10	86	10	59	0	6	2
Other	54	137	14	162	45	24	13
Total	79	345	36	338	49	35	18

2008	Pig	Sheep	Dairy Cattle	Beef Cattle	Poultry	Laying Hens	Others
SFP Cross Compliance	20	130	47	150	7	8	5
Complaints	5	65	7	45	2	2	0
Other	81	242	30	17	30	32	26
Total	106	437	84	421	39	42	31

All welfare inspections involve an assessment of compliance with EU welfare legislation.

Question reference: S3W-19566

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16437 by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2008, whether the revised draft regulations on the licensing of dealers in puppies and kittens have been laid before Parliament and, if not, when it expects them to be laid.

Question reference: S3W-19567

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16437 by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2008, whether it expects the new regulations on the licensing of dealers in puppies and kittens to come into force and, if so, when.

Question reference: S3W-19258

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the waste management hierarchy for the development of waste policy introduced by the waste framework directive agreed by EU member states on 20 October 2008 was applied during the drafting of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill.

The waste provisions in the Climate Change Bill represent only part of Scottish Government policy on waste. These provisions are powers which the Scottish Government is seeking to take in respect of the particular issues with which they deal.

Should the Parliament grant these powers to the Scottish Government, the detail of their application will be set out in regulations which will apply the waste hierarchy as appropriate.

The Scottish Government''s policy on waste, in general, will be set out in a revised National Waste Plan, which is currently being prepared for consultation.

Question reference: S3W-19918

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is making available to Dumfries and Galloway Council for the control of seagulls and whether it has placed conditions on the use of this funding.

Question reference: S3W-19551

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much land is covered by peatlands.

Question reference: S3W-19550

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average amount of carbon sequestered by one hectare of woodland is (a) one year, (b) five years, (c) 10 years and (d) 25 years after planting.

The long-term average rate of carbon accumulation by woodland is estimated to be in the order of two to three tonnes of carbon per hectare per year. On this basis, average amounts of carbon sequestered over one, five, 10 and 25 years by one hectare would be approximately (a) two to three tonnes, (b) 10 to 15 tonnes, (c) 20 to 30 tonnes and (d) 50 to 75 tonnes respectively. However, more specific estimates of the pattern of average post-planting carbon accumulation rates would vary with such factors as site productivity and species.