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: S4W-21611

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will amend the water rates exemption scheme for charities to extend eligibility for it to those established after March 1999.

Question reference: S4W-21609

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when the water rates exemption scheme for charities will next be reviewed.

Question reference: S4W-21215

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 29 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when the new chair of NHS Dumfries and Galloway will be appointed.

Question reference: S4W-21214

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 29 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many vacancies there are on the board of NHS Dumfries and Galloway and when these will be filled.

Question reference: S4F-02096

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2014

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government plans to introduce a lower threshold than £150,000 for claims heard in the sheriff courts, following the recommendation in the Justice Committee’s report on the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S4W-20701

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what power planning applicants have to instruct a government reporter's inquiry regarding what information is made public and the format in which it is produced.

Hearings or inquiries take place in public and anyone is free to attend and to report on the evidence. Reporters from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), who handle cases on behalf of Scottish Ministers, are responsible for the conduct of these sessions and will not place any restrictions on the reporting of a case. Planning appeals, unlike court proceedings, are held in local venues and there is no system for recording proceedings or providing an official transcript of the evidence.

In respect of recent inquiry and hearing sessions relating to appeals by Dart Energy, one of the parties involved in the appeals asked to be allowed to make an audio recording of the witnesses for Dart Energy. This was a private recording made to send to their own witnesses in Australia who were not able to attend the inquiry in person. The reporters have not been provided with a copy of the tapes, which are, it is understood, incomplete. An unofficial transcript of these tapes has been made but its accuracy is in dispute. The reporters determining this case will rely on their own notes of the evidence given. All inquiry documents are published to DPEA's own case website.

Question reference: S4W-20570

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 25 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland records all (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory stop and search incidents; what information about each incident is collected; whether it will publish details of the number of incidents, broken down by the (i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) ethnicity of the person stopped, and whether it will make such information publicly available on a regular basis.

Question reference: S4W-20151

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which community groups have been contacted by Transport Scotland in connection with (a) the consultation on a 20 mph speed trial on the A7 in Langholm and (b) the statutory consultation in respect of the speed limit order required to promote any change in the speed limit.

As yet no community groups have been contacted by Transport Scotland in connection with the 20 mph speed limit pilot consultation or the statutory consultation.

Transport Scotland is meeting the local authority on 1 April 2014 and will engage with the wider community shortly afterwards through meetings and other appropriate consultations. The form and timings of these consultations will be clarified after our discussion with the local authority.

Question reference: S4W-20150

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-19254 by Keith Brown on 3 February 2014, what meetings and other measures have been arranged by Transport Scotland to consult the wider community in Langholm about proposals for a 20 mph limit trial on the A7.

Question reference: S4W-19725

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 13 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether consideration of stage 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill will be delayed until after Lord Bonomy’s independent review group on corroboration has reported to ministers.

The general principles of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill including the corroboration reform have now been approved by the Scottish Parliament and the Bill will proceed with its parliamentary passage in the usual way. Lord Bonomy’s independent review will consider any additional safeguards and changes to law and practice that may be necessary to maintain a fair, effective and efficient system in light of the removal of the corroboration requirement.