- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive where members of the public can access its guidance to local authorities on the implementation of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010.
Answer
Scottish Government guidance to local authorities in relation to the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 can be accessed through the Scottish Government''s website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/law/control-dogs.
The Control of Dogs Act webpage was published ahead of the act coming into force.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 3 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether members of committees of voluntary sector organisations such as hall committees can be held financially liable for debts incurred by the running of the organisation and, if so, what safeguards can be put in place to protect volunteers.
Answer
The legal form of an organisation will determine who is financially liable.
Subject to parliamentary process, we expect the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) to be introduced for new charities from 1 April 2011. This is a new form of corporate body, exclusively for charities, which provides the benefits of incorporation without the requirement also to register with Companies House (or the Financial Standards Authority). The members of a SCIO would not be liable to contribute financially to its debts on dissolution.
In addition, the Scottish Law Commission recently recommended that the law on unincorporated association be reviewed, to allow unincorporated associations to acquire legal personality. This may remove some of the exposure to financial liability that committee members may currently have, as well as other problems caused by lack of legal personality. As the matter is reserved, this would require United Kingdom legislation.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its guidance to local authorities on the implementation of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 was laid before the Parliament.
Answer
Yes. Ahead of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 coming into force on 26 February 2011, I wrote to Duncan McNeil MSP, convener of the Local Government and Communities Committee to provide a copy of the guidance. My officials also provided copies of the guidance to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52521) to make the guidance available for members.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances ministers can call in a planning application regarding the demolition of a listed building.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39750 on 3 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers can call in a planning application regarding the demolition of a listed building when Historic Scotland has not requested such action.
Answer
It is open to Scottish ministers to call-in any planning or listed building consent application they wish regardless of whether Historic Scotland has recommended this course of action. Most cases are, however, dealt with by Historic Scotland on Scottish ministers'' behalf.
An application to demolish a listed building would be made under the terms of the Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas (Scotland) Act 1997. If minded to grant consent for an application the planning authority must notify it to Historic Scotland (acting for Scottish ministers). Scottish ministers must then decide whether they wish to call-in the application for their own decision.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 24 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors how the funding awarded to local authorities and other organisations from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund has been spent.
Answer
Under the terms and conditions of the Town Centre Regeneration Fund grant, grantees are required to keep Scottish Ministers informed of the progress of their projects.
They are required to submit progress reports which include details of actual expenditure and any change to estimated expenditure for the financial year and/or the project as a whole along with the reasons for any changes and progress in achieving outputs/outcomes. On completion, grantees are required to submit a final report summarising the outcomes and performance of the project.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 11 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive when construction work will begin on the A75 Hardgrove to Kinmount improvement scheme and when this work will be completed.
Answer
The unprecedented £1.3 billion cut to our capital budgets has presented us with some difficult choices and we must prioritise existing projects over new as set out in the recent budget statement. Schemes which have completed their statutory process such as the Hardgrove to Kinmount Improvement will be prepared so that they are ready to be taken forward at the earliest possible opportunity.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 4 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation regulates the charges that a local authority can levy on the submission of (a) outline and (b) full planning applications.
Answer
The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as amended, set down the fees for the submission for both planning permission in principle and full planning applications.
Where an application requires to be advertised under regulation 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 then the cost of publishing that notice has to be recovered from the applicant and procedures in this regard are specified in the Town and Country Planning (Charges for Publication of Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 4 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of charge that a local authority can levy on the submission of (a) outline and (b) full planning applications is set by regulation and, if so, when the regulations were last updated.
Answer
Planning application fees are set by Scottish ministers and planning authorities have no discretion to waive or alter fees. The fees for the submission for both planning permission in principle and full planning applications are set down in the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 as amended. These regulations were last amended in August 2010 by SSI 2010/280.
Where an application requires to be advertised under regulation 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 then the cost of publishing that notice has to be recovered from the applicant and procedures in this regard are specified in the Town and Country Planning (Charges for Publication of Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 3 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued guidance to local authorities on whether schools will be on holiday on 29 April 2011.
Answer
Yes. On 20 January 2011, directors were advised that if they intended to seek ministerial consent for the exceptional closure of schools on that day, such consent would be forthcoming. A copy of the letter is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52391).
