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-03306

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has (a) sought and (b) received on the legislative competence of the proposed Referendum (Scotland) Bill.

The practice of successivegovernments, reflected in the Scottish Ministerial Code and the provisions of theFreedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, is that the fact and content oflegal advice is not revealed. We consider it entirely proper for the Scottish Governmentand Scottish Parliament to discuss the constitutional future of Scotland, and invite the people of Scotland to express their views.

Choosing Scotland’sFuture says (at paragraph5.11 and paragraph 3 on page 35), that as far as legislative competence is concerned,a referendum could be held under the authority of an act of the Scottish Parliament,depending on the precise proposition in the referendum bill, or any adjustmentsmade to the competence of the Parliament before the bill is introduced.

Question reference: S3W-03301

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a budget has been set for the national conversation on the draft Referendum (Scotland) Bill.

The cost of producingand translating the document is around £35,000 (including the web version, the design,printing and the summary in eight languages and a full Gaelic version). Distributionof the document cost a further £5,000, and the cost of the launch event was £8,000.The total cost of launching the national conversation to date is therefore £48,000.

The costs of carryingout the conversation will depend on how its structure develops, in light of responsesfrom the people of Scotland as to how they wish to be involved. The workis being carried out within existing resources from the government’s constitutionalpolicy and communications teams.

Question reference: S3W-03303

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how responses to its white paper, Choosing Scotland's Future: A National Conversation, will be collated.

Question reference: S3W-03475

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has taken from the Scottish law officers in relation to the competence of the Executive to hold a referendum as detailed in the national conversation white paper.

Question reference: S3O-00498

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 6 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibility the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism retain for Scotland¿s creative industries and when they will outline their vision for the growth of this sector of the economy.

Question reference: S3W-02874

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Bruce Crawford on 27 August 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitment made by the Minister for Parliamentary Business on 14 June 2007 (Official Report c. 709), what progress has been made on convening a summit with key stakeholders to agree a joint position against renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system; on what date the summit will take place, and which key stakeholders will be invited to participate.

Question reference: S3W-02937

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 August 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish Government is doing to promote the Scottish film industry in the wake of the UK film industry's recent success at the Oscars

Question reference: S3W-01215

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-568 by Fiona Hyslop on 18 June 2007, whether any consultation will be held on where free school meals pilot schemes will take place before plans for the pilots are published.

Details of the localauthorities that have been selected to take part in the free school meals pilotschemes were announced on Wednesday 11 July 2007. The pilots willinvolve all pupils in primary 1 to primary 3 (P1 to P3) in Glasgow City Council,West Dunbartonshire Council, Fife Council, East Ayrshire Council and Scottish BordersCouncil. These authorities have been selected because they include recognised areasof deprivation and cover urban areas as well as small towns and rural areas. Furtherdetails of the pilots will be set out in due course.

Question reference: S3W-01203

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 17 July 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set up a working group on the regulation of houses in multiple occupation.

Question reference: S3W-01216

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 17 July 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-568 by Fiona Hyslop on 18 June 2007, when plans for free school meals pilot schemes will be published.