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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2197 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-15168

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the final Electricity Generation Policy Statement.

Question reference: S4O-02214

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to control the population of greylag geese in the Uists.

Question reference: S4W-14885

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 29 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it follows the UK emissions performance standard (EPS); how it will ensure that this will help it meet its 2030 target, and what consideration it has given to adopting its own EPS.

<>As part of the draft Electricity Generation Policy Statement published in March 2012, the Scottish Government informally consulted on the possibility of a distinct Scottish Emissions Performance Standard (EPS). Responses indicated a range of views with industry being supportive of a UK-wide level to ensure a consistent regulatory approach and promote investor confidence in a UK-wide electricity market, while Non-Governmental Organisation’s favoured a Scottish specific EPS at a lower level gradually reducing over time.

Based on the overriding objective of providing a consistent regulatory regime, which does not dis-incentivise investment in clean thermal generation in Scotland, we have agreed to the UK-wide application of the Emissions Performance Standard.

While the Emissions Performance Standard is a useful tool we are clear that on its own it will not deliver the Scottish Government’s 2030 decarbonisation target and should be seen in the context of wider policies and powers. Our current consenting policy on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) already imposes conditions for progressively fitting CCS to all coal and gas thermal plants following successful demonstration at commercial scale. The delivery of our 100% renewable electricity target together with developments in grid technology and storage and progress in demand reduction and energy efficiency will also play a crucial role in the delivery of our long-term decarbonisation target.

Question reference: S4W-14884

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 29 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much offshore renewable development will be required after 2020 to meet its ambition of having a largely-decarbonised electricity supply by 2030.

The Scottish Government, like the rest of the UK and EU neighbours has not set electricity targets beyond 2020 in terms of specific fuel mixes.

Decarbonisation will be achieved through a range of policies and be dependent upon a number of factors, some of which are beyond the control of the Scottish Government.

We believe that offshore renewable energy has the potential to make a significant contribution to a decarbonised electricity supply but it is too early to indicate what that contribution will be.

Question reference: S4O-02179

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support businesses in the Western Isles.

Question reference: S4W-14630

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent sandstorms and forecast persistant rain, what assistance it will give to Moray Council to help clear up and what its position is on whether clearing drains and gullies should be considered a priority measure as a contingency against flooding.

As yet, Moray Council has not submitted an application for any additional funding following the recent storms.

The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with over £10.3 billion in 2013-14. Moray Council’s needs-based share of this total amounts to £181.6 million and the vast majority of this funding, including the funding for flood prevention contingency measures, is being provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives.

The clearance of road drains and gullies in Moray is a matter for the local authority, the trunk roads authority or operating company as appropriate. However, in the case of land drainage, this is usually a matter for the relevant landowner and, where this involves dredging or clearing watercourses and ditches, they should contact the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency for advice in case this requires an application for an authorisation under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

Question reference: S4W-14780

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many (a) grocery, (b) butcher, (c) baker, (d) fishmonger, (e) newsagent, (f) confectionery and (g) tobacco retail outlets there are, also broken down by the number of wholesalers.

Data on business sites by industrial sector are available from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The IDBR, maintained by the Office for National Statistics, is a database of all enterprises registered for VAT and or PAYE, covering 99 per cent of economic activity in the UK. Those excluded are small businesses with no employees and an annual turnover below the VAT threshold (£73,000 as at March 2012).

Business sites are categorised on the IDBR according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). It is not possible to obtain figures for the exact categories requested due to the SIC structure. The data in the following table are the closest SIC equivalents and are provided from the latest year from which data are available.

Table 1: Business sites in selected codes (SIC2007), Scotland, March 2012

SIC 2007 code	Description	2012
46310	Wholesale of fruit and vegetables	175
46320	Wholesale of meat and meat products	150
46350	Wholesale of tobacco products	5
46360	Wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionary	50
46380	Wholesale of other food; including fish;, crustaceans and molluscs	270
47210	Retail sale of fruit and vegetables in specialised stores	375
47220	Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores	695
47230	Retail sale of fish; crustaceans and molluscs in specialised stores	240
47240	Retail sale of bread; cakes; flour confectionary and sugar confectionary in specialised stores	895
47260	Retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores	205
47620	Retail sale of newspapers and stationery in specialised stores	655

Source: Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), Office for National Statistics

Notes: Business site counts are rounded to the nearest 5.

Business sites are the individual sites within an enterprise i.e. every shop, branch, office.

Question reference: S4T-00352

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that North Sea oil and gas production will continue for the rest of the century.

Question reference: S4W-14528

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the March 2013 Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin used the last two years’ oil price-per-barrel to forecast an average price of $113 per barrel over the next five years and whether it is aware of any other (a) governments, (b) agencies, (c) businesses and (d) independent organisations that (i) use the same methodology and (ii) have forecast the same average price and, if so, which.

The Scottish Government Oil and Gas Analytical bulletin summarises a range of forecasts for future oil prices, and provides projections of North Sea tax revenue under a number of different price assumptions. An oil price of $113 per barrel is used in scenarios 2-4 to model an outcome where recent price levels are maintained in future years but fall in real terms. As outlined in the bulletin, this value is consistent with the price forecasts produced by a range of external organisations such as; the US Energy Information Administration, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Ernst and Young ITEM Club.

Question reference: S4W-14266

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that those undertaking agricultural or forestry projects that may give rise to significant environmental effects are aware of the potential requirement to undertake an environmental impact assessment.

For Forestry, the potential requirement of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is central to the information we provide to those carrying out forestry projects. This information is available on the Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) website and from local FCS offices. As part of the normal application process for forestry proposals FCS consider whether they need to be assessed under EIA (Forestry) regulations.

For agricultural projects, there is advice and guidance on the Scottish Government farming web pages which details the EIA requirements. However, due to a number of circumstances there are relatively few applications annually:

The principles of EIA are enshrined in Cross Compliance, which is the minimum standard of regulatory compliance all farmers must adhere to, in order to receive their basic subsidy payment;

Much of the land that would be considered appropriate to improve has been improved during the last century, often receiving support from agricultural grant;

The remaining land, which includes all semi-natural habitats (unimproved grass, heath, moorland, scrub and wetlands) and environmental designations is uneconomic to improve and the level of awareness of EIA requirements amongst farmers is considered to be high.

Generally, there are few opportunities for farmers to improve semi-natural habitats. Those that wish to do so apply through the formal process.

All of the Cross Compliance regulations and requirements, along with the specific EIA information, is also on the Scottish Government Website, and available from local agricultural area offices.