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-22296

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether holiday lets are liable for council tax and business rates.

Question reference: S3W-22063

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much packaging for recycling is being stockpiled, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S3W-22061

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much paper for recycling is being stockpiled, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S3W-22062

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much glass for recycling is being stockpiled, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S3W-22010

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to identify peat bogs where peat depth is 50cm or greater and whether specific advice to land managers on the steps that they can take to prevent the release of CO2 and other greenhouse gases from such carbon stores is provided free of charge as part of the public goods advice programme operated by the Scottish Agricultural College and other government agencies.

The Scottish Government has commissioned a study to advise on the costs and benefits of a targeted national peat survey, and on the state of our current knowledge on carbon stocks tied into peatlands. The report is due to be published by the Scottish Government in April 2009 and will provide clear advice on the distribution of peat with a depth of 50cm or greater.

A new advisory activity covering climate change has been added to the Scottish Agricultural College''s Public Good Advisory service for 2009-10. This new activity will involve a range of initiatives to inform farmers and provide practical advice on steps they can take to mitigate climate change and its impacts, including measures to protect peatland and moorland from damage.

The Scottish Government also recently published a report on calculating carbon losses from wind farms on peatlands “ most of the advice contained within the report advises land managers how to minimise carbon losses from peat. This advice replaces earlier guidance developed by Scottish Natural Heritage and can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/25114657/0.

In principle, restoration and re-instatement of peatlands may be ultimately beneficial in terms of carbon sequestration. However, uncertainty exists on the time taken for such sites to change from initial sources of methane, to become sinks of carbon dioxide. Given this uncertainty we will be seeking further evidence to allow us and our stakeholders to develop the best approach to this issue.

Question reference: S3W-22011

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those areas of peat land where it (a) supports the restoration and conservation of peat bogs and (b) expects that further action to restore peat resources damaged by past drainage and inappropriate afforestation will be targeted.

The Scottish Government has been working with a broad range of stakeholders to develop a co-ordinated approach to the protection of soils (including peatland), and will publish the Scottish Soil Framework in spring 2009. The framework will recognise Scottish peatlands as a large and important store of carbon within the UK, Europe and globally, as well as supporting important Scottish biodiversity and landscapes.

As part of the Scottish Soil Framework, Scottish Government will continue to work with a broad range of stakeholders to co-ordinate and enhance measures to protect soils, including peatlands. In particular, the Forestry Commission Scotland have issued guidance on woodland planting and removal and associated restoration of peat bogs, and Scottish Natural Heritage already fund and support a number of projects and schemes to support peatland conservation and restoration for biodiversity objectives.

Question reference: S3W-22033

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new leasing arrangements for buildings occupied in Scotland by (a) non-departmental public bodies and (b) Executive agencies involved (i) new leases and (ii) renewals of existing leases in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S3W-22030

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new buildings it procured in each of the last five years and how many were (a) rented, (b) leased, (c) purchased and (d) acquired under some other finance mechanism.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22033 on 27 March 2009. 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.

We do not hold information on whether buildings acquired are in fact newly built or new to the Scottish Executive. The core Scottish Executive has not purchased any new office buildings over the past five years.

Question reference: S3W-22031

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new buildings were procured in Scotland by (a) executive agencies and (b) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years and how many were (i) rented, (ii) leased, (iii) purchased and (iv) acquired under some other finance mechanism.

We do not hold information on whether buildings acquired are in fact newly built or new to the Scottish Executive, its Agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Over the past five years only one newly built office building was purchased by a non departmental public body.

Question reference: S3W-22032

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new leasing arrangements for buildings that it occupied involved (a) new leases and (b) renewals of existing leases in each of the last five years.