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-28292

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 16 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will make provision under section 153 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 to take account of section 67 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Question reference: S4W-28282

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether planning permission has been granted for any (a) test drilling and (b) borehole drilling for the purpose of core sampling for unconventional gas extraction, including fracking, coalbed methane and underground coal gasification.

Question reference: S4W-28285

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether test drilling for unconventional gas, including drilling a borehole solely for the purpose of core sampling, will (a) face restrictions over proximity to (i) groundwater and (ii) residential areas and (b) be limited to a certain depth.

Only boreholes for the purposes of core sampling are not included in the moratorium.

A company seeking to drill a borehole to acquire a core sample would need to obtain all the necessary regulatory consents. These would include planning permission from a local planning authority and an environmental permit from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. It would then be for regulators to determine whether or not the site is acceptable and whether drilling should be allowed.

The Scottish Government has committed to review planning guidance to ensure that borehole applications are subject to appropriate public scrutiny and that proposals satisfactorily address all the likely impacts on local communities and the environment.

Question reference: S4O-04807

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether the cleft palate unit in Edinburgh will be retained.

Question reference: S4W-28021

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an updated national reporting framework that will map its sustainable development goals.

Scotland’s aims and ambitions – such as tackling inequality, ensuring access to high quality education and healthcare – are already a key part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These aims and ambitions are enshrined in our National Performance Framework and Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights. These will allow us to measure and report on progress in achieving the SDGs in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-27845

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many protective expenses orders have been used in court cases in each of the last three years.

In March 2013 court rules came into effect to allow protective expenses orders (PEOs) to be applied for in certain environmental cases in the Court of Session. Since then, there have been a number of applications for protective expenses orders. Data on the number of applications for PEOs applied for in the Court of Session is not currently able to be extracted. However, the Scottish Government is aware of at least nine opinions in cases involving PEOs in the Court of Session. The Scottish Government is currently in discussions with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service on a range of issues relating to data collection.

Question reference: S4W-27874

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 4 October 2015, VW task force call, what response it has received from the UK Government to its call for a UK-wide taskforce to be set up to deal with the matters arising from Volkswagen Automobile Group's admission that it falsified some emissions details, and what analysis it has carried out of how the issue will impact on its climate targets.

The UK Government has responded to the Scottish Government on Volkswagen (VW) issues. They have confirmed the position on a number of the points raised by the Scottish Government, for example that having defeat software fitted will not lead to an increase in Vehicle Excise Duty for current or subsequent owners of vehicles. On a range of other issues, including the setting up of a UK wide task force, no decision has yet been taken.

The Scottish Government has not carried out any analysis on the impact of the VW scandal on climate targets. There is simply no data available from potentially affected vehicles. In addition, the impact on targets is likely to be marginal, because, rather than relying on car performance statistics, emissions recorded in the inventory are calculated from actual fuel sales.

Question reference: S4W-27846

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 27 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to change the level of fees for protective expenses orders.

A protective expenses order may be granted by the Court of Session. The limits for a protective expenses order are set out in Chapter 58A of the rules of that court. The Scottish Government has no plans to change those limits.

An application for a protective expenses order is made by motion. There are fees for making a motion and for other stages of procedure. The Scottish Government consulted on court fees in February 2015. Court of Session fees are set out in tables in the Court of Session etc. Fees Order 2015 no. 261. Those tables apply from September 2015, from April 2016, and then from April 2017. Thereafter the level of fees may be reviewed.

Question reference: S4O-04708

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the Longannet Taskforce and PACE team will report on the interventions they have made with the workers and apprentices affected by the power station's closure.

Question reference: S4W-27381

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by Fergus Ewing on 3 September 2015 (Official Report, c.52), what plans it has to review its energy strategy.