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: S2W-05301

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2004
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4462 by Cathy Jamieson on 11 December 2003, whether it has discussed the content and implications of Her Majesty's Government's draft Asylum and Immigration Bill as part of its regular contact with that government.

Question reference: S2W-04933

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations within the last two years in respect of proposed changes to leasing laws.

In relation to commercialleases we have received one substantive representation that the rent reviewprocess should be made to follow the position in England and Wales. Thisproposal suggested restricting the use of upwards-only rent reviews and theintroduction of an automatic right for business tenants to renew a lease whenit expires. The law in Scotland favours a freedom of contract approach, and the Executive believes that this permits commercial tenants and landlords to tailora lease to suit their own circumstances without significant statutoryintervention. Consequently, we have not adopted these proposals, although we doof course remain open to further representations. Otherwise, we have received veryfew enquires about general leasing law.

The Scottish Law Commissionhas kept the Executive informed of its work on long leases and on irritancyclauses in leases. These issues are outlined in the answer to question S2W-4934on 15 January 2004.

We have also received somerepresentations on hutting in Scotland, as discussed in particular in the answers to parliamentaryquestions S1W-30533 on 7 November 2002, S2W-2164 on 22 September 2003, S2W-3141 and S2W-3146 on 31 October 2003.

Answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Question reference: S2W-04934

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to carry out a review of leasing law.

We do not have any immediateplans to conduct a general review of leasing law. We shall, however, continueto monitor the recent and on-going work of the Scottish Law Commission inrelation to two specific leasing issues. These are the Commission’s Reporton Irritancy in Leases of Land (June 2003 - Scot Law Com No 191) and its discussionpaper on the Conversion of Long Leases (April 2001 – D.P. No 112). Thetext of both of these documents is available at www.scotlawcom.gov.uk. The discussion paperwill be followed by a report and draft bill, although there is at present noforeseeable legislative timeslot available for either project.

A fundamental review ofsocial rented sector tenancies formed the basis of the changes introduced inthe Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, and there are no plans to hold a furtherreview. Tenancies in the private rented sector are provided for in the Housing(Scotland) Act 1988.

Question reference: S2W-05269

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its expenditure has been allocated directly to (a) higher and (b) further education in each year since 1999 and what figure this represents in (i) cash terms and (ii) as a percentage of expenditure on education as a whole.

Question reference: S2W-05300

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 14 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4358 by Ms Margaret Curran on 16 December 2003, whether it has discussed the content and implications of Her Majesty's Government's proposal to introduce a bill to set up child trust funds as part of its regular contact with that government.

Question reference: S2W-05298

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2004
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4321 by Cathy Jamieson on 15 December 2003, whether it has discussed the content and implications of Her Majesty's Government's draft Civil Contingencies Bill as part of its regular contact with that government.

Question reference: S2W-04742

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 13 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive when Mott MacDonald Communication and Controls Division was commissioned to review the operation of fire service control rooms; what the remit of the review is; what the value is of Mott MacDonald's consultancy contract; what criteria were applied in appointing the company; how many companies bid for the contract; what Mott MacDonald's timetable is for reporting its findings, and whether the report will be made public.

An intention to review future control room arrangements in Scotland was expressed in our policy consultation paper The Scottish Fire Service of the Future published in April 2002 and confirmed in our recent publication The Scottish Fire Service: Proposals for Legislation. Mott MacDonald were commissioned in October 2003 to provide independent advice as an extension to a contract placed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The contract was placed with Mott MacDonald as they have particular experience of the very specific area of fire service control rooms. The remit of the study is as follows:

consider the impact and implications of New Dimension on the operational and management arrangements of the fire service and the associated risks, opportunities, and issues in the context of control rooms;

consider the impact and implications of the consultative documents The Scottish Fire Service of the Future, The Scottish Fire Service: Proposals for Legislation and the proposed modernisation of Control Rooms;

investigate the operational effectiveness of existing control rooms and arrangements during the industrial dispute together with lessons learned that might be derived from this experience;

investigate and report on new nternational experience, particularly the operational outcomes of 11 September 2001 and the associated lessons that may inform any future arrangements;

to explore the issues associated with electronic service delivery and the potential impact on control room operations;

to make recommendations and provide an outline implementation plan for their delivery.

The value of the contract placed is commercially confidential. Mott MacDonald will submit their recommendations by early January 2004 and they will be considered, together with responses to the consultation exercise, as part of the preparations for the planned Fire Services Bill.

Question reference: S2W-04888

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to objective 1, target 2 of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning chapter of its Draft Budget 2004-05, which quartile of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries Scotland's level of business investment in research and development falls into; how much businesses have spent on research and development in the current year; what percentage increase this figure represents on previous years, and how much of its budget, including those of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, has been spent on assisting businesses with research and development in each of the last four years.

The Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD) monitors research and development(R&D) spending by 29 member countries. The latest available figures referto 2001.

In terms of expenditure bybusinesses on R&D as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, Scotlandwould be in the third quartile of OECD countries in 2001.

The level of R&Dexpenditure by businesses is measured by an annual survey conducted by theOffice for National Statistics. According to this survey, R&D expenditure undertakenin enterprises in Scotland was £512 million in 2001, rising to £640 million in2002. At current prices the increase was 28% between 2000 and 2001 and 25%between 2001 and 2002.

Information regarding theamount of spending from the Scottish Executive, its agencies andnon-departmental public bodies on assisting businesses with R&D in each of the last four years is not held centrally.

Question reference: S2W-05083

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 13 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26727 by Patricia Ferguson on 16 July 2002, how many Sewel motions it has lodged with the Parliament in each year since 2001 and how many bills Sewel motions have covered in each year since 1999.

The information is set outin the following table.

	Number of Sewel Motions	Number of Bills
1999 (from 1 July)	5	5
2000	11	10
2001	13	12
2002	9	7
2003	8	7
Total	46*	41*

*This difference is accounted for by three bills which each required one supplementary Sewel motion and one bill which required two supplementary Sewel motions.

Question reference: S2W-05076

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 13 January 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any change to the list of cross-border public authorities as defined in the Scotland Act 1998 since September 2002.

There has been no change tothe list of cross-border public authorities as defined in the Scotland Actsince September 2002. The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities)(Specification) Order 1999 (S.I.1999/1319) sets out the cross-border public authoritiesas specified under section 88 of the Scotland Act 1998. A copy of this ordercan be found in the Parliament’s Reference Centre, Bib. number 23320.