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: S1W-10205

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has indicated to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions in any response to the consultation paper on proposed new regulations for vehicle number plates that it supports the use of the letters "SCO" on vehicle number plates.

Question reference: S1W-10407

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific Scottish targets it has set regarding the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions over the next decade and how such reductions will be measured.

The Executive is considering the responses to the consultation on the Scottish Climate Change Programme (SCCP), which ended on 2 June. I plan to publish the final SCCP in the near future. This will detail the action we will take in Scotland as a contribution to the UK Climate Change Programme, which is designed to meet the UK obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, by 12.5% by 2008-12.

The Executive, in conjunction with the UK Government, has a contract with the National Environmental Technology Centre to produce a disaggregated UK greenhouse gas inventory. This allowed us to report in the SCCP consultation the 1990 and 1995 emission figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will produce an annual disaggregated inventory with effect from 1998. The 1998 figures will be announced soon.

Question reference: S1W-10404

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Minister for Transport and the Environment's statement on transport expenditure on 28 September 2000, whether it will list the 350 new or improved rural transport services referred to (Official Report, col. 804) and how it monitors the introduction and improvement of such services.

It is for local authorities and the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority to decide how much to allocate to particular services from their Rural Transport Fund Grant. The latest information received from authorities on the number of new and improved rural services (including services continued from 1998-99) which were supported in 1999-2000 in each local authority area is set out in the table below. It is entirely a matter for the authorities concerned to monitor each of the services which have been introduced since 1998-99 and make any changes they consider necessary.

Research has been commissioned to evaluate the Rural Transport Fund and this is due to report shortly.

Authority	No. of rural services supported by RTF Grant in 1999-2000
Aberdeenshire	29
Angus	15
Argyll & Bute (outwith SPT area)	27
Clackmannanshire	4
Dumfries & Galloway	41
East Ayrshire (outwith SPT area)	1
East Lothian	5
Eilean Siar	42
Falkirk	1
Fife	9
Highland	70
Midlothian	3
Moray	13
North Ayrshire (outwith SPT area)	1
Orkney Islands	11
Perth and Kinross	25
Scottish Borders	19
Shetland Islands	32
South Ayrshire (outwith SPT area)	4
South Lanarkshire (outwith SPT area)	2
Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority*	34
Stirling	10
West Lothian	18

* The Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority (SPTA) are responsible for securing public passenger transport within the PTA boundary. The grant paid in respect of councils within the boundary or that part of a council area within the boundary is passed on to SPTA.

Question reference: S1W-09791

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a list of those small departments, non-departmental public bodies and agencies which it is responsible for in terms of both operational matters and policy framework, specifying in each case the Minister who is responsible.

Question reference: S1O-02525

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the potential impact on Scotland's environment of any plans to make mixed oxide fuel for overseas customers at Sellafield.

Question reference: S1W-10816

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 15 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what input it had to the remit of the study into the long-term effects of chemicals in the environment being carried out by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution; whether it intends to make any submission to the Commission on this issue, and whether it will make any submission public.

Following consultation with a number of bodies including the Scottish Executive, the Royal Commission has drawn up a preliminary list of the broad topics it intends to cover in this study. It is now seeking to identify the issues and areas it would be most appropriate for the new study to investigate and the Scottish Executive has been invited to contribute to this exercise. This information will help the Commission to scope the study. The new study is expected to begin in the middle of next year, when the Commission will invite the submission of detailed evidence on specific issues. The Scottish Executive will make any response available to the public.

Question reference: S1W-10778

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to conduct a capacity audit of the rail network.

Question reference: S1W-10547

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Railtrack has made it aware of the locations of any rail track breakage and cracks in Scotland over the past two years; what measures they have taken to upgrade defective areas of track, and whether it will make any information available on this issue in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Railway safety is a reserved matter. Safety systems and their application are monitored by the Health and Safety Executive as a condition of Railtrack's Railway Safety Case. The Health and Safety Executive publishes an annual report on the state of the railways which includes information on broken rails.

I have asked the Health and Safety Executive to supply the Scottish Parliament Information Centre with the latest and previous annual reports.

Question reference: S1W-10548

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government on whether Railtrack in Scotland has invested the required level of resources to deal with matters of line and signal safety since 1999 and whether it is satisfied that future investment on safety matters is at the required level.

Question reference: S1W-10546

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions or representations it has held with or made to Her Majesty's Government in (a) the last six months and (b) the last two months about Railtrack in Scotland and the issue of rail safety and their safety record; when they were held or made, and whether it will provide details.