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 2736 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S2W-01767

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in implementing its commitment in A Partnership for a Better Scotland to ensure that the transport system meets the needs of business, transport users and the environment by extending public transport concessionary fare schemes, including a national free off-peak bus scheme for older people and people with disabilities; what meetings it has had, or plans to have, with key stakeholders, including bus operators and transport authorities, on this matter, and when such meetings will be concluded.

Question reference: S2W-01655

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received regarding ground maintenance on the trunk road network in the Highland Council area under the trunk road maintenance contract and what action it has taken, or will take, in response to any such representations.

Question reference: S2W-01693

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the minutes of any meetings of its Cabinet at which the relocation of the Scottish Natural Heritage headquarters was discussed and any Cabinet memoranda and papers that explain the reasoning behind the decision to relocate the headquarters to Inverness.

Question reference: S2W-01745

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the National Farmers' Union Scotland urging that the Executive make payments of interest on IACS payments to farmers whose set-aside land has been down to grass and whether it will ensure that Scottish farmers are treated in the same way as farmers in England and Wales in respect of such payments.

The National Farmers' Union Scotland has made a number of representations to the Executive since this issue was the subject of a ruling in the European Court of Justice in 2000.In response to a further decision by the English High Court last year, we made a commitment to Scottish farmers that they would not be disadvantaged compared to farmers in England and Wales. This means that Scottish claims penalised previously because land had been in temporary grass in the year preceding set-aside will now be paid. I am pleased to confirm that this includes paying compensation, in lieu of interest, to such cases.

Question reference: S2W-01657

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any safety concerns regarding the height of grass and plants obscuring traffic signage on the trunk road network in the Highland Council area and what action it has taken, or will take, as a result.

Potential safety issues on the trunk road network are dealt with by the Performance Audit Group issuing hazard notices to the operating company. A hazard notice requires immediate action by the operating company to address the safety problem.No hazard notices have been issued to BEAR in the Highland Council area relating to grass or plants obscuring traffic signs. If such concerns were drawn to the attention of the Executive, they would be investigated and appropriate action would be taken.

Question reference: S2W-01311

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by George Reid on 20 August 2003

To ask the Presiding Officer to whom the minutes of the Holyrood Progress Group meeting of 26 March 2003 were circulated.

A copy of the full minutes was circulated to members of the Holyrood Progress Group, members of the project team and the Clerk/Chief Executive. An extract of the minutes, excluding the private discussions, was circulated to the consultants in attendance, BLL, DLE and EMBT-RMJM Ltd. Following a request for this specific document, a copy of the extract was also issued to a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

Question reference: S2W-01656

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 20 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns regarding the frequency and standard of grass cutting and ground maintenance on the trunk road network in the Highland Council area and, in particular, on the A9, A82, A87 and A96 and what action it has taken, or will take, as a result.

The Scottish Executive monitors BEAR's performance with help from the independent Performance Audit Group (PAG). In some instances contractual obligations have not been met and the Executive has taken the necessary action to ensure that BEAR rectifies the identified problem. (There are currently no on-going concerns regarding the frequency and standard of grass cutting and ground maintenance on the trunk road network.)

Question reference: S2W-01654

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 20 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the responsibilities of BEAR Scotland Ltd are in relation to ground maintenance on the trunk road network in the Highland Council area and, in particular, on the A9, A82, A87 and A96; what monitoring the Executive carries out to ensure that the ground maintenance responsibilities of BEAR Scotland Ltd under the trunk road maintenance contract are complied with, and whether it has made any representations to the company on this matter.

BEAR's responsibilities for ground maintenance are specified in the Term contract for the management and maintenance of the Scottish trunk road network, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 16573).BEAR's performance is monitored by the independent Performance Audit Group (PAG) on behalf of the Scottish Executive. PAG recently carried out an audit of BEAR's performance in the Highland Council area and confirmed that the standard of ground maintenance generally complied with the specification. In some instances contractual obligations have not been met and the Executive has taken the necessary action to ensure that BEAR rectify the identified problem.

Question reference: S2W-01777

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 19 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1214 by Mr Jack McConnell on 17 July 2003, by what means Lord Fraser will secure the co-operation of those witnesses whom he wishes to question in relation to the inquiry into the Holyrood building project if they refuse to co-operate and whether he will make public the names of any, or all, non-co-operative witnesses.

As noted in the reply to given to question S2W-1214 on , Lord Fraser has made clear his view that he can secure the co-operation of those whom he wishes to question, without a power to compel them to give evidence. It is for Lord Fraser to decide on the conduct of his investigation and to judge what information is to be made public.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/webapp/search_wa.

Question reference: S2W-01769

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that the Highlands and Islands will continue to receive regional development aid after the expiry of the existing budget and whether there have been any meetings between ministers and (a) European Commissioners and (b) officials since June 1999 on this issue and, if so, on what dates such meetings took place.

The Scottish Executive supports reform of the Structural Funds post-2006 to ensure they are targeted where they are most needed following enlargement of the European Union. The debate on the future of European regional policy still has some way to go and we remain fully engaged with the European Commission and others in order to ensure that Scottish interests are taken into account.In the meantime, we are working closely with partners so that current programmes are spent effectively to secure lasting benefits.