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-29132

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002

To ask the Presiding Officer whether a performance bond was required for each of the works packages let as part of the Holyrood Project; whether such a bond was provided, and whether any claim under any such bond has been made or is under consideration.

There are a number of mechanisms adopted within the workings of all trade packages, which ensure that the client's interests are suitably protected. The purpose of a performance bond is to provide a limited indemnity for the client from a surety in extreme cases of non-performance. Performance bonds provide, in the event of non-performance, for a recovery of 10% of the contract sum in return for a premium of 1%. The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body sought performance bonds for 33 works packages, on the recommendation of the construction manager. Seventeen bonds were obtained, and of the 16 outstanding, at least eight are no longer required since the perceived risk has passed. No claims have yet been made and none are presently under consideration. Performance bonds are not provided readily by contractors and are usually the subject of prolonged negotiation of terms with a third party surety. To delay a contract due to lack of agreement on the wording of a bond could expose the client to a far greater risk in terms of cost and time than the risk that the bond is trying to protect.

Question reference: S1W-29304

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-28270 on 4 September 2002, on how many days during each year for which figures were given the total number of visitors to the public gallery in the chamber exceeded 234.

The information requested broken down by year is:

Year	Number of days where visitor numbers exceeded 234
05/99-04/00	51¹
05/00-04/01	47
05/01-04/02	54
05/02-07/02	11

Notes:1. From 1 September; records were not kept before that date.2. The figures show the number of visitors who accessed the public gallery of the chamber but, because access and egress of visitors is a continuous process, it is not possible to identify total numbers in the gallery at any one time.

Question reference: S1W-29185

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are dependent upon scallop fishing for their livelihood.

Question reference: S1W-29186

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Mary Mulligan on 25 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the proposals of the Food Standards Agency on a tiered scallop testing regime will have on the future existence of the scallop industry and what steps it will take to ensure that the proposals do not have any adverse effect.

The Food Standards Agency is preparing a Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will provide a clear assessment of the likely effect of these proposals. Relative to the alternative options of a system based on whole animal testing, the tiered approach should result in larger areas of the scallop fishery remaining open for longer periods, albeit with tight controls on those products which can be placed on the market.

Question reference: S1W-28712

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 August 2002
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities benefit from a special allowance for rural and island transport needs under their capital funding allocations and how much was paid to each such local authority in each of the last five years.

The single allocation formula contains special allowances to recognise the special transport circumstance of remote/rural areas. A top-slice (10%) of the roads and transport element of the formula is distributed to island authorities or those authorities containing large island areas to reflect the needs in relation to ferry services, and to rural local authorities to reflect increased needs for bridge strengthening and forest roads. The amount for special transport needs is built into the authority's unhypothecated single allocation. It is not specifically identified for special transport needs. It is entirely up to the local authorities to determine how they spend their allocation across the range of their capital programmes (excluding council housing).The top slice is distributed as follows:

Council	Percentage
Argyll and Bute	1.25
Dumfries and Galloway	1.5
Eilean Siar	2.75
Highland	3.0
Orkney	0.5
Scottish Borders	1.0
Total	10.0

Question reference: S1W-28713

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 August 2002
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the formula for calculating the special allowance for rural and island transport needs gives sufficient recognition of the costs of providing transport services in these areas and what plans it has to increase the allowance for rural and island local authorities in future years or to review the funding formula.

The single capital allocation formula measures the relative need to spend of each local authority based on statistical indicators for the main capital programmes (excluding council-owned housing) and the total resources made available for local authority capital spending. It is up to each local authority how it spends its total capital resources including any locally-raised resources for example the proceeds of asset sales. There are no plans to review the special transport needs element of the formula. Rural and islands authorities also benefit from revenue grant from the Rural Transport Fund and have received additional capital allocations from the Public Transport Fund. The final round of such allocations will be made in October. Future arrangements for supporting local transport infrastructure projects will be announced in the autumn.

Question reference: S1W-28711

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 August 2002
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to alter the system for making local authority capital funding allocations and, in particular, whether the fixed award of #1 million is a sufficient recognition of a local authority's base expenditure need.

Capital allocations for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 based on the existing capital formula were announced following Spending Review 2000. Local authorities have set their spending plans on the basis of these allocations and there are no plans to change these. The fixed element of the formula is set at a level commensurate with the overall resources available for local authority capital expenditure. The main factors that determine an authority's (relative) expenditure needs are included in the variable elements of the formula. We have announced plans to reform the local authority capital finance system. Subject to the passage of the Local Government Bill, local authorities will be able to determine their own capital spending plans from 1 April 2004. Proposals for supporting capital expenditure from 2004-05 will be discussed with COSLA.

Question reference: S1W-28686

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2002
Current Status: Answered by Mike Watson on 24 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial assistance has been provided by VisitScotland to promote the Loch Ness Marathon on 29 September 2002; whether any recommendation was made that VisitScotland should finance the marketing costs of the marathon; what response was made by VisitScotland to any such recommendation, and whether any assistance has been provided to promote the marketing of the marathon by VisitScotland

Question reference: S1W-28690

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2002
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 24 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what input affected interests will have before any regulations on the arrangements for the transportation of cattle and, in particular, the use of slatted courts as cattle housing, are brought into force.

Question reference: S1W-29109

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was a requirement of the contractual arrangements with BEAR Scotland Ltd that former employees of The Highland Council who, following the assumption by BEAR Scotland Ltd of legal responsibility for the maintenance of trunk roads in the area, were employed by that company should continue to be members of an occupational pension scheme based on final salary and whether such employees continued to be so.