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-09549

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will promote venison as a food that is low in fat, high in protein and a nutritious part of diet for children in order to promote healthy eating and tackle obesity.

Question reference: S2W-09689

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it is committed to ensuring that staff pension contributions are paid on time and at the correct amount and whether achieving this objective takes precedence over the SPCB's position on making such payments by means of direct debit.

In terms of the collectionand pay over of Members’ staff pension contributions, the SPCB acts as agentsfor members. The SPCB is fully committed to ensuring that the correct amount ofpension contributions is collected and paid over on time. The sums arecalculated and collected via payroll system and procedures are in place toensure that accurate records are kept and monies are paid over on time and withan accompanying schedule of payment, in line with OPRA rules. Under currentarrangements compliance with OPRA rules can be guaranteed which was not thecase under the former arrangements whereby providers could collect monies usingthe direct debit facility.

Question reference: S2W-09691

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S2W-1861 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003, why “experience has shown” that the SPCB could not guarantee to make payments by the 19th of the month following the pay run in which the contributions are collected and what that experience has been; why the SPCB is unable to make an arrangement which complies with this time deadline using direct debit, and when the SPCB will provide a full explanation of this matter to MSPs.

Previously,contributions were paid by a combination of BACS, cheques and direct debits. Inthe case of the direct debit facility, it gave pension providers authority tocollect contributions direct from an SPCB bank account. However, experienceshowed that:

if anindividual’s pension contribution increased by a small amount certain pensionproviders continued to collect the amount previously agreed and refused toaccept any increases of less than £10.00 per month;

pensionproviders were able to take money out of the bank account in situations wherethe Personnel Office had not been notified that a pension wasin place;

pensionproviders were collecting contributions in lump sums making it very difficultto identify for whom the contributions were being collected;

pensionproviders continued to collect contributions for several months after anindividual had ceased employment despite being advised that their employmenthad been terminated;

once a pensioncontribution rate had been set some pension providers would not accept anyrevised amounts, for example, increases due to pay awards, changes to contractedhours or backdated payments.

More importantly, however, new pension legislation changescame into effect from 6 April 2001 which required the SPCB to review itsprocedures. Under the Occupational PensionsRegulatory Authority (OPRA) the new rules for employers’ state that they havean obligation to:

calculate the employers’ and employees’ contributions foreach individual member of staff;

pay the correct amount of contributions over by the 19th of the month following the pay run in which the contributions are collected;

maintain a record of payments made;

provide each pension provider with a schedule as a recordof payments made.

Because of the problemsbeing experienced the SPCB believed that it could not comply with the new OPRArules whilst the then existing direct debit arrangements remained and deemed itnecessary to review and change its procedures. The decision was taken to closedown the direct debit facility and pay all contributions either by cheque, BACSor by standing order. This change gave the SPCB control over this matter toensure that it met its obligations under the new OPRA rules. All pension providers were informed in writing of thedecision.

The SPCB does not believe itcould comply, on behalf of members with all of the obligations placed on themas employers under OPRA rules were it to reinstate the direct debit facilityand therefore has no intention of doing so. This full answer ensures that membershave a full explanation of the matter.

Question reference: S2W-09690

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether some pension providers require payments of pension contributions to be made by direct debit and will not accept payment by BACS and, if so, which pension providers these are.

Question reference: S2W-09688

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S2W-1861 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003, whether any MSPs' staff have been adversely affected by the decision to cease making pension payments by direct debit and, if so, whether any details of any such cases were reported to the SPCB.

In total to date there havebeen 10 members’ staff (9 with plans with one provider and 1 with a plan withanother provider) affected by the decision to cease making pensioncontributions from the Parliament’s bank account by direct debit. The SPCB hasbeen kept informed of this issue, including the efforts made to resolve it. TheSPCB has not yet been informed of the most recent case but will be so informedwhen it meets again in September.

Question reference: S2W-09602

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by George Reid on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether, with regard to the Holyrood project, the sum due in respect of trade package 1510 of #2.2 million for tower cranes included payment to the operators of the cranes.

Question reference: S2W-09601

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by George Reid on 28 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether the contractual obligations incumbent upon Ballast Construction Scotland and Hewcon Ltd, in terms of the trade works packages awarded to them, were completed satisfactorily and whether each company has been paid in full.

The primary contractualobligations in both trade packages were completed and Certificates of PracticalCompletion were issued. Hewcon attended to all proven defects notified to themduring their defects liability period and have had all retention moniesreleased. Ballast went into Administration during the defects liability periodof their trade package contract, and were unable to complete outstanding worksor make good defects. This has now been attended to by other contractors, andthe costs will be off-set against Ballast’s retention monies.

Question reference: S2W-09548

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce legislation to repeal the provisions of section 14 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 that exempt the Deer Commission for Scotland from laws governing the culling of deer.

Question reference: S2W-09552

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has introduced a moratorium on the use of helicopters in deer culling and, if so, whether that moratorium will be made permanent.

In my letter of 9 June tothe Deer Commission for Scotland, I specifically asked the organisation to clarifyhow the Code of Practice guidance on the use of vehicles for driving deer shouldapply to helicopters.

In his initial response tomy letter, the Chairman of the DCS has indicated that a best practice guide onthe use of helicopters in deer management will be prepared and that, whilst DCSwill continue to use helicopters in a logistical and support role in cullingand for deer counting, it will in the meantime observe a voluntary moratoriumon using helicopters to drive deer.

Question reference: S2W-09550

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will recommend that representatives of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association experienced in deer management should be appointed to the Deer Commission for Scotland.