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-04251

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid by Audit Scotland in respect of VAT in each year since inception.

Question reference: S2W-04160

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive when the provisions regarding right to buy under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 will come into force.

We aim to implement Part 2of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 (which introduces a right for tenants tobuy the farm they rent) in late spring 2004.

Commencement requires Part 2of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (which introduces the community right tobuy), on which some of the provisions in Part 2 of the Agricultural HoldingsAct hang, to be in force. Our target remains to commence Part 2 of the LandReform Act during spring 2004. We separately require to bring forward toParliament subordinate legislation to be made under powers contained in theAgricultural Holdings Act. The policy proposals will be the subject of a secondconsultation paper which we intend to issue in the near future.

Question reference: S2W-04088

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been representations from community councils in Ardnamurchan and Morvern regarding any potential danger posed by tankers using the Sound of Mull; what information it has on the potential danger of cargo coming ashore on the Sound and its impact on industry and wildlife; whether it plans to introduce restrictions on traffic presently using the Sound of Mull and, if so, whether it will instigate a process of consultation with all relevant parties and community councils.

Question reference: S2W-03637

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 20 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive when the best practice guidance for local authorities on how to tackle the problems associated with seagulls in urban areas will be finalised; whether such guidance will be published; whether the guidance will be issued in sufficient time to enable local authorities to implement it prior to the next nesting season, and whether the guidance will include a recommendation that licences be sought and obtained by local authorities well in advance of the nesting season to allow them to take specific action to cull seagulls where there are reports that such seagulls are attacking humans or property and what the reasons are for its position on this matter, particularly with regard to the benefits resulting from the guidance.

Officials have already metwith a number of directors of environmental health from local authorities, todiscuss their current methods and best practices on dealing with this issue. Inaddition we are exploring potential research opportunities to assist indeveloping a range of solutions. The research will be completed in 2004 and islikely to lead to guidance from the Executive to local authorities on bestpractice. I expect this guidance note to be a public document.

Local authorities alreadyhave the powers, expertise and knowledge within their environmental healthresponsibilities to deal with the nuisance caused by seagulls and many havealready developed best practice guidance, which is freely available, to deal withtheir particular gull issues.

In relation to licensing,the research work into best practice will consider current licensingprovisions. All local authorities are annually already sent copies of Scottish Executive general licences which enable them to currently take action against GreatBlack-backed gulls, Lesser Black-backed gulls and Herring gulls under specifiedcircumstances. For all other gull species, individual licences can be soughtfrom the Scottish Executive and should be applied for before the start of thebreeding season.

This work is consistent withthe assurances given by me to the Parliament in the debate on seagull nuisanceheld on the 7 November 2002.

Question reference: S2W-03638

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 20 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in attempting to persuade UEFA to choose Scotland as the host of the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championships, what the costs and benefits of hosting the competition would be, and what expenditure it has incurred in promoting Scotland's campaign to host the championship.

Question reference: S2W-03936

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or will make, any assessment of financial impacts on transport of the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, in particular any consequences the act may have in relation to providing access to buses for wheelchair users.

Question reference: S2W-03915

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients in Inverness will be consulted regarding the introduction of NHS 24.

Question reference: S2W-03904

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Colin Boyd on 18 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service keeps, and will continue to keep, manual records of those cases where the 110-day rule, and any replacement of that rule, applies.

Question reference: S2W-03903

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Colin Boyd on 18 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the original estimated cost of the new IT programmes for the Scottish Courts Service proposed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; whether the service will secure best value in the use of funds for the IT programmes; when the new programmes will be introduced, and whether they will be run, initially, in conjunction with any other systems.

The Crown Office andProcurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is introducing new IT programmes as part ofits modernisation of casework processing systems: the “Future Office System”(FOS). The COPFS will shortly commence the roll-out of the first phase of FOS,which will enhance current casework processing systems and deal with summarybusiness. The new system will run alongside the existing casework processingsystems in use throughout the department and, in time, will be fully integratedwith them, resulting in a full electronic casework processing system for allcriminal cases.

At September 2002 the costof the development of the computer software for solemn work was estimated at £1million. This figure has been adjusted in light of changes to overallrequirements within COPFS and to meet the system changes arising from Lord Bonomy’srecommendations.

Question reference: S2W-03823

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 18 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reduce the expenditure of any non-departmental public body and, if so, which expenditure it plans to reduce.