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: S3O-06802

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 May 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the proposal to introduce Saltire labelling for Scottish food.

Question reference: S3W-22416

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 27 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how it has monitored the implementation of charity legislation since the enactment of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and related secondary legislation and whether it proposes to make any changes to the legislation.

Implementation of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 is monitored by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) who make recommendations of proposed changes to the Scottish Government. We have today published a consultation document which seeks views on the recommendations OSCR made in their 2007-08 Annual Report and Accounts. The consultation paper Proposals for Minor Amendments to the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 is available on the Scottish Government''s website at www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current.

We also intend to include provisions in the Public Services Reform Bill, which is due to be introduced to Parliament later this year, which amend the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 to allow charities to provide all their trustees with indemnity insurance from charity funds.

Question reference: S3O-06615

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on developing the detailed funding requirements of Creative Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-21248

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 31 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on implementing the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006.

Major progress has been made in the implementation of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006. Eight statutory instruments covering the key areas of Development Management, Development Planning, Appeals, Schemes of Delegation and Local Review Procedures, Enforcement and the Hierarchy of Developments have completed the parliamentary process. Those covering development planning are now in force with the others being fully implemented by August this year.

The National Planning Framework 2 has entered its final stage of preparation following the close of the 60 day period of parliamentary consideration. We are currently considering the recommendations of Parliament and aim to publish the National Planning Framework 2 after Easter 2009.

An updated timetable for implementation will shortly be available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/modernising/progress/Timetable.

The wide ranging improvements required under Delivering Planning Reform (Scottish Parliament Information Centre, Bib. number 46980) are also being taken forward with partners to support modernisation of the planning system.

Question reference: S3W-21242

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18174 by Maureen Watt on 9 December 2009, whether it has had discussions with South Lanarkshire Council on the implementation of the class size reduction policy in every school in accordance with the SNP manifesto commitment on this policy.

Question reference: S3W-21243

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18174 by Maureen Watt on 9 December 2009, given that the answer indicates that class sizes have been reduced in some schools, whether it considers that, in respect of the South Lanarkshire Council area, it has fulfilled the SNP manifesto commitment to reduce class sizes in primaries 1 to 3 in all primary schools.

Question reference: S3W-21247

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers are available to local authorities to deal with houses in the private sector that fall into disrepair.

Local authorities currently have powers under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to deal with defective and dangerous buildings and under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to deal with houses in serious disrepair.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 gives local authorities new and updated powers to deal with disrepair in houses. A local authority will be able to serve a work notice requiring work to be carried out on a house or flat that fails to meet the tolerable standard, is in serious disrepair, or is in disrepair and is likely to deteriorate rapidly or damage other premises if nothing is done to repair it.

Local authorities will also have new powers to prevent houses falling into disrepair in the first place. They will be able to serve a maintenance order requiring owners to produce a maintenance plan for up to a five year period. This can be required where living accommodation has not been, or is unlikely to be, maintained to a reasonable standard, or where the benefit of work from a work notice has been reduced or lost.

The local authority will be able to enforce a work notice or maintenance plan, and recover the costs for doing so, where the owner fails to implement it.

The 2006 act also extends and makes more flexible the powers available to local authorities to assist owners to carry out maintenance and repairs. Authorities are expected, as a general rule, to encourage and if necessary assist owners to act on disrepair, before using enforcement powers.

These powers under the 2006 act will come into force on 1 April 2009, and local authorities will have up until 31 March 2010 to make the transition to these new powers from those under the 1987 act. In all cases it is up to the local authority to determine when to take action to deal with houses in disrepair.

Question reference: S3W-20946

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Transport Scotland in relation to the introduction of the new Caledonian Express service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts.

Question reference: S3W-20947

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 9 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had input to discussions with Network Rail or Transport Scotland regarding where the new Caledonian Express service should stop and what the Scottish Government’s position was.

Transport Scotland is part of the Scottish Government and has had discussions with ScotRail and Network Rail concerning the timetable practicalities associated with the introduction of a new fast service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh.

It is proposed that the new service will call at Bellshill, Shotts, West Calder, Livingston South and Haymarket. The presence of the new West Coast Mainline Services for London Euston prevent the inclusion of Uddingston in the stopping pattern.

Question reference: S3W-21244

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers are available to local authorities in relation to the management of waste by businesses.

Under Section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 local authorities may arrange, if requested, to collect industrial waste and must, again only if requested, arrange to collect commercial waste in their areas. In both cases, collection would be subject to a reasonable charge.

Waste regulation functions however, were transferred from local authorities to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) by Section 21 of the Environment Act 1995. Therefore the role of ensuring the safe and proper management of business waste in Scotland falls mainly to SEPA, assisted where necessary, by the police.

Nevertheless, the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 as amended, allow local authorities to inspect waste transfer documents and Section 33A of the 1990 Act permits them to issue fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping offences.