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: S3W-21219

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with NHS 24 regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21205

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with Architecture and Design Scotland regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21206

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with Bòrd na Gàidhlig regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21207

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with the Building Standards Advisory Committee regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21215

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with Learning and Teaching Scotland regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21212

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with the General Teaching Council for Scotland regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21213

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21210

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18193 by Linda Fabiani on 9 December 2008, what discussions have taken place with the Deer Commission for Scotland regarding the measures that it is taking to promote fair trade.

Question reference: S3W-21246

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning appeals relating to the South Lanarkshire Council area have been (a) upheld and (b) rejected by the Scottish Ministers in each year since devolution.

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Decisions Issued	by Reporter		by Scottish Ministers
Decisions Issued	Allowed	Dismissed	Allowed	Dismissed
1 July to end of 1999	4	9	0	3
in 2000	9	23	1	0
in 2001	13	14	0	0
in 2002	12	16	0	1
in 2003	10	20	1	0
in 2004	15	23	0	1
in 2005	10	15	0	0
in 2006	11	27	0	0
in 2007	10	27	0	0
in 2008	16	25	0	1
2009 to date	2	2	0	0

In the majority of appeals dealt with by the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), the decision is made by a Reporter appointed by Scottish ministers, ministers have therefore no involvement in the decision. In certain instances cases are determined by Scottish ministers. In these cases the reporter will submit a report with recommendations to ministers who make the final decision on the case.

For comparisons sake, the percentage of planning appeals allowed by reporters in 2008 for the South Lanarkshire Council area was 39%. This is slightly higher than the national average of 36% of appeals allowed by reporters in 2008.

Question reference: S3W-20059

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 4 February 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to address the regeneration of town centres.

The Purpose of the Scottish Government is to increase sustainable economic growth across the whole of Scotland. To achieve this, we need to support local areas and businesses to regenerate and grow our town centres.

That is why the government signalled its intention to introduce a new £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund as part of the budget package for 2009-10.

We will also be launching on 12 February a new Town Centres and Local High Streets Learning network which will act as a source of learning, advice and long-term support for practitioners.

Over the two years 2006-08, we provided £1.1 million in support for the BID pilot programme, and we are continuing to provide seedcorn funding grants and practical support on the ground for local partners seeking to establish a BID. This will help create more vibrant and viable town and city centres.

In addition, we are removing or reducing business rates through the Small Business Bonus Scheme as part of our drive to create an environment in which small businesses - many of them in our town centres - can flourish, underpinned by a fair taxation system. By cutting overheads and enabling them to invest more, the scheme is helping to sustain tens of thousands of small businesses across the country.