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: S4W-18768

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what changes were made to NHS Grampian's budget to achieve NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee parity in each year from 2007 to 2015.

The NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula was introduced in 2009-10. For the years 2009-10 to 2013-14, additional funding was provided to NHS Grampian to support movement towards NRAC parity.

2013-14	£10.6 million
2012-13	£7.4million
2011-12	£4.7million
2010-11	£1.8million
2009-10	£2.1million

It is the approach of the Scottish Government that those boards that are behind NRAC funding parity will receive additional funding each year to bring them closer to parity, whilst not destabilising other boards.

The 2014-15 Budget Bill is currently being scrutinised by Parliament and NHS boards will be informed of their 2014-15 allocations following the approval of the Bill.

Question reference: S4W-18707

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget is for advertising Scotland's Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland on (a) billboards, (b) radio stations and (c) television.

Question reference: S4W-18708

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for promotional material relating to Scotland's Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland in addition to fliers, billboards and radio and television advertisements, and at what cost.

Question reference: S4W-18705

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of (a) producing and (b) distributing 20,000 paper copies of Scotland's Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-18706

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many fliers it has distributed to households and businesses promoting Scotland's Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland, and at what cost.

Question reference: S4W-16703

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what ministerial engagements the First Minister carried out in the City of Aberdeen in the period 14 to 18 June 2013 and, as specified in section 9.20 of the Scottish Ministerial Code, on what date(s) the constituency and regional members for the area were informed of these.

The First Minister undertook one ministerial engagement, in Aberdeen, in this period. On Monday 17 June he announced that the Scottish Government would donate £100,000 to the Pound for Piper Memorial Trust to help maintain a memorial garden to the victims of the Piper Alpha disaster, at the memorial garden in Hazlehead Park. The event was trailed in the Press & Journal the morning of 17 June, further details of this engagement can be found online here:

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Piper-Alpha-anniversary-commemorations-172.aspx.

It is routine for the Scottish Government to inform constituency and regional MSPs, in line with section 9.20 of the Ministerial Code, prior to ministerial engagements. In this case no record of a ministerial notification is held by the Scottish Government which may be down to an administrative error.

Question reference: S4O-02642

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide a substantive response to question S4W-16703 regarding the First Minister's engagements in Aberdeen in June 2013, which received a holding answer from the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs on 10 September.

Question reference: S4W-18100

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) capital and (b) revenue support Scottish Enterprise has provided to the (i) Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, (ii) Edinburgh International Conference Centre and (iii) Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre in each year since 2007, and what support will be given in the current spending review period.

Question reference: S4W-18137

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it has taken to help secure new private-sector partners in place of Vattenfall for the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre project in Aberdeen Bay.

Question reference: S4W-18138

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) Vattenfall, (b) Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, (c) Technip Offshore Wind and (d) other interested parties regarding finding an operating partner for the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre project in Aberdeen Bay.

Discussion with both AREG and Vattenfall takes place on a very regular basis. The last contact with both organisations was during week commencing 4 November 2013 to discuss progress in securing investment partners. Technip has no direct investment in the project, but Scottish Enterprise had regular engagement with Technip before they exited the joint venture and assumed the position of development consortium partner.