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-03473

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it does not plan to carry out a business and regulatory impact assessment on the proposed public health levy, given its guidance suggesting that one is required when a proposal imposes additional cost on businesses.

The public health supplement will be subject to full and appropriate parliamentary scrutiny. Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments are not completed for every new policy or regulation as it would be disproportionate to do so.

The publication of the Draft Budget 2012-13 marks the start of the public consultation on the Scottish Government’s budget plans and comments are welcomed by 21 December 2011.

Scotland will remain the most competitive place to do business in the UK through a rates relief package worth an estimated £500 million per year to businesses. This remains the most generous package available to businesses anywhere in the UK.

Question reference: S4W-03476

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has tested its proposal for a public health levy with the relevant businesses.

Question reference: S4W-03189

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the first tracks to be laid on the Borders Railway line.

Question reference: S4W-03188

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects construction work on the Borders Railway line to be completed.

Question reference: S4W-03087

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 14 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has regarding the number of transport projects valued at over £200 million that have been carried out successfully using the non-profit distributing model as the funding mechanism in (a) Scotland, (b) the rest of the UK and (c) the rest of the world.

The NPD has been developed as the Scottish Government’s preferred procurement option for revenue financed projects. NPD seeks to transfer risk and private sector expertise both during the construction phase of a project and throughout its lifetime, but without the excessive profits that were previously distributed to private sector equity investors in past PFI projects.

Transport Scotland has not yet completed transport projects using the Non-Profit Distributing model (NPD) as the funding mechanism but plans to use NPD to fund the AWPR and the M8 bundle, as set out in the 2011 spending review.

Question reference: S4W-03006

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 14 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor the progress of Homes for Scotland in developing a mortgage indemnity scheme.

Question reference: S4W-03008

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to Homes for Scotland in relation to developing a mortgage indemnity scheme.

The Scottish Government has made clear that it wishes to see the introduction of a private sector mortgage indemnity scheme that will increase the availability of higher loan to value lending to first time buyers and others, where sensible and sustainable.

The offer of funding to Homes for Scotland to support the establishment of a private sector scheme sets out detailed requirements and conditions that must be met. However, no guidance has been provided with regard to the specific details of the scheme, which will depend on the outcome of negotiations between housebuilders and lenders.

Question reference: S4W-03009

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with stakeholders about the creation of its mortgage indemnity scheme.

Question reference: S4W-03007

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considered funding organisations other than Homes for Scotland to develop a mortgage indemnity scheme.

Question reference: S4W-02787

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive to how many private sector businesses it has provided funding for workplace cycling facilities and how much in each case, in each of the last five years.

There has been no payment of grants to private sector organisations from the Scottish Government for workplace cycling facilities in the last five years. Subsequent feedback from organisations said that if cycling facilities were needed it would be easier and less bureaucratic if they paid for it themselves.

A loan fund was made available to encourage private sector organisations to become Cycling Friendly Employers by investing in facilities. In 2010-11, this fund was administered jointly by Cycling Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust, however no applications were approved.