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: S5W-08763

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland has taken all of the action required to meet recommendations 20 and 25 in the document, Independent Assurance Review Police Scotland – Call Handling - Update Report, and, if not, when it expects these recommendations to be met in full.

Question reference: S5W-08752

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 28 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent correspondence regarding its paper, Scotland’s Place in Europe, it has received from the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and whether it will publish this.

The Scottish Government received a letter from the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU on the 29 March 2017 regarding its paper, Scotland’s Place in Europe.

In line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved administrations, ordinary practice is the sender of the letter is the owner and determines whether or not to release. However, although the UK Government has now indicated that it does not wish to publish this correspondence, in this case we consider the public interest is best served by the release of the letter from the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU and the Scottish Government reply to that.

The letters are available to view on the Scottish Government’s website at:

https://beta.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-place-in-europe-correspondence-with-the-uk-government/

Question reference: S5W-08563

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the resources that may be required to manage any increase in legislative work arising from the Great Repeal Bill.

Question reference: S5W-08562

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations are being made to manage any increase in legislative work arising from the Great Repeal Bill.

Question reference: S5W-08564

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the additional (a) staff and (b) budget that may be required to manage any increase in legislative work arising from the Great Repeal Bill.

The Scottish Government has well-established processes for managing budgets and staff resources. Assessments of the resources required as a result of the Great Repeal Bill will be included in those processes. Similarly, any legislative work associated with the Great Repeal Bill will be considered as part of the Scottish Government's usual legislative planning process. However, it is important to note that the UK Government must engage the Scottish Government in meaningful discussion on the content of the Great Repeal Bill to allow final assessments to be made.

Question reference: S5W-08561

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the value of the annual grant was that it paid to Shetland Line 1984 Ltd in each calendar year of the public contract with the company between May 2008 and May 2014 for maritime freight services to the Northern Isles.

Question reference: S5W-08490

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) passengers, (b) commercial vehicles and (c) cars were carried by Serco NorthLink between Scrabster and Stromness in each of the last three years for which records are available.

Question reference: S5W-08489

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) passengers, (b) commercial vehicles and (c) cars were carried by Pentland Ferries between Gills Bay and St. Margaret’s Hope in each of the last three years for which records are available.

Question reference: S5W-08491

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the shipbuilding industry of Pentland Ferries’ decision to order a new vehicle passenger ferry from Strategic Marine of Singapore, and whether this decision was discussed with the representative of the private sector operators on the Expert Ferry Group.

The Scottish Government has made no assessment of the impact on the shipbuilding industry of Pentland Ferries’ decision to order a new vehicle passenger ferry.

Pentland Ferries is a private company operating commercial ferry services and is responsible for its own procurement decisions. The Expert Ferry Group provides advice to the Scottish Ministers, not to private operators. The Scottish Government is not aware of any discussions of this decision which may have taken place between Pentland Ferries and the representative of the private sector operators on the Expert Ferry Group.

Question reference: S5O-00872

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme has replaced old copper wire networks in some rural areas but not in others.

2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
£148,524	£428,779	£514,688	£519,456	£344,698	£492,126	£481,122