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-04383

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DFDS and Forth Ports for maritime freight services between Rosyth and Zeebrugge remains binding on all parties, and whether it will publish the MoU.

Question reference: S5W-04378

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many qualified seafarers and maritime officers were employed on MV Helliar and MV Hildasay in each year since the start of the current time charter for these vessels.

Question reference: S5W-04375

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when its time charter of the Seatruck vessels MV Hildasay and MV Helliar for services on publicly subsidised Northern Isles ferry routes is due to expire.

Question reference: S5W-04450

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much was paid in public grants to Serco NorthLink Ferries in each service year of the Northern Isles ferry service contract since 5 July 2012, and how much of the public grants accounted for the aggregate Charter Portions in each service year.

The following table details the public grants to Serco NorthLink Ferries paid by the Scottish Government for the Northern Isles Ferry Service since 5 July 2012 in each contract year.

		Grant Paid
Contract Year 1	July 2012 - June 2013	£ 41,104,316
Contract Year 2	July 2013 - June 2014	£ 35,920,670
Contract Year 3	July 2014 - June 2015	£ 40,423,146
Contract Year 4	July 2015 - June 2016	£ 41,250,780

The element within the grant attributable to vessel charter is part of contractual agreements with third parties; the Royal Bank of Scotland and Seatruck. The financial arrangements within these agreements are commercially confidential matters for those companies.

Question reference: S5W-04377

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost would be of terminating the time charter with Seatruck for MV Helliar and MV Hildasay before April 2018.

Question reference: S5W-04379

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the number of qualified seafarers and maritime officers that there have been in each financial year since 2011-12.

Question reference: S5W-04451

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the vessel charter payments to Serco NorthLink Ferries since July 2012 was for the cost of chartering MS (a) Helliar and (b) Hildasay from Seatruck.

Question reference: S5W-04380

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what payments it has made to operators of maritime freight services on the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route since December 2014.

Question reference: S5W-04384

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) port staff and (b) seafarers were employed by companies operating from Rosyth Port in each year since 2009-10.

Question reference: S5W-04381

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list all of the (a) waterborne freight and (b) freight facilities grants that have been given to Forth Ports for the development of freight services at Rosyth Port in each year since 2009-10.

There have been no Scottish Government waterborne freight or freight facilities grants given to Forth Ports for the development of freight services at Rosyth Port since 2009-10. Norfolkline Shipping BV were awarded 2 million in 2009 for the movement of containers or road freight units between Rosyth and Zeebrugge. Tables of all freight grants are published on the Freight Grants webpage which can be viewed using the following link http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/freight/freight-grants