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: S4O-03101

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 2 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on businesses of a Scottish postal service in the event of independence.

Question reference: S4W-20319

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what timescale it has set for the renationalisation of the Royal Mail in the event of a Yes vote in the independence referendum.

Question reference: S4W-20323

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any additional cost to businesses in Scotland of a separate postal service in an independent Scotland and no UK-wide universal service obligation.

On independence, stamp prices will be the same as they are at the time in the rest of the UK. A Scottish postal service in public ownership would not need to generate profits for shareholders and so should be in a better position to ensure that postal prices and deliveries meet Scotland's needs. This applies to sending post and parcels within Scotland, to the rest of the UK and to other countries.

We know that many people and businesses will continue to send post and parcels outside Scotland and it is our intention that postal charges to the rest of the UK will not be more expensive than charges to send post within Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-20321

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Royal Mail regarding its proposals to renationalise the company in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-20322

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how the UK-wide universal service obligation would be maintained if it renationalised the Royal Mail in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-20324

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the additional cost of running a separate postal service in an independent Scotland if it renationalised the Royal Mail.

Question reference: S4W-20320

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government by what mechanism it will renationalise the Royal Mail in Scotland in the event of a Yes vote in the independence referendum.

Question reference: S4W-20318

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of renationalising the Royal Mail in the event of a Yes vote in the independence referendum.

Question reference: S4F-02016

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2014

To ask the First Minister whether Police Scotland has been subject to sufficient public accountability in its first year of operation.

Question reference: S4W-20027

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether Forestry Commission compensatory planting is done on a like-for-like basis, replanting the same species that was felled.

The Scottish Government’s Control of Woodland Removal policy guides compensatory planting proposals. Compensatory planting can be undertaken on appropriate sites anywhere in Scotland. Local forestry and woodland strategies will provide guidance on the type and scale of woodland appropriate in each area, therefore like for like planting cannot be guaranteed.

Compensatory planting proposals are expected to consider the economic, as well as the environmental and social values of the forest proposed for removal, so that an assessment can be made on whether the replanting proposals adequately compensate for the negative impact of woodland removal.