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: S3W-26928

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial advice is offered to school pupils wishing to apply for a university place.

Every year the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) writes to all schools with copies of their CD-ROM and DVD-ROM/Video. The letter informs them that SAAS are available to visit the school and speak to the students and parents. The CD-ROM and DVD-ROM/Video contains information about the financial support available for higher education and how and when to apply. There is also a copy of SAAS video and a financial presentation with audio, which the schools can show their students. Last year the SAAS participated at 212 events, including college and university open days, career conventions, school talks and parents'' evening at schools.

Question reference: S3W-26866

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 9 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of the working group on safeguarding tenancy deposits.

A stakeholder working group which was established to examine the various approaches to improving tenancy deposit practice, met again on 1 September to consider the options and costs for using some form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to resolve tenancy deposit disputes, and how this might relate to a scheme for safeguarding deposits.

I am now considering the outcome of the meeting. I will write to the member once I have made a decision on the most appropriate way forward on this issue and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) (Bib. number 49091).

Question reference: S3W-26865

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 9 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on introducing a tenancy deposit scheme.

Question reference: S3W-26860

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21079 by John Swinney on 11 March 2009, how many community councils are now registered as subscribers to the Directorate for the Built Environment’s e-alert system, broken down by local authority area.

As of 3 September 2009, 8,816 stakeholders have subscribed to the Directorate for the Built Environment''s e-alert system. Of this, 311 are identified as representatives of community councils. The breakdown by each local authority is:

Aberdeen City Council	8
Aberdeenshire Council	15
Angus Council	1
Argyll and Bute Council	17
Clackmannanshire Council	2
Dumfries and Galloway	20
Dundee City Council	1
East Ayrshire Council	5
East Dunbartonshire Council	4
East Lothian Council	5
East Renfrewshire Council	3
Edinburgh City Council	16
Eilean Siar Comhairle	1
Falkirk Council	4
Fife Council	26
Glasgow City Council	9
Highland Council	45
Inverclyde Council	3
Midlothian Council	8
Moray Council	7
North Ayrshire Council	9
North Lanarkshire Council	8
Orkney Islands Council	0
Perth and Kinross Council	19
Renfrewshire Council	3
Scottish Borders Council	19
Shetland Islands Council	3
South Ayrshire Council	10
South Lanarkshire Council	12
Stirling Council	13
West Dunbartonshire Council	6
West Lothian Council	9
Total	311

Question reference: S3W-24667

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 22 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the final National Planning Framework for Scotland 2.

Question reference: S3W-24666

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the importance of shipping container capacity at Grangemouth and Rosyth to major export businesses in Fife.

We recognise the importance of shipping container capacity at Grangemouth and Rosyth for export businesses across Scotland, and its contribution to the Scottish Government''s purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. Port development projects at these locations have been designated as national developments in the proposed National Planning Framework for Scotland 2, which was recently considered by Parliament and which will be published in the summer.

Question reference: S3W-24668

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the ports at Grangemouth and Rosyth in its final National Planning Framework for Scotland 2.

The Local Government and Communities Committee 5th Report, 2009 (Session 3) Report on the National Planning Framework 2: Proposed Framework recommended that the Government should continue dialogue with Forth Ports plc to reach an agreed resolution to their concerns and, in so doing, take into account the views of all interested parties. My officials met again with the group chief executive of Forth Ports plc on 27 April 2009 and subsequently liaised with representatives of Babcock Marine and Forth Ports. The outcome of that dialogue will be reflected in the second National Planning Framework and set out in the accompanying statement to Parliament on the changes made in the light of the views expressed by Parliament, when they are published this summer.

Question reference: S3W-24669

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the positives and negatives would be of extending access to export shipping at Grangemouth.

It is for Forth Ports, as port authority, to assess any extended access to export shipping at Grangemouth port, recognising its proposed designation as a national development, as set out in the answer to question S3W-24666 on 18 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Question reference: S3W-24671

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many shipping containers of waste were imported and exported from Scotland’s ports in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) port and (b) area of destination and origination.

Question reference: S3W-24670

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many shipping containers were imported and exported from Scotland’s ports in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) port and (b) area of destination and origination.

The information requested is not held centrally. However, tonnage of container and roll on traffic through Scotland''s major ports for the last three years is shown in the following table:

Container Traffic at Scottish Major Ports (per thousand tonnes), 2005-07

2005	2006	2007
7,639	7,607	7,932

Source: Scottish Transport statistics table 10.5

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/12/22091243/139.

Note: A major port is defined as having an annual freight throughput of at least one million tonnes.