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-02137

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage over-25s who are unemployed to pursue further education.

Question reference: S4O-02085

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Question reference: S4W-14518

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 April 2013
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2013-14.

Scottish Ministers have set the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland the financial targets of achieving:

A 3% cash-releasing efficiency saving; and an increase in Register of Scotland’s commercial income of 5%. In addition, the Keeper has set the following service standards:

Where it is in the Keeper’s power, legally appropriate and not subject to an individual agreement with the applicant:

1	Record new Land Register applications on the application record	Within 1 working day
2	Process ARTL applications	Within 24 hours
3	Process CAJR applications	Within 3 working days
4	Process Crofting Register applications	Within 3 working days
5	Process Sasines applications	Within 20 working days
6	Register Dealings of Whole (DW’s) Those DWs that are dependent on prior or same date First Registrations and TPs will be delivered to their Service Standards.	Within 30 working days
7	Register Standard First Registrations (FR) Those FRs that have had pre-work carried out.	Within 40 working days
8	Register Other First Registrations Those FRs that have had no pre-work carried out. Those FRs that are dependent on TP applications will be delivered to their Service Standard.	Within 6 months
9	Register pre-31 December 2012 Transfer of Parts by 30 September 2013	This target is carried forward from the 2012-15 Corporate Plan
10	Register Transfer of Parts from 1 October 2013	Within 9 months
11	Process customer enquiries	Within 5 working days
12	Increase our Public Service Quality Index rating from 72 to 74.
13	Complete 98.5% or more of registrations, over a 12 month rolling period, without corrective action.

Question reference: S4O-02065

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects the increase in air passenger duty to have on the coming tourist season.

Question reference: S4O-02002

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 17 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on allowing disabled children to attend primary schools outwith their catchment area.

Education authorities’ decisions on school placement for children and young people with additional support needs, including those with disabilities, should be taken in light of the individual needs of the child or young person concerned.

The Additional Support for Learning Act contains a range of provisions relating to placing requests enabling parents of children with additional support needs to request that their child be educated in a school other than the catchment area school.

Question reference: S4W-13309

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 14 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have taken part in its initiatives to help first-time home buyers.

The Scottish Government’s Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) brings together a range of initiatives to help first time buyers access home ownership where this is affordable and sustainable for them. The schemes are the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme, the New Supply Shared Equity Scheme, the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers Scheme, and Shared Ownership. From 2007-2012, these schemes have helped over 7,000 people access home ownership.

Question reference: S4W-13308

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 14 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to help first-time home buyers in 2013-14.

The Scottish Government will continue to help first time buyers through its Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) schemes. On 18 February 2013, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities announced the allocation of £20 million for 2013-14 to help first time buyers access home ownership through its LIFT shared equity schemes.

Help for first time buyers will also continue to be provided under other LIFT initiatives which include shared ownership and the new supply shared equity scheme.

In addition, a Scottish Government guarantee has facilitated the launch by Homes for Scotland of the MI New Home mortgage indemnity scheme, which enables credit-worthy borrowers to access a 95% loan to value mortgage for new build homes with a maximum value of £250,000. Three of Scotland’s biggest lenders and 22 housebuilders now support the scheme, creating new opportunities for first-time buyers and others throughout much of the country.

Question reference: S4O-01951

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will strengthen the shift toward sustainable and renewable energy use in the manufacturing sector.

Question reference: S4W-12673

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional funding has been set aside for local authorities to become more involved in the Year of Natural Scotland 2013.

No additional funding has been set aside by the Scottish Government specifically for local authorities to become more involved in the Year of Natural Scotland however partners across the country are being actively encouraged to join the celebration of the Year and to harness its significant potential to boost tourism and the wider economy.

I have had meetings with a number of local authorities to discuss Year of Natural Scotland and I am encouraged by their supportive approach.

Question reference: S4O-01900

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to improve the quality and consistency of sentencing and enhance the availability of prisoner rehabilitation programmes.