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: S4W-02076

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the average proportion of household income spent on mortgages in each year since 1950.

Question reference: S4W-02079

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what outlay on petrol and diesel costs there has been across the public sector in (a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of public expenditure in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S4W-01962

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost to build the Garngad Chord.

Question reference: S4W-01963

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to link services on the Cumbernauld and North Clyde lines as part of its rail investment programme.

The Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) is being taken forward by Transport Scotland in partnership with Network Rail and ScotRail. It will deliver a step change in infrastructure, rolling stock and service provision between the two cities. The EGIP proposes to electrify over 350 single-track kilometres, including the Cumbernauld line.

The electrification of the Cumbernauld line will enable the operation of new electric rolling stock via the Glasgow North Electric Suburban line (also known as the North Clyde line) to Glasgow Queen Street low-level station. This will improve accessibility for Cumbernauld line passengers to the west of Glasgow.

Question reference: S4W-02009

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that those schemes to lengthen railway station platforms in which it has been involved have been a success.

Yes, the Scottish Executive considers the schemes to lengthen railway station platforms in Ayrshire and Inverclyde, where the new class 380 trains are in operation, to have been a success.

These platform extensions were delivered within budget and had no impact on services during construction and minimal disruption to customers.

This programme of platform extensions and previously extended platforms across the network have enabled ScotRail to operate longer trains on many services. This additional capacity has contributed to passenger journeys on ScotRail services increasing by 25.5% since the start of the Franchise in October 2004.

Question reference: S4W-02010

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to lengthen railway station platforms as part of its investment in rail and what benefits are envisaged at each location.

Question reference: S4W-01750

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what bodies can ask for a housing renewal area to be established.

Anybody can ask a local authority to consider an area for housing renewal area designation. However, only a local authority can decide to use the housing renewal area powers and can only designate an area as a housing renewal area if it considers that a significant number of houses within the area are sub-standard or the appearance or state of repair of any houses in the area is adversely affecting the amenity of that locality.

Question reference: S4W-02080

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on public expenditure of the rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20%.

Question reference: S4W-01751

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how individuals or organisations can challenge (a) the creation and (b) individual aspects of a housing renewal area.

When a local authority has identified an area for housing renewal designation it must inform the owner and occupier of each house in the area. The local authority must provide a proposed draft designation order which includes reasons for choosing the area, an action plan and a map. There is then a minimum three month consultation during which owners can make representations about both the creation and individual aspects of the HRA. After the consultation the local authority can modify the order but cannot extend it.

Owners can also appeal to the sheriff against the local authority’s decision to issue a work notice, demolition notice or maintenance order as part of the implementation of a housing renewal area.

Question reference: S4W-02074

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the average proportion of household income spent on petrol and diesel in each year since 1950.

The Scottish Government has collected data on household expenditure on fuel for motoring through the Scottish Household Survey since 1999. This was published on 31 August 2011 in Table 2 of Transport and Travel in Scotland 2010, previously Household Transport, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/Tatis.

The survey does not collect data on total household expenditure.

The Office for National Statistics has collected data on household expenditure since 1957 through the Living Costs and Food Survey, and its predecessors. Data for expenditure on petrol and diesel and total household expenditure in Scotland over the last 10 years is published in Scottish Transport Statistics 2010, table 10.9 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17120002/161.