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-04530

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration its scoping study for offshore wind farm development in Scottish waters will give to project consenting.

The Scoping Report concludes a technical and scientific exercise to identify strategic search areas for offshore wind energy around Scotland. The report will be followed by the development of Regional Locational Guidance. Together, these documents mark the start of the review of the Sectoral Plan for Offshore Wind Energy. The outcome will be an updated set of areas where offshore wind energy should develop around Scotland. Regional Locational Guidance will be a material consideration in project consenting.

Question reference: S4O-00553

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet the chair or chief executive of NHS Orkney and what issues will be discussed.

Question reference: S4O-00524

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of greylag geese in Orkney and the effectiveness of the measures to limit the damage to agricultural land that the birds cause.

Question reference: S4W-04171

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when ministers last met representatives of each of Scotland’s heating oil distribution companies.

Question reference: S4W-04170

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the buildings in its estate by energy performance certificate rating.

The Scottish Government has gone beyond the minimum requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008 and has produced Energy Performance Certificates for 18 of the larger buildings on its core estate. These 18 buildings represent 71% of the total floor space occupied by the Scottish Government. The ratings generated are:

Building	EPC Rating
Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, Glasgow	C
St Andrews House, Regent Road, Edinburgh	C
Strathearn House, Lamberkine Drive, Perth	C
Highlander House, 58 Waterloo Street, Glasgow	D
Longman House, 28 Longman Road, Inverness	D
St James House, 25 St James Street, Paisley	D
Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh	D
Victoria Quay, Edinburgh	D
Leith File Store, 139 Leith Walk, Edinburgh	E
Rex House, 75 Bothwell Road, Hamilton	E
Southlands, Reidhaven Street, Elgin	E
Thistle House, 91 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh	E
Cameron House, Albany Street, Oban	F
Strathbeg House, 3A Clarence Street, Thurso	F
Thainstone Court, Inverurie	F
Tweedbank, Cotgreen Road, Galashiels	F
Freshwater Laboratory, Faskally, Pitlochry	G
Tankerness Lane, Kirkwall	G

Question reference: S4W-04169

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of buildings occupied by it and its agencies have microgeneration technologies installed.

Panels for solar water heating are currently installed at three buildings where the Scottish Government is the sole or major occupier. These buildings are:

the Ellis Building, Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen;

Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, and

Tweedbank, Cotgreen Road, Galashiels.

There are 66 buildings where the Scottish Government is the sole or major occupier of which these three buildings represent 4.5%.

We will continue to keep under review opportunities for further use of micro generation technologies where environmental and cost benefits would result.

Information relating to micro generation technologies installed at buildings occupied by agencies is not held centrally.

Question reference: S4W-04173

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 5 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people who use (a) liquid petroleum gas and (b) heating oil have been provided with advice under the Energy Assistance Package.

Question reference: S4W-04125

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to employ foreign language assistants.

Question reference: S4W-04128

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reduction in foreign language assistants has been since 2005-06 and what impact it considers that this will have on its commitment to increase the take-up of foreign language lessons by children.

The number of foreign language assistants (FLAs) in Scottish schools fell from 284 in 2005-06 to 59 in 2011-12. Scottish Government is disappointed that 25 local authorities this year are not making use of FLAs, who at £7,911 per assistant per year, offer a very cost-effective way of enhancing delivery of language learning in our schools. The Scottish Government is committed to promoting the value of FLAs and the role of FLAs will be considered by the Languages Working Group which will report to ministers in April 2012 with advice on implementation of our commitment to strengthen language learning in schools.

Question reference: S4W-04126

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 1 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to students at universities in Scotland who hope to become foreign language assistants.

Scottish Government funds British Council Scotland (BCS) to run the English Language Assistants programme under which nearly 400 Scottish students are placed in 15 countries around the world. BCS works with all of Scotland’s universities and provides on-going support to students before, during and after their time abroad. Full information on the languages assistants programmes can be found at:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistants.htm.