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-39352

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, following publication of The Road Ahead for Scotland: Final Report of the Inquiry into Future Support for Agriculture in Scotland, what the status is of the group that prepared it; whether the Scottish Government retains the services of the group’s members, and, if so, on what basis.

The terms and conditions of Mr Pack''s appointment as chairman of the inquiry included appropriate follow-up work subsequent to the inquiry''s report. The period of Mr Pack''s contract has been extended to enable him to continue carrying out follow-up work, including advising on the ongoing work between Scottish Government and stakeholders in developing the inquiry''s recommendations further and carrying out engagements aimed at explaining the inquiry''s findings.

Question reference: S3W-39351

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a formal response to The Road Ahead for Scotland: Final Report of the Inquiry into Future Support for Agriculture in Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-39224

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 31 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 10 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation provisions under chapter 7 of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 will come into force.

The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2011 was made on 18 January 2011. This order brings into force all the provisions relating to Scottish charitable incorporated organisations (SCIO) under Chapter 7 of the 2005 act. The order can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/20/made.

Sections 50, 52 and 64 of the 2005 act came into force on 21 January 2011 for the purpose of allowing Scottish Ministers to make regulations setting out further provision in relation to SCIOs. Sections 50 and 52 come into force for all other purposes on 1 April 2011. Sections 49, 51, 53 to 55, 62 and 63 also come into force on 1st April 2011. Sections 56 to 61 of the Act come into force on 1 January 2012.

The Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations Regulations 2011, which are subject to negative procedure, were laid before the Parliament on 28 January 2011. The regulations can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/44/made.

The Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Removal from Register and Dissolution) Regulations 2011 (ISBN 978-0-11-101211-16), which are subject to affirmative resolution, were laid in draft before the Parliament on 28 January 2011. The draft regulations can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2011/9780111012116.

Question reference: S3W-38631

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for its planned exclusion of business travel from the Air Discount Scheme given that business travellers have access to subsidised ferry fares and public service obligation-subsidised air fares.

The Air Discount Scheme (ADS) was introduced to facilitate an improved level of social inclusion for individuals resident in the scheme''s eligible areas. The mechanism “ Aid of a Social Character “ under which the scheme is notified to and approved by the European Commission is not designed to support economic activity. It is for the benefit of individuals and not organisations, whether in the public or private sector.

The Scottish Government''s support for air public service obligations (PSOs) is provided under separate EU legislation which recognises the importance of the relevant services for economic development and that, without assistance, it is unlikely that they would be commercially viable. Support through PSOs is applied to all passengers, regardless of reason for travel or place of residence. Our support for ferry services is applied through public service contracts and also applies irrespective of reason for travel and passenger residence.

Question reference: S3W-38930

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for its failure, as reported in The Scotsman on 20 January 2011, to make a valid submission to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry into the common agricultural policy.

Question reference: S3W-38933

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken, or will undertake, a review of the proceedings that have reportedly resulted in a lack of formal representation by it to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry into the common agricultural policy.

Question reference: S3W-38932

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive at what point it (a) became aware of the planned inquiry into the common agricultural policy by the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, (b) sent its submission to the inquiry and (c) was told that the submission was invalid.

Question reference: S3W-38931

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place between its officials and representatives of the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee regarding its inquiry into the common agricultural policy.

Question reference: S3W-38929

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 February 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a formal representation to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry into the common agricultural policy.

Scottish Government officials received a communication from the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) on 7 December 2010 inviting us to submit written evidence to their Inquiry. Later that month we submitted The Road Ahead for Scotland a copy of the final report of the Inquiry into Future Support for Agriculture in Scotland which had been published the previous month. The Scottish Government has not taken a detailed formal position on the report''s recommendations at this stage pending further analysis and discussion with stakeholders. Government officials also arranged for Brian Pack the Inquiry chairman to give oral evidence to the EFRA Committee on behalf of the Inquiry.

The EFRA Committee informed Scottish Government on 17 January 2011 that under its rules the Pack report has to be treated as background information rather than evidence because it is previously published material, and invited us to submit a statement written specifically for the Committee. That afternoon we confirmed to the Committee we would submit a written statement, which we did on 25 January.

On 19 January, The Scotsman newspaper contacted the Scottish Government seeking clarification of the Scottish Government''s engagement with the EFRA Committee and received the information detailed above. Despite this information on 20 January, The Scotsman published an article claiming incorrectly that Scotland will not have any formal representation in the EFRA Committee''s inquiry.

We understand the committee will take our statement as formal written evidence in addition to the background information in the Pack Inquiry report and the oral evidence from Mr Pack.

Question reference: S3W-38735

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 26 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what external technical advisors in energy and energy engineering it has used in the formulation of policy and what meetings it has had with them in the last 12 months.

The Scottish Government works in partnership with industry, academia and the public sector in the formulation of energy policy. This includes regular meetings of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) and a network of themed advisory groups, the membership of which includes significant technical and engineering expertise, and which takes expert advice on specific technical and engineering issues as required. The membership, dates and minutes of all meetings of the SEAB, and advisory groups including the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland are published on the Scottish Government''s at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/resources/working-groups/energy-advisory-board/

The Scottish government also leads, or is a partner in a number of collaborative projects which provide access to the work of technical experts from academia and industry. These include an EU working group on North Sea grid connections; the Irish-Scottish links in energy study and the GP wind project, which aims to develop good practice with European partners in order to reconcile objectives on renewable energy with wider environmental objectives.

In addition, the Scottish Government commissions a range of technical and engineering consultants to carry out specific studies to help inform policy development. Recently, this has included an energy storage and management study, carried out by AEA Technology, which was published in November 2010.