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-11216

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the carbon implications are of the exploitation of existing planning consents for horticultural peat extraction and what the implications are for Scotland's greenhouse gas targets.

The emissions associated with horticultural peat extraction in Scotland are estimated at 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. There would thus be a carbon saving if peat were no longer to be extracted. However, if such quantities were sourced elsewhere, the emissions would be accounted for in other countries’ inventories. The carbon implications of peat-free alternatives would depend on the composition of the alternatives.

Question reference: S4W-11214

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of peat bog have existing consents for horticultural peat extraction.

Question reference: S4W-11222

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of peat for horticultural purposes is produced in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-11218

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that new applications for horticultural peat extraction are not approved.

Question reference: S4W-11219

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to discourage the exploitation of existing consents for horticultural peat extraction.

The Scottish Government is not taking action to discourage the implementation of extant consents for horticultural peat extraction. Planning authorities may have decided for a variety of case specific reasons that it was appropriate to approve horticultural peat extraction. Planning authorities do have the power to revoke planning permission in exceptional cases but this has to be in the public interest.

Question reference: S4W-11212

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government's decision to refuse consent for peat extraction at Chat Moss in England, what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that peat bogs in Scotland receive the same degree of protection from horticultural extraction.

Question reference: S4W-10864

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish (a) the results of its consultation on The Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Scotland) Regulations 2008: Proposed Amendments and (b) its plans for any amendments to the existing action programme that regulates these zones.

Question reference: S4W-10328

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 15 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what review it has carried out of whether building and design standards meet the needs of (a) older and (b) disabled people and what conclusion was reached.

We are undertaking work to compare Scottish Building Standards, Housing for Varying Needs Standards and Lifetime Homes Standards to establish where the differences lie, and whether any changes might be needed to meet the needs of older people and disabled people. Further work will be undertaken with stakeholders in 2013.

Scottish Building Standards apply to all new housing built in Scotland. In 2007 a range of new inclusive design measures was introduced to facilitate the provision of new buildings that are accessible, safe and convenient to use by as wide a range of people as possible, regardless of age, disability or circumstance. An exercise to review the effectiveness of these measures is underway and is due to be completed in mid-2013.

Question reference: S4W-10327

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what planning regulations ensure that new housing developments include a variety of house types and sizes.

Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) aims to create places with a distinct character and identity, promoting a well-integrated mix of land used including well-designed homes of different types and characters. Development plans should encourage and enable the creation of successful places which contribute to the identity of an area, through identifying sites for the provision of a range of housing in the right places. SPP is currently under review, with a draft due to be published for consultation in spring 2013.

The Scottish Government’s policy statement on design, Designing Places supports the creation of frameworks, such as supplementary planning guidance, to set out how this should be implemented in specific areas and sites.

Question reference: S4W-10315

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the shortest possible journey time was on the (a) Glasgow–Aberdeen, (b) Edinburgh–Aberdeen, (c) Aberdeen–Inverness, (d) Glasgow Queen Street–Edinburgh, (e) Glasgow–Inverness and (f) Edinburgh–Inverness ScotRail interurban services in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2012.

Itemised below are the comparisons for the shortest possible journey times in both directions for the routes mentioned.

Route	2007 Journey Time (mins)	2012 Journey Time (mins)
Glasgow to Aberdeen	148	151
Aberdeen to Glasgow	153	152
Edinburgh to Aberdeen	148	140
Aberdeen to Edinburgh	148	140
Aberdeen to Inverness	128	131
Inverness to Aberdeen	131	132
Glasgow Queen St. to Edinburgh	49	47
Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen St.	50	48
Glasgow to Inverness	199	195
Inverness to Glasgow	202	201
Edinburgh to Inverness	213	200
Inverness to Edinburgh	197	193

Glasgow – Aberdeen There is an overall net improvement in journey times however, due to a number of factors, including the interaction with the other services using the route, there has been a small increase in the shortest possible journey time. Additionally, the industry continues to alter timetables in order to deliver resilient and robust performance for passengers.

There has also been an interaction with freight on the route which has had a negative effect.

Aberdeen – Inverness has been subject to timetable adjustments in order to deliver resilient and robust performance for passengers. In addition some minor tweaks were made to improve connections at Aberdeen and Inverness from and to the South.

A program of enhancements for the Aberdeen - Inverness route is currently being developed by Network Rail for delivery between 2014 and 2019 and will provide enhanced commuter services into each city and new stations at Dalcross (near Inverness Airport) and Kintore in Aberdeenshire. Detailed development work is underway to determine the track and signalling improvements required to deliver the extra services and new stations by 2019.