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-29897

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 29 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21880 by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 July 2014, what the conclusions are of its review and whether it plans to publish them.

Question reference: S4W-29230

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 08 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, following publication of its statistical bulletin, Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2013-14, whether it considers the merging of victim and complainer to be the most appropriate way of recording racist incidents and whether it will consider recording them separately in future.

The Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland publication series has always followed the definition outlined by Sir William MacPherson in his 1999 report on the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. This is that a racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person. As such, victims/complainers of racist incidents may not necessarily be the person at whom the racially aggravated behaviour was targeted, and as the statistics currently stand the two cannot be distinguished.

The 2013-14 publication included information for users of these statistics on plans to scope out with Police Scotland the possibility of replacing the Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland statistical series with a new and broader statistical product on police recorded hate crime (which would include a race element). This work will include investigation of whether any new product will have the ability to distinguish between victims and complainers of racist incidents (where the two are different people). Statistical users can be kept informed of developments in this area through registering with ScotStat:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/scotstat.

Question reference: S4W-28995

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether Prince Charles receives copies of confidential Scottish Cabinet documents.

As set out in the Guide to Collective Decision Making, published in 2008 and available on the Scottish Government's website (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/244314/0068319.pdf), copies of the full minutes of Scottish Cabinet meetings, but not individual Cabinet papers, are sent to the private secretaries of the Queen and the Duke of Rothesay in their capacities as constitutional head of state and heir to the throne, respectively. This is to ensure they are properly briefed on Scottish affairs.

Question reference: S4O-05226

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities in the Highlands and Islands and Transport Scotland regarding proposed infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S4W-28771

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Liam McArthur on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will make public the section of the Parliament's risk register covering reputational damage.

Question reference: S4W-28556

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Pentland on 1 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will undertake and make public a risk assessment of the reputational damage that may be caused to the Parliament by the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme holdings in the fossil fuel, defence and tobacco industries.

Question reference: S4O-04792

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it promotes the Parliament, its values and its work.

Question reference: S4W-27739

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 2 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how its land use strategy will be taken forward following the pilot projects in Aberdeenshire and the Borders.

The land use strategy is currently being reviewed, including taking account of the experience and lessons from the two pilot projects in Aberdeenshire and the Scottish Borders. A public consultation on a draft revised land use strategy will be held later in 2015. An independent evaluation of the pilot projects is currently being concluded and will be published in due course. This will help inform how the revised strategy is taken forward.

Question reference: S4W-27873

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what measures there are to ensure that taxi and private hire car drivers are of good character.

Licensing authorities are obliged by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to refuse an application where in their view the applicant is not a fit and proper person to be the holder of the licence. The legislation also requires them to make such reasonable enquiries as they see fit when considering an application. Police Scotland is a statutory consultee, and they are able to provide relevant information from across Scotland to the licensing authority.

Licensing authorities have extensive powers available and we would expect them not only to refuse to licence drivers but also suspend those whom they believe may be a threat to the public. We would also expect licensing authorities together with Police Scotland, to take robust action against any existing licensed drivers who prove unsuitable.

Question reference: S4W-27738

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 27 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the possible costs for people or organisations taking a judicial review on an environmental matter for the public good are consistent with article 7 of the Aarhus Convention relating to public participation concerning plans, programmes and policies relating to the environment.

Public participation concerning plans, programmes and policies relating to the environment takes many forms, such as responding to consultations or participating in meetings.

In relation to plans, programmes and policies relating to the environment, there are opportunities for public participation e.g. for wind farm decisions and the early environmental assessment process.

Many forms of public participation do not involve any costs e.g. responding to government consultations; attending meetings; participating in interactive planning workshops facilitated by planning colleagues (known as ‘charrettes’) which have been progressed in respect of a number of key development proposals.

Seeking redress through the courts, including by judicial review, may involve costs. These possible costs are mitigated by the ability to apply for legal aid, if eligible, and for a protective expenses order in certain environmental cases.