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-06609

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to local authorities on the keeping of livestock by homeowners and tenants in residential areas.

The Scottish Government does not issue guidance to local authorities specific to this area.

Agreement to keep livestock may be detailed within the title deeds and/or the rental agreement relating to a property. Beyond this, it would be for the planning authority to consider whether the keeping of livestock in a residential area, in a particular case, amounted to a material change of use requiring planning permission.

Any person responsible for animals is subject to the requirements of the Animal Health and Welfare Act (Scotland) Act 2006, which is enforced by local authorities. Statutory Codes of Recommendations have been published by the Scottish Government for farm animal species, cats, dogs, and horses, and these are available on the Scottish Government website.

Question reference: S4W-06521

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the decision on whether a new railway station will be built at Winchburgh in West Lothian.

Question reference: S4W-06694

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many waste disposal permits it has issued for (a) hazardous, (b) non-hazardous and (c) inert waste in each year since 2007, broken down by region.

Question reference: S4W-06695

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive for how many applications for waste disposal permits the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has changed the classification in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-06696

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has initiated against waste-disposal operators for wrongful (a) disposal and (b) classification of waste in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-06698

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many landfill operators have been penalised for breaching licence conditions in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-06693

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has employed in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) region and (b) division with responsibility for waste.

Question reference: S4W-06699

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to provide the Scottish Environment Protection Agency with further powers to deal with breaches of licence conditions.

Question reference: S4W-06697

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what sanctions are available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in relation to landfill operators breaching licence conditions.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, as waste regulation authority, has powers under sections 38 and 59 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to revoke or suspend waste management licences and to require the removal of unlawfully deposited waste. The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000, which apply to landfill activities, provide powers for SEPA to serve enforcement notices, revoke or suspend permits and to prevent and remedy pollution. These are backed by criminal sanctions. SEPA carries out its enforcement activities in line with its published policy.

Question reference: S4W-06610

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 20 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers local authorities have to deal with (a) noise and (b) other nuisance caused by livestock kept by homeowners and tenants in residential areas.

There is a wide range of legislation and statutory powers available to local authorities to prevent and abate noise and nuisance in residential areas, including from livestock. This includes the statutory nuisance provisions in Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Other powers are included in the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, which provides a Fixed Penalty Notice deterrent for domestic noise offences and objectively measured noise limits for any part of the day or night.