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: S5W-24774

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken on the feasibility of opening a new railway station at Cove.

This Government is committed to improving rail connectivity, reliability and journey times throughout Scotland. However, any transport project which requires Government funding, must be supported by a transport appraisal to ensure that the solution is arrived at impartially, based on evidence and is objective rather than solution led. The Scottish Government’s £2 million Local Rail Development Fund can help with the cost of these appraisals and NESTRANS has recently secured £80,000 to carry out a multi-modal transport appraisal to look at opportunities to improve connectivity across Aberdeen.

Question reference: S5W-24773

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the feasibility of opening new railway stations in the North East Scotland region.

Question reference: S5W-24748

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring forward legislation to improve forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault.

Question reference: S5W-24732

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 28 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has (a) sought and (b) received regarding the level of expansion of prisoner voting required to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Scottish Ministerial Code states that Ministers must not ordinarily divulge either the source or content of legal advice. Legal advice is confidential and it is a very long established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not published, and that the Government does not disclose the source of advice.

I look forward to discussing my reasoning on prisoner voting at Committee and when the Parliament debates the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill.

Question reference: S5W-24743

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise standards of online and digital safety in the private and third sectors.

The Scottish Government is delivering, as part of our Cyber Resilience Strategy, bespoke action plans for the private and third sectors which aim to develop a common, aligned approach to cyber resilience across Scotland to ensure all parts of society benefit from being digitally safe and secure.

The Scottish Government has made £500,000 available for businesses and charities to adopt accreditation which demonstrates that they have taken sufficient steps to defend themselves against the most common internet-based threats.

A cyber catalyst network has been established in both the private and third sector to provide a leadership and support model. This includes sharing knowledge and experience to influence the uptake of cyber resilient behaviours in these sectors.

Question reference: S5W-24730

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been (a) charged, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S5W-24736

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the proportion of community payback orders that include unpaid work or other activities.

Question reference: S5W-24733

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports of an increase in the number of arson incidents in prisons.

Question reference: S5O-03446

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent of the £308 million that it plans to allocate to social security by 2022-23.

The Financial Memorandum made it clear that the £308 million was an initial estimate for a four year programme which could change materially.

The costs of implementing the Social Security programme for financial year 17-18 were published as part of the Scottish Government’s consolidated accounts on 27 September 2018, the costs were £21 million. The consolidated accounts for financial year 18-19 are still being finalised and will be published in due course.

Question reference: S5O-03397

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what consultations it has had with tourism businesses in the north east regarding factors that can impact on the effectiveness of their operation.