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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: S2W-30728

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 23 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to any possibility that the public information campaign for the new local government electoral system will lead to confusion in respect of the constituency section of the ballot for the Scottish parliamentary elections, given that this will now be the only election involving marking a single “x”, and what representations have been made to the (a) Scotland Office and (b) Electoral Commission to ensure that the public remains well-informed for participation in all levels of democracy.

The Scottish Executive is workingclosely with the independent Electoral Commission to deliver a joint informationcampaign for the 2007 elections. We consider that because the local government andScottish parliamentary elections are combined, a joint public information campaignis likely to be more effective. The Electoral Commission has statutory responsibilityfor the promotion of the Scottish parliamentary elections.

The primary aim of the campaignis to spread awareness of and information about the forthcoming elections to ensurethat people who want to vote are able to do so in May. A vital element of this willbe explaining the two different voting systems being used on 3 May. The campaignplan and content are based on research into current knowledge of the voting systemsand are designed to minimise any confusion on how to vote. The effectiveness of the campaign will be monitored throughout.

The Scotland Office has no officialrole in the public information campaign, however, they are kept aware of the developmentof the campaign through their participation in the 2007 Elections Steering Group.

Question reference: S2W-29450

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when the new prison at Addiewell will be ready for use.

Question reference: S2W-29451

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that a decision will be made on the planning application appeal in respect of HM Prison Low Moss.

Question reference: S2W-29452

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is taking steps to increase the availability of prisoner places, in light of an anticipated rise in numbers of prisoners.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

Yes.

A new 700 place prison has beencontracted for at Addiewell, West Lothian and will come into use at the end of 2008.

Subject to planning permissionbeing given, a new 700 place prison will be contracted for at Low Moss.

The SPS is also investing morethan £1.5 million a week on upgrading and expanding the prison estate at HM Prisonand Young Offenders Institute Cornton Vale, HM Prison Edinburgh, HM Prison Glenochil,the SPS Open Estate, HM Prison Perth and HM Young Offenders Institute Polmont.

Question reference: S2O-10918

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2006
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 2 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the availability of socially rented housing in Glasgow.

TheExecutive is making unprecedented levels of investment available in Glasgow to increase the availability ofgood quality social rented housing through both improvement and new buildprogrammes.

This yearwe are providing £70 million to fund over 1,000 new and improved social rentedhomes in the city.

On top ofthat, our support will lead to a further 900 new homes being approved this yearin Glasgow as part of 6,000 new replacement homes for those affected by GHA’sdemolition proposals.

Question reference: S2W-27318

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned that some local authorities have not yet achieved the target of recycling 25 per cent of household waste and, if so, what action and further support it will consider to improve recycling opportunities for all Scots regardless of where they live.

The target of recycling/composting25% of municipal waste by 2006 is an all-Scotland target rather than an individuallocal authority target. To increase recycling we are taking action in a numberof areas. These include:

Funding a number ofrecycling facilities for multi-occupancy properties, including in Glasgow.

Working with localauthorities, REMADE Scotland and the Scottish Waste Awareness Group to ensurethat existing recycling facilities, and associated awareness campaigns, work aseffectively as possible.

Providing further financialsupport for new or improved recycling services, where these represent value formoney.

Providing £5 million throughour INCREASE programme to support work by community recycling bodies.

Working with localauthorities and the Community Recycling Network for Scotland on a streamlinedprocedure for applications by local authorities to the Strategic Waste Fund to supportwork by community recycling bodies.

Carrying out a small numberof trials, over the next two years, on the collection of food waste fromhouseholds, to determine if the collection of food waste from households in Scotland isa viable proposition.

The Waste and ResourcesAction Programme have also run trials on the collection of recyclate from smallbusinesses and further trials are planned.

Question reference: S2W-27319

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what special challenges in respect of recycling it considers exist in (a) tenements, (b) high rise properties and (c) other areas of above average population density and what support and guidance is available to local authorities in relation to improving recycling opportunities in such properties and areas.

Multi-occupancy propertiesface particular problems and difficulties in the storage and collection ofrecoverable waste. The challenge for many local authorities is to implementviable recycling schemes for multi-occupancy properties in a cost effectivemanner.

To help tackle this issue, the Scottish Executive commissioned a research project on multi-occupancy propertyrecycling in 2005. The report on this project, Multi-Occupancy PropertiesRecycling Feasibility Project, will be published shortly.

Following this research, the Scottish Executive is making an award of a maximum of £46 million from theStrategic Waste Fund to a consortium of six local authorities, includingGlasgow City Council, for the period 2006-07 to 2019-20 to provide recycling facilitiesto over 200,000 multi-occupancy properties.

Question reference: S2W-27166

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 25 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is held on people under 18 who have been found soliciting and on how many occasions the charge of soliciting has been applied to such people in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender.

Question reference: S2W-27076

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the report, SME Music Businesses: Business Growth and Access to Finance, as it affects Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-27075

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 17 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Creative and Cultural Skills in respect of Scotland’s allocation of funding for music.

The role of Creative andCultural Skills (CCS), the UK sector skills council for the creative andcultural industries, is to be the independent industry-led voice of itssectors, working with employers, employees and the self-employed to identifyskills and productivity needs, the action they will take to meet those needs,and how they will collaborate with funding bodies and providers of educationand training. Therefore the Executive has not made and would not expect to makeany representations to CCS about how it should allocate its own budget. the Executive will continue to discuss with CCS its work in Scotland asit develops its Sector Skills Agreement.