Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 2743 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S2W-27375

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take in light of Item 12 of the conclusions of the EU Council of Ministers on 1 to 2 June 2006 on women’s health, with particular reference to osteoporosis.

The Executive recognisesthat, whilst osteoporosis affects both men and women, there is a higherprevalence of the disease amongst women. Our work on smoking, diet and exercisewill help reduce the risk of people developing osteoporosis.

The Executive alsorecognises that some diseases such as CHD, cancer and mental health problemsaffect men and women differently, and that others such as endometriosis andcervical cancer affect women exclusively. The principles set out in Deliveringfor Health are about making sure that services are responsive to the needsof the person.

Question reference: S2W-27370

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 9 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any assessment of the impact of increased freight traffic on Scottish roads as a result of any reduction in the use of the Channel Tunnel for rail freight after 1 December 2006.

Question reference: S2W-27368

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken any steps to secure continued access to the Channel Tunnel by Scottish exporters and importers and what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government in respect of a new charging regime for freight trains using the tunnel from 1 December 2006.

Question reference: S2W-27303

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether senior citizens who live in properties where heating is provided by a coal fire, with heat circulating from the fire, qualify for the central heating and warm deal programmes and whether it is aware of the number of homes in Scotland which are heated by coal fires.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond.

Her response is as follows:

Eligibility for the Central Heatingand Warm Deal Programmes is determined by a set of defined criteria. Those criteriaare assessed on an individual basis and eligibility determined by the ProgrammeManaging Agent. As a general rule, providing an applicant met those criteria theywould be eligible if:

they are over 80 and the heatingin their home was provided by an open coal fire, including heating arrangementsconnected to a system of two or more radiators or ducts, or

they are over 60 and the heatingin their home was provided by a coal fire, excluding heating arrangements connectedto a working system of two or more radiators or ducts.

The criteria covering the WarmDeal Programme are not dependent on the type of heating system in a property. Toqualify for the programme householders must be in receipt of one or more of a rangeof specified state benefits. Those over 60 not on a qualifying benefit are eligiblefor a reduced grant of 25%.

The most recent reliable estimatesof the number of households which use coal as a primary source of fuel are takenfrom the Scottish House Condition Survey 2002. This survey estimates the numberto be around 15,000 dwellings.

Question reference: S2W-27369

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has obtained any information from EWS regarding the importance of continued use of the Channel Tunnel for transporting freight to and from Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-27302

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 31 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider amending the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 to enable landlords, other than social landlords, to make applications for anti-social behaviour orders.

The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act2004 includes provisions for the registration of private landlords which were introduced,in part, to assist in tackling antisocial behaviour in private sector tenancies.Local authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) have the power to applyfor Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). There are currently no plans to amend legislationto enable private landlords to do so. Where necessary, private landlords shouldseek to work in partnership with local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour.Private landlords can approach the local council to request the use of measuresavailable under antisocial behaviour legislation, including ASBOs, where appropriate.

Question reference: S2W-27234

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive to list by (a) forest, (b) type of project and (c) level of investment, each timber transport infrastructure project that has received, or has been approved to receive, financial assistance from the Scottish Strategic Timber Transport Fund and, if no such projects have been supported or approved for support, whether it will indicate in which financial year it anticipates that this fund will be used for the primary purpose for which it was established.

On 31 May 2006, I announced thefirst four awards totalling £420,400 from the Strategic Timber TransportScheme:

1. ProgrammeManager/Facilitator for Stirling and Tayside areas: awarded £25,000 of £34,000project costs.

2. SKOTKA South of Scotlandtimber logistics programme: awarded £ 68,900 of £473,000 project costs.(aproject with national value to the timber haulage sector, with work based insouth west Scotland)

3. ProgrammeManager/Co-ordinator for Argyll: awarded £94,000 of £152,000 project costs.

4. Study into theperformance of forest and public roads under timber transport traffic: awarded£232,500 of £336,500 project costs (a project with national value to the timberhaulage sector and local authorities, with work based in south west Scotland).

It is through the Schemethat applicants can obtain financial support from the Strategic TimberTransport Fund if the criteria are met. The aim of the Fund is to facilitatethe sustainable transport of timber in rural areas of Scotland forthe benefit of local communities and the environment.

Another project seeking some£2.2 million of £3.2 million project costs, in Dumfries and Galloway, isbeing discussed between the applicant and Forestry Commission Scotland whomanage the Scheme on behalf of the Executive.

A second tranche ofapplications received on 22 June, representing bids for £3.1 million of £4.7 millionproject costs, is currently being assessed. Six of the applications are forcapital works, both rail and road based.

The geographical spread of the seven applications is:

Area	Number of Applications
Highland	2
Argyll	3
Highland Perthshire	1
South west Scotland	1

Dates of the further roundsof applications are given in the user guidance, with the closing date for thenext round being 31 August 2006.

Question reference: S2W-26933

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 29 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to provide sufficient extra rail carriages to enable all First ScotRail services to be included, except sleeper services, if the free concessionary travel scheme for pensioners and disabled people were extended to rail travel.

Transport Scotland doesnot have this information.

It should be noted that the impactof extending the concessionary travel scheme to include First ScotRail serviceswould not be restricted to availability of carriages but could also impact on stationplatform lengths, station facilities, staffing levels, revenue collection proceduresand potentially the national timetable.

There are currently no plansto extend the concessionary travel scheme to include First ScotRail services.

Question reference: S2W-26801

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 23 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided any “absolute assurances” to the Scottish Crofting Foundation in relation to the Crofting Reform etc. Bill as reported in the West Highland Free Press on 2 June 2006 and, if so, whether any such assurances were in writing, whether the Executive will publish a copy of the assurances and place it in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and why the assurances were not made available to the public when they were written; whether the Executive will publish draft amendments to the Bill which will implement such assurances, and whether it considers that it should make public all material which constitutes assurances about amendments which it intends to introduce at Stage 2 of a Bill.

Ministers and the Scottish Executiveare not in a position to give any assurances about any bill which is under considerationby Parliament. A meeting was held with the Scottish Crofting Foundation to discussthe Bill and a copy of a memo outlining the conclusions of that meeting was sentto the SCF. This memo has already been the subject of a request for informationunder the Freedom of Information Act and was released. It will be published in boththe Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39898) and the Executive’swebsite, in line with the Executive’s publication scheme. Although it is not usualpractice to publish possible amendments to a bill under consideration by Parliament,where we have indicated to the Environment and Rural Development Committee thatwe intend to amend the bill we have published those amendments.

Question reference: S2W-26934

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will instruct Transport Scotland to extend the concessionary travel scheme to rail travel on rail routes where there is no overcrowding problem and thus no consequent need for additional rolling stock.