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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-11721

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 9 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total spend has been in the last financial year on library services by NHSScotland; what percentage of this was spent on staffing, and what proportion spend on library services was of total NHSScotland spending.

Question reference: S2W-11092

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making towards fulfilling its commitment within the Partnership Agreement to “strengthen the enforcement of environmental law” including the “consideration of the establishment of environmental courts and other options for improving prosecution and dispute resolution.”

The Scottish Executive has taken a number of steps to ensure that even stronger action is taken against those who commit environmental crime.

In February 2004 the Lord Advocate announced the establishment of a national network of 17 specialist environmental prosecutors (COPFS Press Release NRCO191HH “Special Prosecutors for Crimes against Environment” on 9 February 2004). This will ensure that prosecutors with expertise in environmentallaw are available throughout the country and will enhance the robust approach toits enforcement. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is also considering methods by which courts can be made more aware of the impact and severity of environmental crimes

From 28 October 2004 the Anti‑Social Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 will doublethe maximum fine, in summary proceedings, for a number of pollution offences, including polluting water or sewerage systems, fly-tipping, landfilling offences and operating industrial plant in an environmentally inappropriate manner, from £20,000 to £40,000. It also provides for fines to be accompanied by prison sentences in some cases, and for fixed penalty fines for litter and fly-tipping.

The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 raises the maximum penalty for conservation‑related offences, such as damage to Sites of Special Scientific Interest, to £40,000 on summary conviction. The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 provide for custodial sentences of up to six months for those convicted of the most serious of offences, and fines of up to £5,000 for each offence.

In addition to the above, work is currently underway on the Partnership Agreement commitment to consider the establishment of environmental courts.

Question reference: S2W-11110

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 29 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has carried out, commissioned or is aware of relating to environmental courts in other countries and whether this information is being collated to assist its “consideration of the establishment of environmental courts and other options for improving prosecution and dispute resolution”, as set out in the Partnership Agreement.

The Scottish Executive will take account of a range of research, with both a domestic and an international scope, on environmental courts and other methods of dispute resolution in its work on this Partnership Agreement commitment. This research includes, but is not limited to:

Modernising Environmental Justice: regulation and the role of an environmental tribunal

Professor Richard Macrory CBE and Michael Woods LLM

Centre for Law and the Environment, Faculty of Laws UCL, 2003

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/environment/tribunals/docs/full_report.pdf

Trends in Environmental Sentencing in England and Wales

Claire Dupont and Dr Paul Zakkour

Environmental Resources Management (ERM) 2003

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/justice/pdf/erm-sentencing.pdf

Using the Law: access to environmental justice; barriers and opportunities

Maria Adebowale (Capacity Global)

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/justice/pdf/ejureport.pdf

Environmental and Civil Penalties; a more proportionate response to regulatory breach

Professor Richard Macrory CBE and Michael Woods LLM

Centre for Law and the Environment, Faculty of Laws UCL

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/environment/civil-penalty/docs/ECPreport.pdf

Civil Law Aspects of Environmental Justice

Paul Stookes (Environmental Law Foundation)

The Environmental Justice Project, 2004

http://www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/envirojustice.pdf.

Question reference: S2W-11093

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to consult stakeholders in relation to its commitment within the Partnership Agreement regarding its “consideration of the establishment of environmental courts and other options for improving prosecution and dispute resolution” and how this consultation will be carried out.

Question reference: S2O-03773

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what implications for Scotland arise from the ruling of the European Court on 7 September 2004 in respect of Case No. C-1/03 on contaminated land, Van De Walle & Ors v Texaco Belgium SA.

Question reference: S2O-03515

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 30 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would support the creation of a direct rail or tram link from Glasgow to Braehead.

We have awarded £535,000 to Glasgow City Council to carry out a Clyde Corridor Transport Study, which includes investigation of the potential for a fixed tram link between Glasgow and the Braehead shopping centre. The final report has only recently been submitted to the Executive. Its findings and recommendations will be given detailed consideration. New infrastructure proposals will be assessed in due course as part of the Strategic Projects Review.

Question reference: S2W-10253

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 22 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any estimates of the impact on health of the proposed M74 northern extension.

Question reference: S2W-10252

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 22 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated security costs are from any protests that may arise from the proposed construction of the M74 northern extension.

Question reference: S2W-10255

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to monitor the impact on health of the proposed M74 northern extension in relation to Asthma UK’s estimate that 3.5 million asthma sufferers in the United Kingdom state that traffic pollution aggravates their condition.

Question reference: S2W-10254

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to monitor the impact on health of the proposed M74 northern extension in relation to recent research that indicates that up to a sixth of cot deaths may be directly attributable to vehicle exhaust fumes.