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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: S3W-30946

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 January 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 1 February 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30467 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, on how many occasions in each month since 1997 for which information is available the rail franchise holder has been penalised for not providing planned capacity on the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk High route.

There are no exact monthly totals as rail accountancy is measured in 13 x four-weekly periods per fiscal year.

Each Period there are approximately 3,170 trains operating between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk High. The reliability figure for the whole of this period is 98.2% trains operating to the correct formation.

The following information is instances per accounting period since Transport Scotland took over the management of the franchise in October 2005. Transport Scotland does not hold the relevant records prior to October 2005.

	4-Weekly Period	Instances Per Period
	4-Weekly Period	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
April	1		10	13	16	45
	2		12	15	17	17
	3		30	9	11	45
	4		44	9	27	37
	5		31	10	23	19
	6		25	13	20	30
	7		27	17	37	26
	8	28	23	11	22	23
	9	20	23	12	50	23
	10	42	34	16	112	191
	11	12	66	12	42
	12	29	45	21	53
March	13	8	9	23	33

Question reference: S3W-30947

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 January 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 1 February 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30468 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010, on how many occasions in each month since 1997 for which information is available the rail franchise holder has been penalised for not providing planned capacity.

There are no exact monthly totals as rail accountancy is measured in 13 x four-weekly periods per fiscal year.

Each Period there are approximately 55,000 trains operated by First ScotRail. The reliability figure for the whole of this period is 99.8% trains operating to the correct formation.

The following information is instances per accounting period since Transport Scotland took over the management of the Franchise in October 2005. Transport Scotland does not hold the relevant records prior to October 2005.

	4-Weekly Period	Instances Per Period
	4-Weekly Period	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
April	1		137	117	68	109
	2		149	144	86	68
	3		141	102	79	122
	4		174	133	85	107
	5		116	99	87	51
	6		97	91	82	77
	7		142	114	146	65
	8	402	124	120	148	65
	9	344	130	100	197	69
	10	456	331	214	272	401
	11	179	351	179	146
	12	132	295	111	176
March	13	118	155	99	87

Question reference: S3W-30937

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Current Status: Answered by Mike Pringle on 28 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has the power to initiate court action in relation to a complaint referred to the SPSO.

Question reference: S3W-30468

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the passenger rail franchise requires specific capacity for particular services.

Rail services in Scotland are managed and monitored by the Scottish Government agency, Transport Scotland, and operated by ScotRail through a Franchise Agreement.

ScotRail prepares a train plan containing the total seating plus standing capacity for each service on a weekday, Saturday and Sunday. Its obligation is to plan the best allocation of its entire train fleet to passenger services that is reasonably practicable. It should ensure, so far as possible, that if excess demand occurs, it is not concentrated on any particular route or passenger service.

The train plan is submitted to Transport Scotland for approval. Once agreed, if planned capacity is not provided, ScotRail is penalised under a performance regime in the franchise agreement. The regime is managed and monitored by Transport Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-30467

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 15 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the rail franchise operator is required to run six-carriage trains on the Glasgow to Edinburgh rail line.

ScotRail plans the capacity for each service in advance of each timetable change. Services on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High route are currently planned to operate with six carriages in the morning and evening peak. Some off-peak and weekend journeys are also planned to be provided with six carriages.

Where the planned capacity is not provided, ScotRail is penalised under a performance regime in the franchise agreement. The regime is managed and monitored by Transport Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-30082

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 15 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2009 pertain to nursery schools.

Schedule 1 of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act, as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2009, sets out all of the local authority proposals that relate to the Act''s provisions. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/23-Schools/b23bs3-aspassed.pdf.

Section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 includes authority-managed nursery schools in the definition of the word school, therefore all of the proposals in schedule 1 of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act that relate to a school includes, by definition, nursery schools.

Question reference: S3W-30084

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers may call in a decision to close a school by a local authority, as set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2009, only if that school is defined as rural.

Question reference: S3W-30085

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2009 changes the consultation process that a local authority must undertake for proposed school closures compared with prior legislative requirements.

The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act, as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November, supersedes the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc.)(Scotland) Regulations 1981, and establishes an updated and strengthened consultation process that local authorities must apply to all proposals for closures and other major changes to schools.

Amongst the changes to the process are: increasing the statutory consultation period (from 28 days to six weeks); extending the list of statutory consultees to include pupils, teachers, community planning partnerships and community councils; introducing a transparent mechanism for dealing with allegations of inaccuracies or omissions in the local authority''s proposal paper; setting out a formal role for Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Education in every consultation, and allowing additional time to enable the community to respond to the authority''s report before the final decision is taken.

Question reference: S3W-30183

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 December 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what scope it has to intervene in a local authority consultation in relation to a proposed school closure if the Scottish Government believes that the consultation is flawed, is based on an incorrect premise or if it receives a report to that effect.

Under the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 1981, Scottish ministers involvement in local authority consultations on school closures is restricted to the following arbitrary circumstances:

Where primary pupils are involved and the alternative schools is five or more miles distant from the school to be closed;

Where secondary pupils are involved and the alternative school is 10 or more miles distant from the school to be closed;

Where the school to be closed is 80% or more full to capacity, at the time the proposal to close is made, and

Where the closure would mean a reduction in denominational education provision in the area, or that there might be significant deterioration in the denominational provision.

In such circumstances, the local authority must refer its decision to close a school to Scottish ministers for consent. These are the only circumstances in which the Scottish Government can become involved in local authority closure proposals.

The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act, which was passed unanimously by Parliament on 19 November 2009, will repeal the 1981 Regulations and introduce a new ministerial power to call in any school closure decision where there is evidence of the local authority failing to comply in a significant way with the requirements set out in the act, or failing to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision.

Question reference: S3W-30083

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 January 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for ministers calling in a decision to close a school by a local authority, as set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2009.

Section 17 of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act, as passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2009, sets out the grounds for which Scottish ministers may call in a local authority decision to close a school. In summary, ministers will only call in a decision if there is evidence of the local authority failing to comply in a significant way with the requirements set out in the act, or failing to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision, http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/23-Schools/b23bs3-aspassed.pdf.