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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: S4W-10648

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the criteria are for determining whether or not a school is classified as rural under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 requires Scottish Ministers to maintain a list of rural schools. Section 14 of the 2010 Act states that in determining the question of rurality when considering whether a school falls to be included in or excluded from the list of rural schools, the Scottish Ministers are to have regard (in particular) to—

(a) the population of the community (or settlement) in which the school is located,

(b) the geographical circumstances of that community (or settlement) including its

relative remoteness or inaccessibility.

The Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification, provides a standard definition of rural areas in Scotland. The rural school list is prepared using this classification system with 3 different classifications for rural school (Accessible Rural, Remote Rural and Very Remote Rural). These classifications are based on the settlement size where the school is located and also by the drive time to another settlement. The detail of the classification criteria is set out in the following table.

Accessible Rural	Settlements of fewer than 3,000 people and within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000 or more.
Remote Rural	Settlements of fewer than 3,000 people and with a drive time of between 30 and 60 minutes to a settlement of 10,000 or more.
Very Remote Rural	Settlements of fewer than 3,000 people and with a drive time of over 60 minutes to a settlement of 10,000 or more.

Question reference: S4W-09997

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of repayments would be over the lifetime of each PFI/PPP project initiated from 1999 to 2007 if the contracts had been procured under the non-profit distributing model.

As the rates applicable to any project reflect the market conditions when the actual contract is signed, it is not possible to assess how the costs of previous PFI projects would differ if those projects had been procured via the Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) model.

The NPD model is the Scottish Government’s preferred option for revenue financed projects as it creates a better balance between risk and reward to the private sector and avoids the kind of excessive returns and poor taxpayer value associated with past PFI projects.

Question reference: S4W-09995

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated asset value is of buildings built under each PFI/PPP project from 1999 to 2007, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-09996

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of repayments will be over the lifetime of each PFI/PPP project initiated from 1999 to 2007, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-09626

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 12 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what legal responsibilities social landlords have to people who own properties within stock otherwise owned by the landlords.

<>There may be provisions in title deeds which lay down responsibilities and rights of owners of property in stock which is otherwise owned by social landlords. Social landlords acting as property factors need to comply with the provisions of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011. More information on the 2011 act is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privateowners/propertyfactors/2011Act.

Question reference: S4W-09628

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 12 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what legal entitlement owners of properties within social landlords' stock have to representation on groups set up by the landlords to review changes to the properties.

<>We are not aware of any legal provisions in respect of groups of this nature. However, where decisions on repairs and maintenance are being taken under the Tenement Management Scheme, the scheme contains provisions on arranging meetings and consulting owners. Social landlords acting as property factors need to comply with the provisions of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011. More information on the 2011 act is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privateowners/propertyfactors/2011Act.

Question reference: S4W-09627

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 12 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what legal responsibility social landlords have to consult the owners of properties within the stock owned by the landlord regarding potential changes to the properties.

<>There may be provisions in title deeds on how decisions should be taken on repairs and maintenance of common space. If there is nothing in title deeds, or they are uncertain, the Tenement Management Scheme in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2003 may be relevant. Under the Tenement Management Scheme, decisions on repairs and maintenance to common areas may be taken by a majority of the owners of the flats in a tenement. More information on managing common repairs is contained in Consumer Focus Scotland's guide "Common Repair, Common Sense" which can be found at http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/scotland/news/consumer-guide-to-managing-common-repairs. Improvements to common areas of tenements generally require unanimous agreement of the owners of the flats, unless the improvements are reasonably incidental to the maintenance or there is provision in the title deeds on taking decisions in relation to improvements.

Social landlords acting as property factors need to comply with the provisions of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011. More information on the 2011 act is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privateowners/propertyfactors/2011Act. The Code of Conduct for Property Factors, which forms one of the main elements of the act, sets out certain requirements relating to how property factors should communicate and consult with homeowners.

Question reference: S4O-01258

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received clear information from the UK Government regarding its plans for public sector pension reform.

Question reference: S4O-01226

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with North Lanarkshire Council regarding the condition and upkeep of schools.

Question reference: S4W-08706

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many children under the age of 12 have been charged with criminal offences in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) offence, (b) age, (c) gender and (d) police force.