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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S4F-01649

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2013

To ask the First Minister what the average financial benefit for households is from the council tax freeze.

Question reference: S4O-02449

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect young people using the internet.

Question reference: S4W-17454

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for the international development small grants scheme.

The Scottish Government’s International Development Small Grant Scheme will be launched on 7 October 2013 by the Lloyds TSB Foundation. At the launch the Lloyds TSB Foundation will provide further details on the timetable for applications.

The Scheme will distribute approximately £500,000 per year between 2014-2017. Organisations with an annual turnover of £150,000 or less will be eligible to apply. The Scheme will be used to support projects that fit within the Scottish Government’s International Development Policy. This means that eligible projects must be based in one of our priority countries, contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (and under the post-2015 Framework in due course), and the alleviation of poverty and economic growth in our priority countries. Applications will therefore be sought for activities in relation to the following priority areas:

Education

Health

Sustainable Economic Development

Civic Governance and Society

Food Security

Renewable Energy

Climate Change

Water.

Question reference: S4W-17017

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2013
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 9 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to bring forward a bill containing new measures to combat human trafficking.

Scottish trafficking legislation is kept under review and the Scottish Government will respond as appropriate to any developments to reflect our commitment to tackle this crime. Trafficking is an international and cross border crime and a partnership approach is the most effective way to tackle the crime. The Scottish Government notes that the UK Government intends to bring forward a Modern Slavery Bill. We will give careful consideration to the UK Bill and explore with the UK Government the possibility of that Bill covering Scottish interests.

Question reference: S4O-02333

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help people into employment.

Question reference: S4W-16103

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the remits of the proposed marine protected areas to include more species of seabirds.

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) network will include designations under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, EU Habitats Directive, EU Wild Birds Directive, and marine components of Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI).

There are currently 47 Special Protection Areas (SPAs), under the EU Wild Birds Directive, and a further 17 SSSIs already providing protection of seabirds in the MPA network. These existing protected areas already therefore include protection for a wide range of species, from the Arctic Skua to the Arctic Tern, as well as puffins, gannets, manx shearwaters and razorbills and other species.

Work is also progressing to identify further locations in the marine environment that meet the criteria for consideration as SPAs for seabirds and waterfowl for critical activities such as foraging.

The Scottish Government is now consulting on the development of an MPA network and this is a further opportunity for interested parties to comment on and provide evidence to support the inclusion of seabird species in the MPA network in addition to the existing protection.

It is envisaged that completion of all of these designations will provide a resilient MPA network for seabirds. The periodic reviews of the network as required by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 will provide an opportunity to ensure that this is the case.

Question reference: S4W-16105

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the protection of seabirds in the marine protected areas.

Question reference: S4W-16104

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the black guillemot is the only seabird included in the proposed marine protected areas.

Question reference: S4O-02246

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to people with motor neurone disease.

Question reference: S4W-14783

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to include dolphins and killer whales in the remit of the proposed marine protected areas.

The Guidelines for selecting and developing MPAs list the species and habitats for which the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies’ have recommended that MPAs are an appropriate conservation measure. Risso's dolphin, and White-beaked dolphin are included. Search locations have been identified for these species and Scottish Natural Heritage is completing their assessment on these locations.

There are no plans to include killer whale in any proposed MPA as the current evidence suggests they are highly migratory and not therefore considered suitable for spatial protection in addition to their existing species protection under the EU Habitats Directive.