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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: S4O-03379

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the remit of Education Scotland school inspections to include the condition of school buildings.

Question reference: S4F-02167

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2014

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government last met members of the Commonwealth Games organising committee and whether access to the special reserve was discussed.

Question reference: S4W-21142

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has made available in each year since 1999 under the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, broken down by local authority.

The Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme commenced in 2009. The first round of funding was paid in 2010-11. The Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme is taken forward through a phased development. All 32 local authorities have been offered funding for at least one project through the programme. Not all local authorities have received funding yet, as their projects are yet to begin.

The detail of the funding made available in each year through the programme, broken down by local authority, is as follows:

Local Authority	2010-11 (£)	2011-12 (£)	2012-13 (£)	2013-14 (£)	2014-15 (£) (As of end April 14)
Aberdeen City				2,124,509
Aberdeenshire			7,308,550	17,568,289
Clackmannanshire				4,335,585
Dundee				5,138,110	680,000
E. Ayrshire	450,000	2,444,720	800,655
E. Dunbartonshire				1,209,007
East Lothian	61,231	2,214,606	2,632,644
East Renfrewshire	506,568	5,500,000	10,918,198	489,018
Falkirk	665,000	1,973,088
Fife	725,000		18,085,647	391,586
Glasgow				5,996,023
Inverclyde	259,023		3,242,000	1,513,106
Midlothian	858,358	5,275,204	14,576,620
Perth and Kinross	190,865		2,276,048
Renfrewshire			555,709	4,505,653
Shetland				322,366
South Lanarkshire			2,403,473
Stirling			1,883,324
W. Dunbartonshire	163,643		8,917,130	1,527,533
Western Isles	141,845	2,235,180
West Lothian	2,000,000	357,203		502,790

Question reference: S4W-21143

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of (a) primary and (b) schools that will need to be replaced over the next 10 years, broken down by local authority.

An annual rating of all schools is provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities and each school is categorised by condition and suitability as ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘poor’, or ‘bad’. This information is published each year as part of the Scottish School Estate Statistics publication. This can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/schoolestatestats

Local authorities regularly develop and update capital investment programmes for their schools estates. This information is held by individual local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-21058

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the electrification of the railway line to Dunblane to include the line to Perth.

The Scottish Government plans to invest £5 billion between 2014 and 2019 to improve rail infrastructure and services. Network Rail will also oversee the development of a rolling programme of electrification at 100km of track per year upon the completion of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme. Priorities for future electrification, following the electrification of the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High, will be determined in due course.

Question reference: S4W-21060

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 21 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many private meetings (a) cabinet secretaries and (b) ministers have had with newspaper editors in each year since 2007, broken down by newspaper.

All meetings between the First Minister and newspaper editors between 2007 and March 2014 are listed on the Scottish Government website. Also listed are all meetings between Cabinet Secretaries/Ministers and newspaper editors between 2007 and August 2012:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/14944/proprietors-editors-execs

Meetings between Cabinet Secretaries/Ministers and newspaper editors subsequent to August 2012 are included within their ministerial engagements which are proactively published on the Scottish Government website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements

Question reference: S4W-21059

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools use portable cabins as classrooms, broken down by (a) school, (b) local authority and (c) number of classrooms.

Question reference: S4O-03240

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the number of tickets made available for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games to people who live in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-20729

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 8 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding current council tax bands.

No recent discussions have been held with local authorities or COSLA regarding current council tax bands.

However, Scottish Ministers consider the current council tax system as a whole to be unfair and are committed to consulting with others to develop options for a fairer and more progressive local tax, based on ability to pay, later in this Parliament. All potential alternative proposals which meet this criteria will be considered.

Question reference: S4O-03208

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with local authorities about the increase in pupils in primary and secondary schools with additional support needs.