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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: S4W-18462

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 3 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many music teachers there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Information on the number of music teachers in 2011 and 2012 can be found in the teacher census supplementary tables to the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland publication. This is available on the Scottish Government website and can be accessed using the following link:

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

The data for 2011 and 2012 have been summarised in the following table

Number of teachers (FTE) whose main subject taught is recorded as music:

	2011	2012
Aberdeen City	28	27
Aberdeenshire	54	51
Angus	24	22
Argyll and Bute	19	20
Clackmannanshire	10	11
Dumfries and Galloway	35	40
Dundee City	34	27
East Ayrshire	27	26
East Dunbartonshire	27	25
East Lothian	23	24
East Renfrewshire	23	24
Edinburgh, City of	52	55
Eilean Siar	10	8
Falkirk	35	39
Fife	70	71
Glasgow City	78	85
Highland	56	47
Inverclyde	17	18
Midlothian	20	20
Moray	21	19
North Ayrshire	26	28
North Lanarkshire	70	70
Orkney Islands	9	9
Perth and Kinross	31	33
Renfrewshire	34	38
Scottish Borders	23	27
Shetland Islands	12	12
South Ayrshire	25	28
South Lanarkshire	60	64
Stirling	23	23
West Dunbartonshire	20	18
West Lothian	42	42
All local authorities	1039	1049
Grant aided	2	2

For information on the number of music teachers prior to 2011, I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03916 on 18 November 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S4W-18484

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many times and (b) for how long on average the (i) M9/A9 and (ii) A92/A972 have been closed as a result of crime scene investigations of accidents in the last three years, and for what reason these roads cannot be reopened for managed traffic flow more quickly in such cases.

Details of trunk road closures on the M9/A9 and A92/A972 in the last 3 full calendar years are contained in the following table. Our records for 2013 are not yet complete:

2010

2011

2012

Road

Number of Closures

Average time (hrs)

Number of Closures

Average time (hrs)

Number of Closures

Average time (hrs)

M9/A9

05:01

04:20

03:35

A92/

A972

06:27

05:00

05:44

The decision by Police Scotland to close a road is never taken lightly and only occurs when the collision itself has blocked the road, or where there is a need to protect those who might already have been injured and the emergency service staff who are dealing with the incident.

The impact on local communities and the wider economy is always at the forefront of investigators' minds, but there is a need to ensure that incidents are investigated thoroughly to ensure that families of those killed or seriously injured receive the support and information that they deserve and also to ensure that any safety issues are identified and addressed.

Roads are closed in such cases to gather evidence regarding an accident and the length of any closure can vary, depending on the nature and complexity of the incident.

Question reference: S4W-18364

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 26 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding introducing a learning scheme similar to that offered by the Nisai Virtual Academy in England.

Question reference: S4W-18151

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the conditions it set with regard to the removal of the temporary access tracks associated with the construction of the Beauly-Denny transmission line will be met in full; whether it will write to the local authorities affected by the line to advise them of their of responsibilities, and whether it considers that deviation from the conditions might be considered a breach of trust.

The Beauly Denny consents state that the local authorities are responsible for monitoring the conditions relating to temporary access tracks.

The local authorities are already aware of their responsibilities in this regard and there is no indication that developers are not complying the these conditions.

The Scottish Government is however aware that planning applications have been received from some landowners/occupiers seeking a separate planning permissions to retain the access tracks on their land.

When such applications are made the local authorities will be required to consult with relevant parties and take into account the environmental, landscape and visual and other impacts before making a decision on an application.

Question reference: S4W-18302

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the protection of routes of former railway lines across the country.

Question reference: S4W-18303

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the protection of routes of former railway lines.

Question reference: S4W-18301

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the protection of the route of the former railway line between Inverkeithing and Perth.

The responsibility for this matter lies with the relevant planning authorities, namely Fife Council and Perth and Kinross Council, rather than the Scottish Government.

Scottish Planning Policy clearly states that disused railway lines with a reasonable prospect of being reused as rail, tram or active travel routes should be safeguarded in development plans.

Following representations, and examination of the Perth and Kinross Council Local Development Plan, the Reporter has concluded that the Council’s development policy in respect of public access should be amended to refuse any development proposals that would have an adverse impact upon the integrity of any disused railway, unless adverse impacts are adequately addressed in the plans and suitable alternative provision is made.

However, the Scottish Government has no plans or studies currently considering re-opening the former railway line between Inverkeithing and Perth.

Question reference: S4O-02603

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding the roll-out of the new national exams.

Question reference: S4W-17900

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for wind turbines above 50 MW were granted between 1 October 2011 and 1 October 2013 to developers who were not in possession of an Ofgem generating licence, including those who were exempt from the requirement.

Question reference: S4W-17909

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) electricity producers and (b) generators of wind power above 50 MW have been prosecuted for failing to have an Ofgem licence in each year since 1999.