Chamber and committees

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-19253

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether consultation on the 20mph speed limit trial on the A7 has started and, if so, when.

Question reference: S4W-19083

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which areas of Dumfries and Galloway receive a full flood warning service from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and whether it plans to fund an increase in the provision of this service.

The Scottish Government has continuously funded improvements to Flood Warning in Scotland including providing the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) with £8.6 million to enhance their flood warning service by implementing Floodline’s Direct Warning Service, and establishing the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service (a partnership between SEPA and the Met Office to provide early warning to local authorities, emergency services and other partners in Scotland through a daily flood guidance statement) at an annual cost of around £560,000. We have also committed to continue to fund the implementation of SEPA’s Flood Warning Strategy and have provided £189,000 for improvements to flood warning in 2013-14.

SEPA’s current service in Dumfries and Galloway includes flood alerts, which cover the whole region and are issued when SEPA forecasts that 'flooding is possible' anywhere in the region. It is an early alert to help people prepare for dealing with the possibility of flooding, generally issued up to 24 hours in advance. However it is not a targeted flood warning at community level.

SEPA offers more specific targeted flood warnings at about 250 locations in Scotland where there are a network of rain gauges and flow gauges sufficient to forecast flooding conditions with more accuracy. In Dumfries and Galloway, SEPA currently provides such a flood warning service for the River Nith in Dumfries, Whitesands.

In 2014, SEPA will extend the River Nith flood forecasting model upstream of Dumfries. The initial plans were for one additional flood warning location immediately upstream of Dumfries, however, following the flood event of 30 December 2013, SEPA is currently considering the feasibility of extending the model further upstream to include Kirkconnel.

As published in the 2012-2016 Flood Warning Strategy, SEPA is also planning to develop a new coastal flood warning scheme for the Solway Firth in 2015. The communities which will benefit from this new warning scheme will be defined in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council and will take full account of the recent flood impacts.

We are also in early discussions with SEPA about extending the warning service in other areas recently affected by flooding in Dumfries and Galloway; such developments require detailed feasibility and cost assessments which will be undertaken in 2014-15.

In addition, the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service can also provide partners with specific advice on areas not covered by formal flood warning schemes, such as estimates of rainfall totals for specific areas and communities which may be impacted. Dumfries and Galloway receives the full benefit of this service.

Question reference: S4W-19084

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact was of opening the sluice gates on Loch Doon on 30 December 2013 on flooding in (a) Moniaive and (b) other areas of Dumfries and Galloway.

Reservoir operators are required to manage reservoir levels in such a way as to protect the operational integrity of the dam and the integrity of the surrounding area.

Whilst Moniaive did experience flooding on 30 December 2013, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has advised that this was not as a result of hydro scheme operations but rather as a result of heavy rainfall within the Cairn Water catchment (noting that Loch Doon is not part of the Cairn Water catchment) which resulted in several watercourses breaking their banks and impacting on properties in the area. SEPA rain gauges in the area recorded 80mm of rain, which equates to a 1 in 33 year return period rainfall event.

Throughout the event, Scottish Power informed SEPA, the local authority and the Police of their sluice gates operation at Loch Doon.

Question reference: S4W-19085

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how often and (b) when members of the Scottish Police Authority have visited the Police Scotland control room in Dumfries.

Question reference: S4W-19086

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how often and (b) when Scottish Fire and Rescue Service board members have visited the service's control room in Dumfries.

Question reference: S4W-19081

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 16 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Dumfries and Galloway Council’s bid for £460,000 from the Town Centre Housing Fund was unsuccessful.

We announced successful Town Centre Housing Fund projects on 26 December 2013. Details of these can be accessed on our website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/town-centres/housing-fund

We have informed the individual applicants of the outcome of the Town Centre Housing Fund and have invited all those who have been unsuccessful to discuss their bid directly with officials in the Regeneration Unit. As we will provide full feedback to applicants in the first instance, I would encourage the member to discuss this specific project with the local authority.

Question reference: S4W-19082

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 16 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considered funding part of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s bid for funding from the Town Centre Housing Fund and, if so, for what reason it did not do so.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19081 on 16 January 2014. 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.

Applications were assessed in their entirety against the core criteria for the fund, strategic fit, quality and sustainability, value for money and fit with other town centre initiatives.

Question reference: S4T-00555

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to recent flooding in Dumfriesshire and across the country.

Question reference: S4O-02734

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the decrease in new social housing completions will have on housing supply.

Question reference: S4O-02623

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the claim by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that an independent Scotland would face a fiscal gap of 1.9% of national income.