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-03803

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would be possible for a public body to give consent for an activity, project or plan that would damage or destroy a natural feature for which a site of special scientific interest has been notified.

Scottish Planning Policy provides that development that affects a SSSI should only be permitted where it will not adversely affect the integrity of the area or the qualities for which it has been designated, or when any such adverse effects are clearly outweighed by social, environmental or economic benefits of national importance. The circumstances are unique to each case and may only be considered on a case by case basis.

Sections 12 to 15 of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 apply to the exercise of functions and operations by public bodies and consent by certain regulatory authorities which might damage a natural feature or features for which a SSSI has been notified. Further information is provided in the Act’s Explanatory Notes which are available via the following web address:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/6/notes/contents?view=plain .

Question reference: S4W-03739

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when section 13 of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 will be commenced.

It is planned that section 13 of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) 2011 will be commenced in January 2012. The coming into force of new sections 11A, 11D and 11E in sub-section 13(3) will require a lead-in time for snaring operators to have an opportunity to complete the snare training course. It is planned that the new sections referred to above will come into force in January 2013.

Question reference: S4W-03741

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the organisations chosen to run the training courses on snaring practice to allow snare users to comply with the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 have been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association are considered by the Scottish Government to have the necessary knowledge and expertise in a Scottish context to carry out training in the setting of snares. It has not been necessary to seek additional accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Question reference: S4W-03738

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 will be commenced in full.

Question reference: S4W-03740

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 10 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive which animal welfare body is providing input to the training courses on snaring practice that will be a legal requirement for snare users to complete under the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011.

Question reference: S4W-01994

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

Question reference: S4W-01997

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many looked-after children were in kinship care in 2010-11, broken down by local authority.

Information on the number of looked after children in kinship care for 2010-11, broken down by local authority, is not currently available. This information will be obtained from the Scottish Government’s 2010-11 Children Looked After Survey, results of which are due to be published in February 2012.

The latest statistics available showed that, as at 31 July 2010, of the 15,892 children being looked after by local authorities in Scotland, 3,172 were being looked after by friends and relatives.

The following table below shows the number of looked after children being looked after by friends and relatives, broken down by local authority, as at 31 July 2010:

Further information on these statistics can be found here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/02/18105352/0.

Number of Looked After Children at 31 July 2010 Being Looked After by Friends/Relatives by Local Authority

Scotland	3,172
Aberdeen City	145
Aberdeenshire	81
Angus	55
Argyll and Bute	64
Clackmannanshire	48
Dumfries and Galloway	88
Dundee City	197
East Ayrshire	95
East Dunbartonshire	31
East Lothian	50
East Renfrewshire	34
Edinburgh, City of	250
Eilean Siar	11
Falkirk	89
Fife	161
Glasgow	786
Highland	74
Inverclyde	55
Midlothian	84
Moray	39
North Ayrshire	158
North Lanarkshire	0
Orkney Islands	2
Perth and Kinross	42
Renfrewshire	165
Scottish Borders	35
Shetland Islands	7
South Ayrshire	53
South Lanarkshire	92
Stirling	26
West Dunbartonshire	78
West Lothian	77

Question reference: S4W-02488

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02057 by Angela Constance on 30 August 2011, what the timescale is for engaging with local authorities and other relevant organisations to explore what action might be necessary to refine the suite of safeguards currently in place for children participating in performances.

Officials are scheduled to meet with colleagues in the UK Government’s Department for Education to discuss the issue of child performance in October of this year. It is the intention that this discussion will be followed by engagement with local authorities and other relevant organisations, with a view to bringing forward proposals in 2012 should changes to existing safeguards be considered necessary.

Question reference: S4W-03596

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 2 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the outcome of its consultation on the independent monitoring of prisons.

Question reference: S4W-03597

Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 2 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering changes to the role of prison visiting committees and, if so, when it will introduce them.