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-02206

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedure reporters follow when making a decision on a local plan examination.

Question reference: S4W-02194

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it will give to intervening in the North Lanarkshire local plan.

Question reference: S4W-02209

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision made by a reporter in a local plan examination requires to be signed off by ministers.

Development plan examination reports are not signed off by ministers, but ministers do have the opportunity to intervene later in the process.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02188 on 12 September 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/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-02201

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would be acceptable to alter land zoned as greenbelt to land suitable for construction.

Question reference: S4W-02212

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether section 20(7) of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 confers on ministers the power to make a final decision following the examination of the North Lanarkshire local plan.

Question reference: S4W-02205

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what circumstances would be required to satisfy the necessity test in Scottish Planning Policy when releasing land previously zoned as greenbelt.

Question reference: S4W-02213

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what avenues of appeal exist after a local plan has been adopted.

Question reference: S4W-02211

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive at which point in a local plan examination process ministers are no longer able to intervene.

Ministers have no powers to intervene in the examination process, but may intervene in the planning authority’s subsequent actions to adopt the plan.

Question reference: S4W-02193

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place for the transition from local plans to local development plans.

These are set out in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 (Development Planning) (Saving, Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Order 2008. The effect is that those local plans which had progressed through the consultation stage but not to public local inquiry stage when the new development planning arrangements were commenced at February 2009 could still progress, but would be examined under the new arrangements.

Question reference: S4W-02199

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would be acceptable to build on greenbelt land.

It is for planning authorities to set out their policies to manage development in green belt areas in their development plans. Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) states that green belt designation should provide clarity and certainty on where development will and will not take place, and provides examples of types of development that may be appropriate in green belts, such as development associated with agriculture. It also notes that other proposals may be acceptable where they are a national priority or to meet an established need if no other site is available. Green belts are not necessarily permanent, and SPP notes that where it is considered necessary, the proposed release of land previously designated as green belt should be identified as part of the settlement strategy set out in the development plan.