- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what discretion ministers have in making planning decisions.
Answer
The Planning Act includes powers which allow ministers to intervene in development management procedures.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers ministers have to intervene in the planning process.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02187 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what presumption exists against altering land zoned for greenbelt to that suitable for construction.
Answer
The green belt boundaries identified in local development plans should reflect the long term settlement strategy. However, there may be circumstances where it is appropriate to redesignate previously green belt land for other uses through the development plan process.
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02202 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.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that every household in a community affected by a local plan should be consulted as part of the local plan examination process.
Answer
The purpose of such examinations is to examine issues raised in representations on the planning authority’s proposed plan. The proposed plan itself will have been subject to public consultation, and the public will have had the opportunity to make representations for consideration at the examination at this earlier stage.
Some reporters have considered it appropriate to carry out further consultation or notification of neighbours and community councils, particularly where they are considering the suitability of identifying additional land for development which has not previously been the subject of consultation. In these circumstances it is unlikely that notification of every household in a community (as opposed to just neighbours) will be necessary, but it may be possible to gauge wider community opinion through, for instance, asking the community council for their views.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 September 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it considers that every household in a community affected by a local plan should be consulted as part of the local plan examination process.
Answer
It is impossible to anticipate every possible circumstance, but it will rarely be appropriate to consult every household in a community as part of a development plan examination process.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 22 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties there are for bus companies that fail to satisfy local demand.
Answer
The provision of local bus services is generally a matter for individual bus operators, who use their own commercial judgement on service routes and frequencies including the number and size of vehicles used. Local authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis but this is entirely a matter for the local authority. The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities for this purpose.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 22 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money has been spent subsidising bus services in each year since 1999, broken down by parliamentary constituency.
Answer
Local authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis. In addition, the Scottish Government provides subsidy to all local bus services through the Bus Service Operators Grant scheme. Scotland level figures are available from the Scottish Government''s
Bus and Coach Statistics publication which can be found at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/PubBusCoach
Table 10 shows local authority support for bus operators and table 12 shows Bus Service Operators Grant expenditure. This information is not available at Scottish Parliamentary Constituency level.
An updated edition of Bus and Coach Statistics will be published on 12 April 2011.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 22 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions there are to ensure adequate bus coverage at peak times.
Answer
The majority of bus services in Scotland are operated on a commercial basis by private bus companies. Provided that an operator registers a service with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, they can operate any route to any frequency they wish. Local authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis but this is entirely a matter for the local authority. The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities for this purpose.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 17 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations there are to prevent overcrowding on buses.
Answer
It is the responsibility of drivers to ensure that their vehicles do not exceed their carrying capacity. The Public Service Vehicles (Carrying Capacity) Regulations 1984 state that nobody should drive, or permit to be driven, a vehicle if the number of seated or standing passengers exceeds the number permitted.
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 17 March 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what the satisfaction levels are of bus passengers.
Answer
Scotland level figures are available from the Scottish Household Survey. Figures are published online as part of the SHS Transport: Local Area Analysis web tables. Table 16 includes a breakdown by Local Authority and Regional Transport Partnership, as well as Scotland level figures. This can be found at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/PubTranAcrScot.
