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: S3W-10366

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to meet the Association of British Insurers to discuss coastal developments in Scotland and, in particular, those designated as being at a high risk of flooding.

The Association Of British Insurers is represented on the Scottish Government's Flooding Bill Advisory Group which provides advice to the Scottish Government on flood risk management issues at a strategic level. The group will be advising on the proposals outlined in the recently issued consultation paper The Future of Flood Risk Management in Scotland, which covers spatial planning and managing flood risk in coastal areas.

Question reference: S3W-10369

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to fund all grant maintained schools at current levels.

Question reference: S3W-10374

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the eligibility criteria for charities, churches and voluntary organisations for reductions in water rates.

Question reference: S3W-10339

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any outsourcing contracts have been agreed by any of its departments or agencies since ministers took office in May 2007 and, if so, what the nature and value was of each contract and whether any additional work was added and, if so, of what value.

Question reference: S3W-10340

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates public expenditure will be per capita for each local authority in the next three years.

The estimated identified distributable Scottish Government funding per head to each local authority for the period 2008-11 is set out in the following table:

(£)	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Aberdeen City	1,777	1,863	1,939
Aberdeenshire	1,845	1,928	2,007
Angus	2,004	2,098	2,188
Argyll and Bute	2,580	2,672	2,734
Clackmannanshire	2,028	2,155	2,241
Dumfries and Galloway	2,172	2,273	2,380
Dundee City	2,295	2,372	2,452
East Ayrshire	2,059	2,127	2,202
East Dunbartonshire	1,802	1,911	1,967
East Lothian	1,915	1,996	2,089
East Renfrewshire	2,004	2,086	2,168
Edinburgh, City of	1,824	1,884	1,935
Eilean Siar	4,422	4,573	4,727
Falkirk	1,927	2,029	2,114
Fife	1,925	2,008	2,077
Glasgow City	2,585	2,687	2,750
Highland	2,370	2,446	2,537
Inverclyde	2,291	2,373	2,444
Midlothian	2,092	2,159	2,229
Moray	2,090	2,269	2,334
North Ayrshire	2,149	2,211	2,280
North Lanarkshire	2,057	2,143	2,215
Orkney	3,727	3,863	4,068
Perth and Kinross	1,861	1,957	2,061
Renfrewshire	2,097	2,146	2,200
Scottish Borders	2,087	2,205	2,303
Shetland	4,588	4,739	4,867
South Ayrshire	1,925	2,017	2,094
South Lanarkshire	1,947	2,032	2,100
Stirling	2,081	2,171	2,258
West Dunbartonshire	2,358	2,476	2,565
West Lothian	1,891	1,995	2,083
Scotland	2,108	2,197	2,272

Notes:

1. The funding figures used to calculate the per capita totals represent the current identified distributable revenue and capital funding to each local authority as set out in Finance Circular 1/2007.

2. The figures include the funding available if councils freeze their council tax for each of the three years. However, they exclude a further £373.3 million/ £376.9 million/ £379.6 million still to be distributed over the next three years and £23.5 million/ £31 million/ £39.5 million funding to be provided separately to police authorities for additional police officers.

3. The per capita figures were calculated using the latest available General Register of Scotland (GROS) population estimates (mid-2006).

Question reference: S3W-10367

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many housing developments designated as being at high risk of flooding by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have been granted planning permission since May 2007 in (a) coastal areas and (b) inland flood plain areas.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency flood map shows an estimate of the areas of Scotland with a 0.5% or greater probability of being flooded in any given year “ in other words, those areas estimated to have a one in 200 or greater chance of being flooded in any given year. It provides an indication of areas likely to flood but is not appropriate for assessing risk to individual properties and cannot replace studies at a local scale. Information on housing developments approved in these area is not held centrally.

Question reference: S3W-10338

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will accept the recommendations of the Association of British Insurers and withdraw planning permission for any developments where approval has been given to build on sites designated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as being at high risk of flooding.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency flood map shows an estimate of the areas of Scotland with a 0.5% or greater probability of being flooded in any given year - in other words the areas estimated to have a 1 in 200 or greater chance of being flooded in any given year. It provides an indication of areas likely to flood but is not appropriate for assessing risk to individual properties and cannot replace studies at a local scale. The Scottish Government has no plans to revoke planning permissions because they have been granted in the areas shown on SEPA's flood risk maps.

Question reference: S3W-10341

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive which (a) daily, (b) weekly and (c) Sunday papers it has used used for advertising purposes since May 2007 and what the total expenditure was in each case.

The following table details newspaper advertising spend from May 2007 to February 2008 broken down by title of publication.

Daily Titles	Total Spend
Courier and Advertiser (Dundee)	£7,314
Daily Mail	£5,739
Daily Record	£24,693
Edinburgh Evening News	£7,403
Glasgow Evening Times	£26,620
Glasgow Herald	£1,430
The Scotsman	£47,420
The Sun	£21,626
The Herald	£9,048
Metro	£23,636
Aberdeen Evening Express	£7,187
Aberdeen Press and Journal	£17,566
Dundee Evening Telegraph	£10,921
Total spend	£210,603
Weekly Titles	Total Spend
The Orcadian - Orkney	£768
Eastern Eye Scotland	£2,995
Inverness Courier	£11,892
Stirling Observer	£1,688
S&UN Renfrewshire Package Group	£1,434
Falkirk Herald Series	£3,704
Fife Free Press Group	£2,148
Alloa / Clackmannan County News	£868
Ayrshire Weekly Press Group	£2,710
Ayrshire 3 Package	£2,679
Northern Scot Midweek Extra	£4,231
Mediaforce Scottish Package	£85,708
Lanarkshire Package	£9,000
Shetland Times	£781
Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Ad	£1,414
Dumbarton and Lennox Herald	£727
Dumfries/Galloway Standard	£1,302
Western Borders Package	£3,087
Oban Times and W Highland Times	£702
S&UN dumfrIes and Galloway Package	£1,193
Glasgow & Renfrewshire Package	£2,698
Total Spend	£141,729
Sunday Titles	Total Spend
The Sunday Times	£4,094
Glasgow Sunday Herald	£2,500
Scotland on Sunday	£4,546
Sunday Mail	£10,981
Sunday Post	£1,085
Sunday Herald	£1,207
News of the World	£9,375
The Mail on Sunday	£410
Total Spend	£34,198
Total Press Spend	£386,530

Question reference: S3W-10343

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made investigating whether there will be European funding available for building the new Forth crossing.

Question reference: S3W-10362

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to follow the advice of the Association of British Insurers about housing developments in areas designated as being at a high risk of flooding and, if so, whether it will withdraw all planning approvals for such developments agreed since it came to office.

The central purpose of Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 7 “ Planning and Flooding is to prevent further development which would have a significant probability of being affected by flooding or which would increase the probability of flooding elsewhere. The Association of British Insurers were a key consultee during its preparation and fully endorsed the Risk Framework approach to development planning set out in the SPP. The Scottish Government has no plans to revoke planning permissions because they have been granted in the areas shown on SEPA's flood risk maps.