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: S2W-19789

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19406 by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005 which states that the United Kingdom has not set a target with regard to the use of biofuels, why the Executive is unable to act independently from the UK Government in setting these targets and in taking the necessary steps to ensure that Scotland meets the requirements of the EU directive on biofuels, 2003/30/EC.

While it would be possible for Scotland to adopt a different target to the rest of the UK for the use of biofuels, the measures to deliver an increase in biofuels usage in relation to taxation are best pursued at a UK level. In addition, we are currently discussing with the Department of Transport proposals for a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation which would only be effective if undertaken at a UK level.

Question reference: S2W-19407

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to encourage inward investment in biofuels in Scotland.

Scottish Development International (SDI), the Executive’s joint operation with Scottish Enterprise, leads on attracting inward investment and other international business to Scotland. SDI works with industry specialists in Scotland and uses its overseas sales force to uncover project opportunities and make proposals to target companies around the world. SDI is currently assessing the potential for biofuels investment. This will involve developing a better understanding of exactly what expertise and resources Scotland has to offer and what types of project would provide the maximum benefits to Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-19405

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 5 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what subsidies are available for the production of biofuels.

Question reference: S2W-19408

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage filling stations to stock biofuels.

The stocking of biofuels is a commercial matter for fuel manufacturers and retailers. However, the Scottish Executive has provided funding of £1.2 million through a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant towards the construction near Motherwell of Scotland’s first large scale biodiesel plant by the Argent Group. The plant became operational earlier this year and produces biodiesel from a variety of raw materials, including used cooking oils and animal fats - material previously considered waste. The plant is now fully operational, and we expect that this will lead to increased availability of this fuel in Scotland.

Furthermore, we expect the 20 pence per litre fuel duty differential for biodiesel, introduced by the UK Government in July 2002, and a similar differential for bioethanol, introduced in January this year, will help to stimulate sales of biofuels in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-19406

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to meet the EU target of biofuels accounting for 5% of all fuel consumption by 2010.

The EU Directive on biofuels (2003/30/EC) requires member states to set indicative targets for biofuel sales by 2010, with a reference value of 5.75% of all petrol and diesel sold for transport purposes. A target has not yet been set for the UK.

With the Department for Transport, we are currently considering how best to meet the requirements of the Directive. This includes liaison with them on the consideration of a possible introduction of a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). A RTFO could provide a mechanism to ensure the gradual substitution of fossil fuels for biofuels - and other renewable transport fuels - over the long-term. However, no decisions have been taken on this as yet.

Question reference: S2W-18651

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 21 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its temporary staff have university degrees.

Question reference: S2W-19072

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 21 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how long it has taken it on average to process and determine local authority local plans.

The Scottish ministers do not determine local plans and only intervene in local planning in exceptional circumstances. Reporters from the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters’ Unit are appointed to hold inquiries into objections to local plans and report to local authorities. The Scottish Executive does not hold figures on the average length of local plan inquiries. They may, however, last from several days to several months depending on the amount and complexity of objections.

Question reference: S2W-19073

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 21 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive when its determination on Angus Council's local plan will be finalised.

The Scottish ministers do not determine local plans and only intervene in local planning in exceptional circumstances. The finalised local plan for Angus will be subject to a local plan inquiry early next year. The Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters’ Unit will conduct the inquiry and then produce a report for Angus Council. It will be for the Council to consider the recommendations of the inquiry and progress the plan to adoption.

Question reference: S2W-19039

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 20 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs have been lost in Angus in the last 15 years.

Information on the location of civil service jobs within the Scottish Executive administration prior to 2000 is not held centrally. Since 2000, 20.5 full-time equivalent posts have been lost from Scottish Executive Departments and Agencies in Angus*. Details of civil service posts in other Government Departments located in Scotland are not held by the Scottish Executive.

Note: *Refers to the local authority area of Angus.

Question reference: S2W-18648

Asked by: Andrew Welsh, MSP for Angus, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 16 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many temporary workers it has employed since devolution, expressed also as a percentage of its total workforce, broken down by location and grade.

The information requested is shown in the following tables and refers to temporary staff employed directly in the Scottish Executive core departments at 1 April of each year.

Table 1, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 1999

	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total	128	21	3	1
% of total workforce in payband	7.6%	1.3%	0.6%	0.6%
Location
Ayr	1	2	.	.
Dumfries	1	2	.	.
Dundee	3	.	.	.
Edinburgh	109	9	3	1
Elgin	1	.	.	.
Galashiels	1	.	.	.
Glasgow	4	.	.	.
Gullane	1	.	.	.
Inverurie	2	5	.	.
Lerwick	1	.	.	.
London	2	.	.	.
Inverness	.	1	.	.
Perth	.	1	.	.
Stirling	1	1	.	.
Stornoway	1	.	.	.
Thurso	1	.	.	.

Table 2, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 2000

	Band A	Band B	Band C
Total	55	32	6
% of total workforce in payband	3.4%	1.8%	1.0%
Location			.
Dumfries	3	3	.
Dundee	3	.	.
Edinburgh	29	5	5
Galashiels	1	2	.
Glasgow	1	.	1
Hamilton	1	1	.
Inverness	1	.	.
Inverurie	2	10	.
Kirkwall	1	1	.
London	2	.	.
Oban	1	2	.
Perth	2	2	.
Portree	.	1	.
Stirling	4	2	.
Thurso	1	.	.

Table 3, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 2001

	Band A	Band B	Band C
Total	51	37	7
% of total workforce in payband	3.2%	2.0%	1.2%
Location
Ayr	18	1	.
Dumfries	2	6	.
Dundee	1	.	.
Edinburgh	17	13	6
Elgin	1	.	.
Galashiels	4	2	.
Glasgow	1	5	1
Gullane	1	.	.
Hamilton	.	1	.
Inverness	2	1	.
Inverurie	2	1	.
Lerwick	.	1	.
Oban	1	.	.
Perth	.	2	.
Portree	.	1	.
Stirling	1	2	.
Thurso	.	1	.

Table 4, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 2002

	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total	97	74	6	1
% of total workforce in payband	5.9%	3.6%	1.0%	0.6%
Location
Ayr	27	6	.	.
Dumfries	5	6	.	.
Dundee	2	.	.	.
Edinburgh	41	37	6	1
Galashiels	4	1	.	.
Glasgow	1	14	.	.
Gullane	1	.	.	.
Inverness	7	2	.	.
Inverurie	8	3	.	.
Perth	1	2	.	.
Portree	.	1	.	.
Stirling	.	1	.	.
Stornoway	.	1	.	.

Table 5, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 2003

	Band A	Band B	Band C
Total	39	62	8
% of total workforce in payband	2.5%	2.8%	1.2%
Location
Ayr	4	1	.
Dumfries	1	5	.
Dundee	2	.	.
Edinburgh	26	32	8
Galashiels	1	4	.
Glasgow	2	3	.
Gullane	1	.	.
Hamilton	.	1	.
Inverness	1	.	.
Inverurie	.	9	.
Kirkwall	1	.	.
Perth	.	4	.
Portree	.	2	.
Thurso	.	1	.

Table 6, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 2004

	Band A	Band B	Band C
Total	20	48	3
% of total workforce in payband	1.3%	2.1%	0.5%
Location
Ayr	2	2	.
Dumfries	1	5	.
Edinburgh	5	22	3
Elgin	2	.	.
Galashiels	1	2	.
Glasgow	1	2	.
Hamilton	.	2	.
Inverness	3	3	.
Inverurie	1	2	.
Kirkwall	.	1	.
Perth	4	3	.
Portree	.	3	.
Thurso	.	1	.

Table 7, Temporary Staff Employed by the Scottish Executive at 1 April 2005

	Band A	Band B	Band C
Total	21	29	2
% of total workforce in payband	1.5%	1.2%	0.3%
Location
Ayr	7	2	.
Dumfries	2	7	.
Edinburgh	6	11	2
Elgin	.	1	.
Galashiels	2	.	.
Hamilton	.	1	.
Inverurie	2	2	.
Perth	.	4	.
Portree	.	1	.
Thurso	2	.	.