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-25484

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 20 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many appeals have been submitted under the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 and how many were successful, broken down by local authority area.

As at 18 May 2015, the number of appeals received by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government submitted under the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 and the nature of the decision is as set out in the following table. In the Stirling Council area, 20 appeals were submitted concerning one hedge.

Planning Authority (council)	Number of appeals submitted	Number of appeals allowed	Number of appeals dismissed	Number of appeals where no jurisdiction to consider	Number of appeals withdrawn	Number of appeals still being considered
Angus	2			1		1
Argyll and Bute	1	1
Edinburgh	2	1		1
Clackmannanshire	1				1
Dumfries and Galloway	3	1	2
Dundee	4	1	1			2
East Ayrshire	1		1
East Dunbartonshire	1					1
East Lothian	1					1
East Renfrewshire	1					1
Falkirk	1					1
Fife	2		2
Glasgow	1			1
Highland	1		1
Midlothian	2		1	1
Moray	1					1
North Ayrshire	3	3
North Lanarkshire	3		1			2
Perth and Kinross	10	3	1	2	1	3
South Lanarkshire	5	2		2		1
Stirling	26	21	4			1
West Lothian	2	2
Total	74	35	14	8	2	15

Question reference: S4W-25221

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 April 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 28 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) Fallin Community Enterprises, (b) the Callander Community Development Trust, (c) the Killin and Ardeonaig Community Development Trust, (d) the Strathfillan Community Development Trust and (e) the Raploch Community Partnership have been awarded by the People and Communities Fund for 2015-16.

Question reference: S4O-04222

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making regarding its consultation on the future of the custodial estate for women.

Question reference: S4O-04124

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on establishing a commission on widening access as outlined in the Programme for Government 2014-15.

Question reference: S4O-04113

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much it is providing to support the development of infrastructure in Stirling.

The Scottish Government is committed to growing the Stirling economy and creating employment opportunities by working closely with our delivery partners, including Stirling Council.

Our commitment to enhancing infrastructure in the area has been demonstrated, for example, by the refurbishment of Riverside Primary in August 2013 as part of our Schools for the Future programme. We are also funding a new care village in the grounds of Stirling Community Hospital with an estimated total capital investment of £33 million and expected to start construction July 2015.

The Scottish Government is willing to listen to all good ideas for increasing investment and I have written to each of Scotland’s seven cities including Stirling to put on record my willingness to explore how best to deliver the infrastructure investments outlined in city investment plans and the associated Scottish Cities Alliance investment prospectus.

Question reference: S4O-04077

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding services for mental health patients, including action to improve waiting times.

Question reference: S4T-00945

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the comments in the recent House of Lords committee report regarding extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds for the 2016 Scottish election.

Question reference: S4W-23725

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has been allocated in each tranche of funding by the UK Government to assist with the rollout of superfast broadband; when each tranche was announced, and what the time period is for spending the money.

The UK Government allocated £100.8 million for the two superfast broadband projects that cover all 32 local authorities in Scotland. The total available funding was confirmed in November 2012 and the agreement was signed in July 2013 when the second contract was awarded. The Scottish public sector contributed £162 million to the two projects.

The agreed funds will be paid to the Scottish Government during 2015. They will be used to support the rollout of superfast broadband for the duration of deployment, which is scheduled to end in 2017.

In February 2014, the UK Government announced that Scotland had been allocated £20.99 million from phase 2 of its superfast broadband programme. As with the previous allocation, this will be matched by the Scottish Government and local government. The funding will be agreed when the procurement activities for spending the new monies are complete. This is expected to happen during 2015. The UK Government has indicated that there will be flexibility around the time period for spending the funding – as there has been with the current projects.

Question reference: S4W-23819

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 8 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the Report of the Wild Fisheries Review Panel.

As indicated in One Scotland - the Government's Programme for Scotland 2014-15, Scottish Ministers are considering the report and recommendations of the Wild Fisheries Review and are committed to a consultation in spring 2015 on policy options for a new fisheries management system followed by a further consultation on a draft Wild Fisheries Bill before the end of the parliamentary session. In addition, I announced on 5 December 2014 my intention to consult separately early in 2015 on a conservation proposal in response to one specific recommendation in the Wild Fisheries Review report: a ban on the killing of wild salmon except under licence.

Each of these public consultations will seek and consider the views of a wide variety of organisations and individuals interested in the future of wild fisheries and their management, including anglers and angling associations.

Question reference: S4W-23820

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 8 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in reaching a conclusion on the Report of the Wild Fisheries Review Panel, it will consider carefully the views of organisations such as the Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association.

(a) Fallin Community Enterprises	£36,500
(b) Callander Community Development Trust	£18,780
(c) Killin and Ardeonaig Community Development Trust	£13,271
(d) Strathfillan Community Development Trust	£7,200
(e) Raploch Community Partnership	£112,795