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-24847

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much investment by National Grid would be needed to keep Longannet power station operational, also expressed as a percentage of National Grid's operating profit for (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

The Scottish Government does not have access to Longannet’s profit and loss accounts. This information is held by Scottish Power. During a parliamentary committee hearing on 11 March 2015, Neil Clitheroe, Scottish Power’s Chief Executive Officer of Retail and Generation, said that “If Longannet was paying transmission charges of around £10 million instead of £40 million, the plant would just survive.”

The information requested relating to National Grid’s operating profit is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S4W-24845

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the running costs have been of each operational gas-fired power station in each year since 1999, and what information it has regarding stations in the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S4W-24833

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government which gas-fired power stations have been mothballed and in what year; what the annual cost has been to maintain each; what the maximum output of each would be if reinstated, expressed as a percentage of overall (a) Scottish and (b) UK capacity, and what information it has regarding stations in the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S4W-24705

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much the transmission charges are for 2014-15, broken down by power station.

The specific information requested is not routinely compiled or published by the Scottish Government. Transmission charges are administered by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc which publishes details of the tariffs that apply to different zones across Great Britain on its website at:

http://www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Industry-information/System-charges/Electricity-transmission/Transmission-Network-Use-of-System-Charges/Statement-of-Use-of-System-Charges/.

Transmission charging is an increasingly critical issue in relation to future electricity generation in Scotland and as such the Scottish Government has asked National Grid to make public as much information as possible about the charges applied to particular power stations. This is further to our request that National Grid publishes its full detailed analysis of security of supply in Scotland, to ensure proper scrutiny of this matter which is of utmost national importance.

Question reference: S4O-04162

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase training and apprenticeship provision in the care industry.

Question reference: S4O-04131

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding reintroducing the post-study work visa in Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-04111

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Network Rail regarding upgrading the railway station at Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

I can advise that the matter of potentially upgrading the railway station at Glasgow Prestwick Airport remains the responsibility of the owner, Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport operates on a wholly commercial basis, and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government. The airport is very aware that the current condition of the train station would benefit from significant investment befitting an international gateway.

However, this needs to be considered alongside all long-term investment needs for the airport, to generate a long-term return for taxpayers.

Question reference: S4O-04042

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the actual and contracted expenditure was for ICT systems in the police and fire services in 2013-14.

Question reference: S4O-03873

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take as a result of the statutory follow-up to the Accounts Commission report on South Ayrshire Council of February 2014.

Question reference: S4O-03838

Asked by: Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that it should establish a Scottish exchequer to accommodate further tax and spending powers going forward.