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-22482

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what role it expects diabetes managed clinical networks to play in the continued implementation of the Scottish Diabetes Framework.

Question reference: S2W-22478

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many managers of diabetes managed clinical networks also have responsibility for CHD and stroke managed clinical networks.

Question reference: S2W-22477

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the current diabetes managed clinical networks have managers in post.

Question reference: S2W-21705

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether the introduction of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill has been delayed and, if so, why and what additional costs have been incurred by (a) it and (b) Strathclyde Passenger Transport as a result of any such delay.

The draft Private Bill for theGlasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) was submitted to the Scottish Parliament, by StrathclydePassenger Transport (SPT) on 9 January 2006, and is expected to be formally introduced on 31 January.

Earlier versions of the SPT programmefor delivery envisaged a submission/introduction for the Private Bill in spring/summer2005. In consultation with the Scottish Executive, it was agreed that they, andtie Ltd the promoters of the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link, should utilise the Parliamentssummer recess (2005) to:

consult further with the PrivateBills Unit (PBU);

await the report from the WaverleyRailway (Scotland) Bill Committee, and thereby

ensure that they had learnedfrom the experiences of previously submitted transportation legislation in draftingthe GARL Bill and accompanying documentation, thereby making the most efficientuse of the Parliament’s time and resources.

Subsequently the Parliament’sProcedures Committee was minded to consider changes to the Private Bills processwhich would allow the appointment of an Inquiry Reporter to hear the detailed objectionsat the Consideration stage. It was therefore agreed that the Private Bills for theairport rail links should not be submitted until the committee was in a positionto finalise its consideration and recommendation to Parliament.

Transport Scotland hasincurred no additional cost as a result of this, as the projected end date for theGARL project remains unchanged.

SPT have advised that they haveapproved an additional £350,000, or 10% of the previously advised costs for thedevelopment of the GARL project and subsequent support through the Parliamentaryprocess. The additional costs are as a result of one) the additional work undertakenby SPT and their consultants over the summer recess in consulting with the PBU,and subsequent revision to the Bill and accompanying documentation, and two) tocomply with the Presiding Officers determination with regard to consulting withScottish National Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and HistoricScotland in respect of the projects Environmental Statement.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

Question reference: S2W-21706

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 20 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected cost is of the Glasgow Airport Rail link and when the project will be completed.

Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) currently estimate the capital cost of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) as £160 million, including an allowance for Optimism Bias, this is based on 4th Quarter 2004 prices. The most recent programme from SPT envisaged an into service date of 2009-10 for the GARL.

Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Question reference: S2W-21805

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 19 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what exemptions there will be in respect of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, as referred to in the ministerial statement by the Deputy Minister for Communities on 14 December 2005 (Official Report c. 21691).

I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. Hisresponse is as follows:

The directive allowsthe following buildings to be exempt from energy performance certification:

buildings which donot use energy to condition the indoor climate;

buildings and monuments officiallyprotected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architecturalor historic merit, where compliance with the requirements would unacceptablyalter their character or appearance;

buildings used as places of worshipand for religious activities;

temporary buildings with a plannedtime of use of two years or less, industrial sites, workshops and non-residentialagricultural buildings with low energy demand and non-residential agricultural buildingswhich are in use by a sector covered by a national sectoral agreement on energyperformance;

residential buildings which areintended to be used less than four months of the year, and

stand-alone buildings with atotal useful floor area of less than 50m².

Use will be made of some, butnot all of these exemptions, and the final list has still to be decided.

Question reference: S2W-21804

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA in respect of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the outcomes were of these discussions.

I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

COSLA were invited to a meeting in September 2005 about certification of local authority housing, but they were unable to attend. A meeting was held in early January 2006. Representatives from COSLA, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Communities Scotland were present. The objective of this meeting was to make a start on developing a strategy that should ease the burden of domestic energy performance certification for both local authorities and registered social landlords. Further meetings will be held in due course.

Question reference: S2W-21812

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be a period of grace before buildings have to improve energy performance ratings once the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is in place.

Question reference: S2W-21810

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any costs to householders for inspections under the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency, to answer. His response is as follows:

There will be costs to be borne by building owners, when energy performance certification and inspection of air-conditioning is carried out. These owners may then choose to pass the cost on to prospective owners and tenants through sale and rental costs. This is a matter that is outwith the control of the Executive.

Question reference: S2W-21808

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new inspectors will be needed to implement the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency, to answer. His response is as follows:

It is considered unlikely that the directive will create many “new inspectors” per se. It is more likely that existing construction and property professionals will subsume the work created by the directive as a supplementary part of their existing business. The result of this could be that more persons embark on a career in property and construction. In view of this, reliable quantification of new property and construction professionals is near impossible as this will depend on how much directive work is subsumed by each business.