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-03166

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-2534 by Stewart Maxwell on 9 August 2007, how ministers will ensure that the people of West Dunbartonshire are not disadvantaged because of lack of investment in housing pending decisions on the future management of council housing stock.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

It is recognised that West Dunbartonshire Council willnot be in a position to reach a decision on the future management of its housingstock until later this financial year.

In order to ensurean on-going housing investment programme pending a decision by West DunbartonshireCouncil, Communities Scotland is in discussion with the council with a view to agreeingselective land/transfers that will ensure that the regeneration momentum achievedin key areas is maintained.

Question reference: S3W-03162

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-2534 by Stewart Maxwell on 9 August 2007, when ministers expect to receive a standard delivery plan from West Dunbartonshire Council and what steps are being taken to assist the council in finalising its proposals.

West Dunbartonshire Council is expected to submit its StandardDelivery Plan (SDP) in December 2007. The SDP should set out how the council willbring its housing stock up to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by the 2015target date. Communities Scotland will assess the proposals and provide feedbackto the council by spring 2008.

In the meantime, CommunitiesScotland is assisting West Dunbartonshire Council with key pieces of commissionedresearch that will feed into the council’s forthcoming SDP. These essential buildingblocks include an in-depth analysis of affordable housing supply and demand in thearea and a comprehensive review of the council’s asset management challenges andoptions.

Question reference: S3W-03155

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-97 by Stewart Stevenson on 1 June 2007, what objectives it wishes Scottish Water to deliver in relation to financial management.

Scottish Water isrequired to deliver the objectives set within the financial limits – that iscustomer charges and lending from Ministers – determined by the Water IndustryCommission. These figures may be obtained from the Commission’s Final Determinationpublished on 30 November 2005 which is available from their website at:http://www.watercommissioner.co.uk/Documents/src2006/FD/final%20determination.pdf.

Scottish Water’splans for meeting the Executive’s objectives within the financial limits setare available from its latest delivery plan.

Question reference: S3W-03156

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive where any “inadequate water and sewerage capacity is currently restricting new housing developments”, as referred to in the SNP’s 2007 manifesto.

Question reference: S3W-03157

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take “to remove the barriers which impede investment in water and sewerage infrastructure where this is necessary”, as referred to in the SNP’s 2007 manifesto.

Question reference: S3W-03150

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-97 by Stewart Stevenson on 1 June 2007, what objectives it wishes Scottish Water to deliver in relation to improved customer service.

Question reference: S3W-03003

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what significant diversions of planned spend within the transport budget in 2007-08 will result from the review of major transport projects conducted in June 2007.

The Budget Billfor 2007-08 Financial Year was laid before Scottish Ministers in January 2007,this outlines the spending plans voted by Parliament for the 2007-08 financialyear. The Annual Budget Cycle permits revisions to the Budget Bill, the firstbeing the Autumn Budget Revisions and later the Spring Budget Revisions, whichare both laid before Parliament.

Any revisions tothe spending plans for 2007-08 resulting from the review of Transport Scotland Major Projects in June 2007 will be reflected inthese Budget Revisions.

Question reference: S3W-03023

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional passengers used the 10 airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd in the first year of operation of the Air Discount Scheme.

Question reference: S3W-03004

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the increase in transport spending was in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 relative to the 2004-05 budget and what proportion of this additional expenditure in each year was for construction costs of major transport projects.

The spendingplans for financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 were determined as aresult of the last Spending Review SSR04 and the spending plans for thesefinancial years were published in Building A Better Scotland: Spending Proposals 2005-08 – Enterprise, Opportunity, Fairness.

Detailed spendingplans for each Portfolio were published in The Scottish Executive DraftBudget 2005-06 (published 15 October 2004).

As a result of the last Spending Review SSR04, transport spending increased from £883 millionin 2004-05 to £1.3 billion by 2007-08.

Question reference: S3W-03412

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish this year's estimate of the size of Scotland's transport carbon footprint.

Carbon emissions fromall sources, including transport, are published annually in Greenhouse Gas Inventoriesfor England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (GHGI). The most recent publicationcovers emissions between 1990 and 2004, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 42395). The next publication will cover1990 to 2005 and, whilst a precise date is yet to be confirmed, is expected to bepublished in September 2007.

The Executive is alsoundertaking work to produce a Carbon Balance Sheet for transport in Scotland. In addition to the data from the GHGI, this will reportthe incremental carbon emissions impact of all significant policies, projects andprogrammes implemented since 2004. It is anticipated that a first version of thiswill be published during 2008.