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-27234

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive to list by (a) forest, (b) type of project and (c) level of investment, each timber transport infrastructure project that has received, or has been approved to receive, financial assistance from the Scottish Strategic Timber Transport Fund and, if no such projects have been supported or approved for support, whether it will indicate in which financial year it anticipates that this fund will be used for the primary purpose for which it was established.

On 31 May 2006, I announced thefirst four awards totalling £420,400 from the Strategic Timber TransportScheme:

1. ProgrammeManager/Facilitator for Stirling and Tayside areas: awarded £25,000 of £34,000project costs.

2. SKOTKA South of Scotlandtimber logistics programme: awarded £ 68,900 of £473,000 project costs.(aproject with national value to the timber haulage sector, with work based insouth west Scotland)

3. ProgrammeManager/Co-ordinator for Argyll: awarded £94,000 of £152,000 project costs.

4. Study into theperformance of forest and public roads under timber transport traffic: awarded£232,500 of £336,500 project costs (a project with national value to the timberhaulage sector and local authorities, with work based in south west Scotland).

It is through the Schemethat applicants can obtain financial support from the Strategic TimberTransport Fund if the criteria are met. The aim of the Fund is to facilitatethe sustainable transport of timber in rural areas of Scotland forthe benefit of local communities and the environment.

Another project seeking some£2.2 million of £3.2 million project costs, in Dumfries and Galloway, isbeing discussed between the applicant and Forestry Commission Scotland whomanage the Scheme on behalf of the Executive.

A second tranche ofapplications received on 22 June, representing bids for £3.1 million of £4.7 millionproject costs, is currently being assessed. Six of the applications are forcapital works, both rail and road based.

The geographical spread of the seven applications is:

Area	Number of Applications
Highland	2
Argyll	3
Highland Perthshire	1
South west Scotland	1

Dates of the further roundsof applications are given in the user guidance, with the closing date for thenext round being 31 August 2006.

Question reference: S2W-26933

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 29 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to provide sufficient extra rail carriages to enable all First ScotRail services to be included, except sleeper services, if the free concessionary travel scheme for pensioners and disabled people were extended to rail travel.

Transport Scotland doesnot have this information.

It should be noted that the impactof extending the concessionary travel scheme to include First ScotRail serviceswould not be restricted to availability of carriages but could also impact on stationplatform lengths, station facilities, staffing levels, revenue collection proceduresand potentially the national timetable.

There are currently no plansto extend the concessionary travel scheme to include First ScotRail services.

Question reference: S2W-26934

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 23 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will instruct Transport Scotland to extend the concessionary travel scheme to rail travel on rail routes where there is no overcrowding problem and thus no consequent need for additional rolling stock.

Question reference: S2W-26801

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 23 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided any “absolute assurances” to the Scottish Crofting Foundation in relation to the Crofting Reform etc. Bill as reported in the West Highland Free Press on 2 June 2006 and, if so, whether any such assurances were in writing, whether the Executive will publish a copy of the assurances and place it in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and why the assurances were not made available to the public when they were written; whether the Executive will publish draft amendments to the Bill which will implement such assurances, and whether it considers that it should make public all material which constitutes assurances about amendments which it intends to introduce at Stage 2 of a Bill.

Ministers and the Scottish Executiveare not in a position to give any assurances about any bill which is under considerationby Parliament. A meeting was held with the Scottish Crofting Foundation to discussthe Bill and a copy of a memo outlining the conclusions of that meeting was sentto the SCF. This memo has already been the subject of a request for informationunder the Freedom of Information Act and was released. It will be published in boththe Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39898) and the Executive’swebsite, in line with the Executive’s publication scheme. Although it is not usualpractice to publish possible amendments to a bill under consideration by Parliament,where we have indicated to the Environment and Rural Development Committee thatwe intend to amend the bill we have published those amendments.

Question reference: S2W-26665

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 19 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the operation of the concessionary travel scheme and, in particular, whether it will extend the scheme so that people who must visit family in the islands of Scotland, but who are resident on the mainland, and who are involved in helping to provide care for their family living in the islands, can be entitled to free travel.

The introduction on 1 April 2006 of theScotland-wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and Disabled People meets the PartnershipAgreement commitment to a national free off-peak bus scheme for older people andpeople with disabilities. In addition, two free return ferry journeys annually arebeing offered to all eligible islands residents. Although we are closely monitoringthe operation of the scheme, we do not have plans to extend the ferry concessionelement.

Question reference: S2W-26452

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 16 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any instances where two separate discount cards for the discount air fares scheme have been issued to individuals and, if so, how this situation could have arisen.

The Scottish Executive isaware that, in a limited number of cases, two separate discount cards have beensent to the same individual. This can happen when individual applicants havesubmitted more than one application form and when the information contained onthe form differs. For example first and middle names can be transposed; only supplyinginitials in one case; incorrect or transposed date of birth and the use ofshortened or alternative versions of first or middle names. The Executive isworking hard to prevent this wherever possible.

Question reference: S2W-26172

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 6 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any minister has plans to visit Mallaig and, if so, on what date.

Question reference: S2W-26171

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 6 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any minister will visit Mallaig to explain what the impact may be on Mallaig, on the surrounding area and businesses involved in fishing of being part of a coastal marine national park.

Question reference: S2W-26163

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 5 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, before any coastal and marine national park is established, there will be a referendum seeking the approval of those who are on the electoral roll in the area covered by the proposed park.

Question reference: S2W-26164

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 5 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would establish a coastal and marine national park in circumstances where the majority of the people in a referendum, who are qualified to vote by being on the electoral register on the areas within the boundaries of the proposed park, rejected the proposal.