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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2853 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S2W-13270

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement on concessionary travel on 22 December 2004, how much the proposed smart card scheme will cost.

Question reference: S2W-13264

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite the Auditor General for Scotland to investigate the implications of the Skye Bridge contract for future public finance initiatives and whether the public funding allocated under the contract represented good use of public money.

Question reference: S2W-13268

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to obtain agreement from the European Union to any alternative proposals to tendering the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.

During the parliamentary debate on ferry services on 8 December 2004 the Parliament expressed concerns regarding the tendering process. I agreed to discuss these concerns with the European Commission and raised this issue with the European Transport Commissioner, M Barrot, when I met him in Brussels on 9 December 2004. Following that meeting I wrote to M Barrot asking whether there was any way, within the terms of European law relating to maritime cabotage, to allow the Clyde and Hebrides services to continue to be delivered on a subsidisedbasis without the need to tender. Further discussions are taking place between the Executive and the European Commission and I will report back to Parliament on thisissue as soon as possible.

Question reference: S2W-13271

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement on concessionary travel on 22 December 2004, whether it will provide detailed estimates in respect of the cost of the concessionary travel scheme for (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.

As indicated in my statement, the maximum payment for the national free bus scheme for older and disabled people will be £159 million in 2006-07 and £163 million in 2007‑08. Actual expenditure within that cap will depend on the number of concessionary passengers and the cost of the journeys carried out. As also indicated in my statement, payment will be at the rate of 73.6% of the average adult fare.

Question reference: S2W-13320

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports Lochaber's bid to become the outdoor capital of the United Kingdom.

Question reference: S2W-13321

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of children who have the opportunity, through school-organised trips, to participate in outdoor activity and whether it considers that National Park boards should play a role in facilitating such activity.

I want more young people to experience the far reaching benefits and opportunities which outdoor activities can bring, and school organised excursions provide an important means of encouraging that. I have asked Learning and Teaching Scotland to take forward the development of outdoor education.

It would be for the National Park Boards themselves to consider, in association with local authorities and other relevant interests, what role the boards might have in facilitating school organised excursions and I would welcome their active interest and actions to support expanding outdoor education.

Question reference: S2W-13333

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote shinty; in particular, whether it has any plans to support the establishment of shinty as an internationally-recognised sport with its own federation and, if not, how the sport can achieve such recognition.

As the governing body for the sport, the Camanachd Association is responsible for promoting shinty. One of the targets in the Association’s Development Plan is to promote shinty and its cultural history to as broad an audience as is possible. It is for the association to seek to identify other areas where shinty is played and then explore with interested parties there the possible formation of an international governing body for the sport.

Question reference: S2W-12857

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a ministerial statement regarding the buy out of the PFI of Inverness Airport Terminal; whether it will provide an estimate of the costs of buying out the PFI, and whether it recognises potential benefits from the buy out for the economy of the Highlands and Inverness in particular.

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has recently undertaken a full review of the PFI contract at Inverness Airport Terminal and the impact of a buy-out on the airport and the wider economy. With the support of the Executive, HIAL is now seeking to secure the buy-out of the contract. HIAL will be aiming to secure best value for the taxpayer in these sensitive negotiations and an announcement will be made at their conclusion.

Question reference: S2W-12852

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11627 by Nicol Stephen on 19 November 2004, whether it is yet in a position to publish copies of the franchise agreement between it and First Group plc.

The parties to the franchise agreement are the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and First ScotRail. As stated in S2W-11627 answered on the 19November 2004, the SRA are under a statutory obligation to publish the franchise agreement.

Once the statutory process is complete and the ScotRail franchise agreement is placed in the SRA’s public register, copies of this will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre.

Question reference: S2W-12848

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct, or invite, the City of Edinburgh Council to seek approval from the Electoral Commission of the proposed wording of the question in the forthcoming referendum on toll proposals and of the proposal to send to each household a leaflet setting out the council's plans; whether the Executive is satisfied that the council's proposals are fair; whether the Executive has any powers in relation to the referendum, including the holding or funding of the referendum, that would enable it to require the council to amend its plans; whether the Executive has had any correspondence with the council, its officials or those acting on its behalf regarding the wording of the question on the referendum ballot paper or the proposal to fund the cost and issue a leaflet to each household regarding the transport plans.

The wording of the question in the forthcoming non statutory referendum on the Council’s Local Transport Strategy is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council. The Executive has not provided funding for the referendum, nor the associated information campaign.

Due to the nature of Scottish ministers’ quasi judicial role in confirming a charging order, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time on any particular aspect of the proposed scheme.