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-27263

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26119 by Tavish Scott on 13 June 2006, whether it has established a Public Service Obligation in respect of the current Northern Isles ferry re-tendering process and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

The Executive concluded a PublicService Contract (PSC) on 6 July 2006 for the provision of ferry services to the Northern Isles.Provision for PSCs is made in article 4.1 of the EU Maritime Cabotage Regulation3277/92 of 7 December 1992. The Executive tendered the subsidy for the service asa PSC rather than a Public Service Obligation (PSO) since it provided the meansto achieve the quality standards and security of service required to meet the Executive’sobjective of ensuring adequate transport services to the Northern Isles.

Question reference: S2W-27265

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26119 by Tavish Scott on 13 June 2006, whether it has established a Public Service Obligation in respect of the re-tendering process to provide a ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

The Executive is pursuing a PublicService Contract (PSC) in an effort to identify a possible operator for a subsidisedferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle. Provision for PSCs is made inarticle 4.1 of the EU Maritime Cabotage Regulation 3277/92 of 7 December 1992. the Executive tendered the subsidy for the service as a PSC rather than a Public ServiceObligation (PSO) since it provided the means to achieve the quality standards andsecurity of service to meet the Executive’s objective of improving accessibilityand promoting economic opportunity for the areas involved.

Question reference: S2W-27266

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the content is of any Public Service Obligation (PSO) in respect of the re-tendering process to provide a ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle and when such PSO was established.

The Executive is currently pursuinga Public Service Contract (PSC) rather than a Public Service Obligation (PSO) inseeking to identify a possible operator for a subsidised ferry service for thisroute, as set out in the answer to question S2W-27265 on 3 August 2006. All answersto written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, thesearch facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-27264

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the content is of any Public Service Obligation (PSO) in respect of the current Northern Isles ferry re-tendering process and when such PSO was established.

The Executive concluded the NorthernIsles Ferry Services contract on 6 July 2006 as a Public Service Contract (PSC) rather than a PublicService Obligation (PSO) as set out in the answer to question S2W-27263 on 3 August 2006. All answersto written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, thesearch facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-27202

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 1 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to ensure that the advantage Scottish universities perceived they have gained through the Fresh Talent visa scheme, when recruiting foreign students, is maintained in light of the proposed introduction by the Home Office of a similar scheme across the United Kingdom.

The introduction of the newUnited Kingdom-wide scheme allows postgraduate students, and some first degreestudents within very specific disciplines, to remain and work in the UK for amaximum of one year. However, the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme is different and stronger in that it offers the opportunity to work for two years, andincludes all Master’s, first degree, PhD and Higher National Diploma graduates whosuccessfully complete their studies. This is a significant advantage, and wewill continue to work with Scottish higher and further education institutionsto promote the scheme to international students.

Question reference: S2W-27203

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have received a visa under the Fresh Talent initiative in its first 12 months, broken down by month and, of those, how many are known to be (a) resident, (b) not resident and (c) in employment in Scotland.

Data on numbers ofsuccessful applicants to the Fresh Talent:Working in Scotland Scheme (FT:WISS) hasnow been passed to the Scottish Executive by the Home Office and UKVisas. Successful applications by month are listed in the followingtable.

Month
2005
June-July	101
August	129
September	141
October	216
November	293
December	294

Month
2006
January	407
February	152
March	89
April	40
May	58
June	60
Total	1,980

Further information onsuccessful applicants, including their current location and employment status,is being gathered through a questionnaire issued by the Relocation AdvisoryService. This data will be published in due course.

Question reference: S2W-26948

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26119 by Tavish Scott on 13 June 2006 which stated that “there is no need to consider, nor do we intend to consider, issues arising in relation to PSOs”, whether it has any concerns that the subsidy of ferry services on the Tarbert to Portavadie and Gourock to Dunoon routes and elsewhere on the Clyde and Hebrides network could be construed as constituting illegal EC state aid and therefore that the routes could be subject to immediate cessation.

There is no threat of whichwe are aware of immediate cessation. The Commission has welcomed the steps thatthe Executive is taking to tender the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services and thus bring thesubsidy arrangements into line with European law, including State aid rules.

In any case, the impositionof a PSO would not exempt the Executive from the State aid rules and would notsolve any State aid problems that existed. PSOs are imposed under the MaritimeCabotage Regulation which is entirely separate from the State aid rules.

Question reference: S2W-26946

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26119 by Tavish Scott on 13 June 2006, whether it has taken external legal advice to confirm whether a public service obligation is a prerequisite for the subsidy of ferry services on the Tarbert to Portavadie and Gourock to Dunoon routes and elsewhere on the Clyde and Hebrides network.

Question reference: S2W-26947

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26119 by Tavish Scott on 13 June 2006, whether it considers that, in the absence of a public service obligation, the subsidy to ferry services on the Tarbert to Portavadie and Gourock to Dunoon routes and elsewhere on the Clyde and Hebrides network can be justified under EC law or whether it considers that the subsidy to such services would be ruled as illegal state aid, given that Article 4.2 of the EC Maritime Cabotage Regulations 1992 states that compensation could be paid for public service obligations.

Question reference: S2W-26937

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 29 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26119 by Tavish Scott on 13 June 2006, whether it will explain and expand on the statement that “Public Service Obligations (PSOs) would not provide that certainty and security of service nor deliver on the Executive’s key policy objectives”.

Article 4.2 of the Maritime CabotageRegulation (Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying theprinciple of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within memberstates (maritime cabotage)) notes that, in imposing PSOs, “Member States shall belimited to requirements concerning ports to be served, regularity, continuity, frequency,capacity to provide the service, rates to be charged and manning of the vessel”.Usually the PSO approach may not be sufficient to meet essential transport needs,in particular conditions concerning quality of service. No such limitationsare applicable to Public Service Contracts (PSCs) which may therefore deal witha wider range of matters and thus go further to secure certainty and security ofservice. The Executive is currently tendering the Gourock to Dunoon ferry serviceon the basis of a PSC as that approach is consistent with the Executive’s key policyobjectives.