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-07285

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the Clackmannanshire local authority area will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Information on smallbusinesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However, information onthe number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible forrelief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available for the local authorityarea concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk). This information is shown asfollows:

Number of Properties	Rateable Value of Property
Number of Properties	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
Clackmannanshire	977	77	125	1,179

Notes:

(i) The rateable valueranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish BudgetSpending Review 2007.

(ii) The table showsthe number of non-domestic properties, excluding zero rated properties, with rateablevalues of up to £15,000 in the Clackmannanshire local authority area.

(iii) The number ofeligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties ineach area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affecteligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will dependon:

the combined rateablevalue of all properties in Scotland which a business owns, leases or is otherwiseentitled to occupy;

whether the propertyis eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level of otherpublic sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-07284

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executivewhether, in light of the current reviews of quangos, it has any plans to work with Historic Scotland to take further active steps to reinforce its role to safeguard the nation’s historic environment.

We want to achievea simpler, more effective public sector for Scotland by removing duplication, simplifyingstructures and stopping activities that do not contribute to the government’s objectives.Work is underway to consider specific proposals to simplify and streamline the existingpublic service landscape, including the organisations which have a role in safeguardingScotland’s historic environment. We will announce further details to Parliamentshortly.

Question reference: S3W-07474

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 12 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make, or has considered making, non-judicial mediation procedures compulsory in cases of family breakdown.

Question reference: S3W-07472

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on giving equal access to legal aid to fathers in cases of family breakdown following the parliamentary Family Law (Scotland) Bill debate on 15 December 2005.

Question reference: S3W-07473

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 12 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to create, or has considered creating, incentives to both parents to participate in non-judicial mediation procedures in cases of family breakdown.

The Scottish Governmentis committed to delivering effective support for families experiencing breakdownand has invested considerably in the family support sector. The incentive for parentsto participate in mediation is that it yields consensual outcomes on issues to beresolved on family breakdown. This is beneficial for the parents and children involvedand further incentives are not considered necessary.

Question reference: S3W-07296

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will rule out any merger of Clackmannanshire local authority with Stirling.

I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-6972 on 29 November 2007, where I reaffirmed my announcement of the summerthat there will be no boundaries reform of local government during thisParliament. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

We are currentlyfunding Stirling and Clackmannanshire to deliver a feasibilitystudy into joint working. The project timescales have been extended to ensurethat the report has fully addressed the complex issues associated with a jointworking proposal. I await that report and any further joint proposals theauthorities might make with interest.

Question reference: S3W-07295

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make changes to local authority boundaries.

Question reference: S3W-07286

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the Stirling local authority area will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Information onsmall businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties whichmay be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is availablefor the local authority area concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal www.saa.gov.uk. This information is asfollows:

Number of Properties	Rateable Value of Property
Number of Properties	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
Stirling	2,816	260	380	3,456

Notes:

(i) The rateablevalue ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The tableshows the number of non-domestic properties (excluding zero-rated subjects) withrateable values of up to £15,000 in the Stirling local authority area.

(iii) The numberof eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic propertiesin each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This mayaffect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which willdepend on:

the combinedrateable value of all properties in Scotland which a business owns, leases or -is otherwise entitled to occupy;

whether theproperty is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level ofother public sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-05813

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support allotments through its national planning strategy.

National planningpolicy on open space is set out in National Planning Policy Guideline 11: Sport,Physical Recreation and Open Space. This is currently under review and willshortly be replaced by Scottish Planning Policy 11: Open Space and Physical Activity(SPP 11).

Allotments can beof great value to the community and can create opportunities for local food production,physical activity, healthy eating and biodiversity. SPP 11 recognises thisand will require local authorities to take a strategic, long-term approach to managingopen space, including allotments, within their areas, objectively assessing communityneeds and protecting open spaces which can help to meet those needs.

Question reference: S3O-01003

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Ochil, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether representations have been received from Clackmannanshire Council concerning any unforeseen costs associated with PFI schemes and, if so, what the outcomes of any discussions have been.