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: S1W-05120

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 16 March 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer what additional elements (a) the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and (b) the design team have added to the design brief for the new Parliament building since 1 June 1999; what date each additional element was added; why each addition was approved, and what the estimated cost is of each addition.

Question reference: S1W-05123

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 16 March 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has been advised that the new Parliament building will require further planning permissions in the light of design changes made since 1 June 1999.

Question reference: S1W-05117

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 16 March 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer what estimated cost for the new Parliament building at Holyrood was provided to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body (SPCB) by the design team at each SPCB meeting when the project was discussed from 1 June 1999 onwards.

Question reference: S1W-05119

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 16 March 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer at how many Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body meetings, from 1 June 1999 onwards, the design, space or cost of the new Parliament building was discussed.

Question reference: S1W-05122

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 16 March 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer whether the report from the design team to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body's 22 February meeting, including any verbal estimates of costs of construction fees, fitting out, VAT and any other additional costs relating to the project given at the meeting, will be published.

Question reference: S1O-01364

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that it will provide no special deficit funding for Scottish Opera for the financial year 2000-01.

Question reference: S1W-04724

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 9 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken since July to find a successor user for the Volvo plant in Irvine, including details of any financial incentives for successor users proposed during that period.

My officials and officials of Enterprise Ayrshire and Locate in Scotland have been working closely with Volvo since the closure announcement in an attempt to secure a continuing engineering operation on the Irvine site.

Locate in Scotland, Enterprise Ayrshire and the Scottish Executive have been acting as brokers between Volvo and potentially interested parties and have also been working with Volvo and other members of the Volvo Liaison Group (including North Ayrshire Council and unions from the Volvo plant at Irvine) to market the site and its highly skilled workforce. Approximately 1,000 marketing brochures have been sent out by LiS to a wide range of manufacturing companies across the globe. Enterprise Ayrshire commissioned an industry specialist to identify opportunities for alternative manufacturing at the Volvo site that would utilise the considerable skills of the workforce. We have also been attempting to stimulate interest by approaching a number of companies directly, at home and abroad. There has been no positive outcome to any of these endeavours.

I am confident that every possible avenue has been explored in terms of UK and worldwide opportunities. Unfortunately, despite these exhaustive efforts to find an alternative user for the plant, it has not been possible to identify a successor user before the closure of the plant at the end of June.Discussions with potential investors about possible financial assistance are always carried out on a commercially confidential basis. I can however confirm that any interested party has been made aware of the range of support potentially available. This will continue to be the case.

Question reference: S1W-04725

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 9 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will now take to save jobs at the Volvo Factory in Irvine, following the announcement by management that the Scottish Executive has not found a successor user for the plant.

Local agencies remain committed to providing support and advice to the workforce and supporting retraining and upskilling to meet local labour market requirements. To date some 300 employees have taken advantage of the retraining and upskilling opportunities available. Support mechanisms provided by key local agencies will remain in place until the closure date.

Officials from the Scottish Executive, Enterprise Ayrshire and Locate in Scotland will continue to promote the value of the site and the skilled workforce to all potentially interested parties.The Executive and local agencies will continue to liaise with Volvo over the future of the site. Volvo has now appointed property agents to carry out an option appraisal on possible future use.

Question reference: S1W-04602

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has had with Enterprise Ayrshire regarding the future of the Volvo factory in Irvine.

Question reference: S1W-04394

Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 6 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will contact North Ayrshire Council to discuss the implications of the council again having an annual budget deficit which may be over #6 million.

I have regular contact with councils on a range of financial matters and I place a great deal of importance in ensuring there is probity in local authority spending. It is a matter for local authorities themselves to determine their own budgets and to ensure that they take the necessary steps to remedy any deficits. North Ayrshire Council's Aggregate External Finance for 2000-01 is rising by £6.2 million or 4.4% to £149.2 million and its expenditure guideline is increasing by £6.2 million or 3.5% to £183.3 million.