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-16987

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the recommendation in Rural Partnership for Change: Report of the National Steering Group that the grant appraisal for self-build houses in certain rural areas should be amended to reflect self-builders' labour costs.

Question reference: S1W-16980

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to create a specific primary dwelling land use category, as recommended in Rural Partnership for Change: Report of the National Steering Group.

Question reference: S1W-16985

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when responsibility for grant funding for affordable housing is transferred to local authorities, it will require relevant authorities to operate a uniform project appraisal methodology across Scotland and what discretion it intends should be allowed for grant aid for projects in areas where costs exceed cost guidelines due to high land acquisition or infrastructure costs or constraints in local contracting capacity.

As provided for under section 93 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, Scottish Ministers will make regulations setting out the purpose, procedures and terms and conditions that all local authorities will have to observe in providing financial assistance for housing purposes. The Regulations will specify the scope for dealing with particular local circumstances. Ministers will consult local authorities and others about the content of the regulations.

Question reference: S1W-16989

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the recommendation in Rural Partnership for Change: Report of the National Steering Group that sustainable development requirements should be incorporated into planning consents.

Question reference: S1W-17007

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it gave to the Ayrshire Joint Structure Plan Committee about including the proposed Girvan by-pass in its draft Ayrshire Structure Plan.

Question reference: S1W-16986

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it proposes to undertake in the light of the recommendation in Rural Partnership for Change: Report of the National Steering Group that ways should be considered of allowing local authorities to enter into equity loan schemes to enable the construction of affordable housing by private developers.

Question reference: S1W-16988

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will act on the recommendation in Rural Partnership for Change: Report of the National Steering Group that it should provide financial assistance to low-income households in the owner occupier sector in certain rural areas to enable them to convert or extend their houses to meet changing household needs.

Scottish Homes currently has no authority to provide financial assistance of this type. We appreciate the reasons for this recommendation and the possible benefits, but it would be difficult to administer such a scheme while ensuring safeguards on the use of public money and establishing that the benefits provide value for money. However, all aspects of assistance to owners as it relates to housing quality are within the remit of the Housing Improvement Task Force. I have made arrangements for the report to be brought to the attention of the task force so that this and other issues can receive full consideration in its work.

Question reference: S1W-17008

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it gave to the Ayrshire Joint Structure Plan Committee and South Ayrshire Council about protecting the line of the proposed Girvan by-pass.

Question reference: S1W-17010

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive which of the recommendations made in Review of the Regulatory Burden: IACS and Inspections in Scotland have been implemented in full or in part and what progress has been made in, and what targets set for the completion of, the implementation of the remaining recommendations.

16 of the 23 Red Tape Review recommendations have now been implemented in full. These are recommendations 1-3, 6-12, and 15-21, and they include the establishment of an independent appeals mechanism, improvements in inspections and important developments on communication with producers.

The remaining seven are all in progress, and require longer-term action. The roll-out of Electronic Service Delivery (recommendation 2) for submission of scheme applications is now well underway, with a forward timetable publicised along with the External Communications Strategy. Recommendation 13 has been raised at EU level. It is mostly concerned with the simplification of the CAP, and is being discussed in the relevant EC working groups. Some of the elements of Recommendation 14, which deal mainly with specific Scheme operational or policy rules, have been implemented and others are under active consideration. The remaining four (namely 4, 5, 22 and 23) are also being actively progressed with further progress expected this autumn. These recommendations concern moving to a map based Field Data Sheet, integrating IACS further with the agricultural census, and producing guidance notes on specific situations.

Question reference: S1W-13836

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 July 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what files it, its Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies hold on Mr Peter Cherbi and whether it will disclose the contents of these files to him.