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-03455

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make the Strategic Rail Authority a statutory consultee for local authorities and other planning bodies (a) when structure and local plans are being prepared and (b) when relevant planning applications are under consideration.

The Executive has no plans to make specific statutory provision for the Strategic Rail Authority to be consulted in such circumstances.There are no specified statutory consultees in the development planning process. However, existing requirements on planning authorities to publicise their development planning activity and to consult appropriate authorities and bodies afford the Strategic Rail Authority adequate opportunity to make representations at the appropriate stages.

Question reference: S1W-03456

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be able to require the Strategic Rail Authority to lay before the Scottish Parliament an annual report on its activities, its income and expenditure, and its existing and future strategies, in relation to rail services in Scotland, including those beginning and ending in Scotland.

Under the Executive Devolution Order that came into effect on 1 July 1999 the Franchising Director is required to lay an annual report before the Scottish Parliament. Under the UK Transport Bill the Strategic Rail Authority will assume the functions of the Franchising Director. The Scottish Executive and the UK Government will consequently lay a new Executive Devolution Order to carry forward the function of laying the annual report.

Question reference: S1W-03459

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether money raised in fines on rail operations in Scotland is or will be retained by it or paid to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority.

The Franchising Director, part of the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, operates a GB-wide Incentive Payment regime which rewards good performance by train operating companies and penalises poor performance. All penalty payments received by the Franchising Director are held by him to support his GB-wide expenditure. To date ScotRail is the single largest beneficiary of incentive payments. Last year alone the company's good performance earned it over £6 million in incentive payments.Penalty income derived from enforcement procedures applied by the Rail Regulator and the Franchising Director under the Railways Act 1993 is paid into the UK Consolidated Fund.

Question reference: S1W-02964

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 7 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include the three Ayrshire local authorities in the "consultation with other authorities in the Wider Area" in relation to the proposed M74 northern extension.

Question reference: S1W-03896

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 4 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it still intends to construct a pedestrian footbridge across the A77 at Hansel Village, Symington.

Question reference: S1W-03850

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 3 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will (a) estimate the total cost of freight facilities grant applications currently under consideration and (b) state the total available resources; whether it intends to seek additional resources and, if not, how it intends to prioritise existing resources in order to achieve the best value.

The Scottish Executive is currently assessing nine applications for Freight Facilities Grant. All applications are subject to a rigorous economic appraisal. Since this appraisal has yet to be completed for these nine applications it is not possible to give reliable figures for the costs of schemes or for the amount of grant that might be awarded.The present allocation for Freight Facilities Grants in Scotland is £18.3 million for the three years between 1999 and 2002, of which £9 million has so far been committed. Funding for the scheme beyond this period will be subject to the consideration of spending priorities for the Scottish Executive as a whole.

Question reference: S1W-03802

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 1 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the M74 Northern Extension sufficiently meets its strategic roads assessment criteria to be allowed to progress in its current form.

Question reference: S1W-03784

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was consulted by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on proposals for exemptions for flights from airports in the Scottish Highlands and Islands from Air Passenger Duty; whether it supported such proposals based on low population density; whether it expressed an opinion on the treatment of inter-connecting flights, and why it did not consult the Transport and Environment Committee on this matter.

The Scottish Executive was not included in HM Customs and Excise's formal consultation exercise on Air Passenger Duty. The Executive is very well aware of the vital importance of lifeline air services to the economic and social wellbeing of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland. Through its regular contacts with the UK Government, the Executive will add its support for changes which will secure exemptions for Highlands & Islands air services in recognition of the vital but fragile nature of many of the routes. It is for the Transport and Environment Committee to consider whether it wishes to comment on this reserved issue.

Question reference: S1W-03762

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 28 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Transport and the Environment advised relevant council leaders when she met them on 21 December 1999 that the Executive believes that they should make any scheme revisions to the proposed M74 Northern Extension.

The Executive's position on the M74 Northern Extension was set out in my statement to Parliament on 4 November and in the report on the Strategic Roads Review which was published on the same day. As I explained on 13 January, in response to S1O-917, discussion at my meeting with the council leaders on 21 December focused on how the councils might deliver their proposal. It is, however, for the Councils, as the scheme's promoters, to decide on all aspects of the procurement, including the scheme details.

Question reference: S1W-03674

Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 26 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3423 by Sarah Boyack on 16 December 1999, whether it will publicise the criteria which it will use to determine whether the proposed Public Private Partnerships for the M77 Fenwick to Malletsheugh motorway extension demonstrate value for money.