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-02881

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 15 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefit it anticipated would be gained from using public funding from the Route Development Fund to help establish direct flights from Edinburgh to New York when direct flights from Glasgow to New York were already in operation.

Question reference: S2W-02880

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 10 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to deliver new routes from Glasgow Airport.

Question reference: S2W-02844

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce an environmental court and, if so, when such plans will be implemented.

Question reference: S2W-02926

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 8 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to the capital costs of New Struan House being developed by the Scottish Society for Autism.

The Scottish Executive does notprovide capital funding to independent schools. However, support is given to organisationsworking with children and young people with autistic spectrum disorder, includingthe Scottish Society for Autism.

In 2002-04, the Executive’s SpecialEducational Needs Innovation Grants programme awarded the Scottish Society for Autism£158,249 to provide an education advisory service in partnership with Fife Council.An additional £50,000 was awarded to help kick-start the national Education OutreachService being offered through new Struan House.

The Scottish Society for Autismhas also been awarded project funding under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act1968 to develop the assessment and diagnosis service at new Struan House. This represents£82,000 in 2003-04; £46,000 in 2004-05 and £26,000 in 2005-06.

Question reference: S2W-02925

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 8 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in developing a framework to improve standards in the construction industry.

The Modernising Constructionstrategy paper, Achieving Construction Innovation and Excellencein Scotland, which was published on 27 August, set out a numberof recommendations to achieve improvements in the performance of the constructionindustry over the next three years. The key recommendations are the creation ofa Construction Innovation and Excellence Forum and Construction Innovation and ExcellenceCentre. We are currently in discussions to appoint a forum chairperson and members.Once appointed, the forum will decide on proposals and timescales for establishingthe centre.

The new Building (Scotland) Actthat was introduced in March this year will modernise the system of building standardsin Scotland, making it more responsive to the needs of the constructionindustry as well as the public.

Question reference: S2W-02882

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the British Airport Authority regarding whether the authority will adhere to the Executive's policy of dispersal of public sector jobs and services, particularly from Edinburgh.

Question reference: S2W-02885

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 7 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any research into the most effective use of the Route Development Fund.

Question reference: S2W-02807

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 7 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial impact will be on housing associations of the withdrawal of grants under section 54 of the Housing Act 1988.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her reply is as follows:

The financial impact onhousing associations will depend on their individual circumstances. However, weexpect that the majority of housing associations will be able to absorb the removalof the Section 54 Tax Relief Grant from within their current and future reserves.Where that is not the case, we are working with the sector to identify measuresto ensure that no housing association experiences viability problems as a resultof withdrawal of the grant.

Question reference: S2W-02806

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 7 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it expects to save by the withdrawal of grants under section 54 of the Housing Act 1988.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her reply is as follows:

The withdrawal of section 54Tax Relief Grant to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) will not be fully effectiveuntil 2006, when a replacement mechanism based on viability testing of RSLs willbe introduced at that time. The savings from section 54 withdrawal are projectedto be £3 million in a full year, subject to any offsetting costs arising from thenew viability mechanism. Any savings following withdrawal will be recycled backinto the Communities Scotland Development Programme.

Question reference: S2W-02884

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 7 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed (a) directly and (b) indirectly in (i) Glasgow Airport and (ii) Edinburgh Airport.