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-36031

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on asking a UK authority to circumvent the decisions made by the Scottish Parliament in the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Act 2007 by amending the statutory documents relating to the Paisley Corridor Improvement (PCI) works and, if so, whether it considers that this has constitutional implications.

Question reference: S3W-36030

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of Transport Scotland’s plans to use the powers of the Office of the Rail Regulator to change the statutory documents relating to the Paisley Corridor Improvement (PCI) works.

The PCI project is being delivered by Network Rail Infrastructure Limited in accordance with the rights and obligations conferred by the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Act (2007) and its supporting documentation.

Transport Scotland has no plans to change the Act, any proposed changes being a matter for the Parliament.

However for clarification, should there at any time in the future be a change to the Act or its supporting documents, e.g. Code of Construction Practice (CoCP), then the cost and schedule implications on the PCI project would be considered and quantified under the Office of Rail Regulations Change Control Process. Noting that in the case of the CoCP, the Act sets out at Schedule 9, the mechanism by which that document may be amended from time to time.

Question reference: S3W-35386

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Bruce Crawford on 8 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its recent case against the Scottish Information Commissioner not reaching court, what the cost was of its action regarding the commissioner's right to see Scottish Government documents.

The cost to the Scottish Government of legal advice in connection with this appeal against an information notice served by the Scottish Information Commissioner amounted to £37,195.24.

Recipients of an information notice served on them by the Scottish Information Commissioner have a right of appeal to the Court of Session. In this case, the commissioner came to an agreement with the Scottish Government and withdrew his information notice. Consequently, the appeal did not proceed.

Question reference: S3W-35708

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 6 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to support further hydro-electric developments in Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-35709

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 6 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what part increased hydro-electric development plays in its energy strategy.

Question reference: S3W-35659

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 1 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households foster for each local authority.

Question reference: S3W-35662

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 1 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are in foster care organised by independent agencies, broken down by the local authority of origin of the child.

The number of children with foster carers purchased by local authorities is given in table number 3.3 of Children Looked After Statistics 2008-09 published by the Scottish Government on 24 February 2010, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 50379).

It is not possible however to identify whether these purchased foster care placements were with independent agencies from these figures (for example, a local authority may have purchased a foster care placement from another local authority but this cannot be identified from the collected statistics).

Question reference: S3W-35660

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 1 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are in foster care organised by each local authority.

Question reference: S3W-35661

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 1 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households foster for independent agencies, broken down by the local authority area of the household.

Question reference: S3W-35272

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 July 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) work and (b) education opportunities are available to offenders in prison on remand, broken down by prison.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

(a) The work opportunities for remand prisoners are as follows:

HMP Aberdeen: Charity clothing work party.

HMP Addiewell: No work provision.

HMP Barlinnie: Internal Services jobs.

HMP & YOI Cornton Vale: Internal Services jobs.

HMP Dumfries: No work provision.

HMP Edinburgh: Laundry, Labels, General Purpose work party, Hobbies.

HMP Greenock: No work provision.

HMP Inverness: Internal Services jobs.

HMP Kilmarnock: Recycling, Textiles, Painting.

HMP Perth: Internal Services jobs.

HMYOI Polmont: Internal Services jobs.

Internal Services jobs cover general assistance in a particular area of the prison, including cleaning.

(b) The Education opportunities for remand prisoners are as follows:

HMP Aberdeen: English, Numeracy, Computing, Art for leisure.

HMP Addiewell: Healthwise, Media Studies, Art Enterprise, Brain Training, Art Project.

HMP Barlinnie: English for Speakers of Other Languages.

HMP & YOI Cornton Vale: Remand prisoners have access to Peer Tutoring for literacy. Young remand prisoners also have access to Art, Cookery and Card-making classes. Further work is being progressed to expand the range of educational opportunities available to all Remand prisoners.

HMP Dumfries: Literacy, Numeracy, Information Communication Technology, Art.

HMP Edinburgh: Computing, Maths, English.

HMP Greenock: Literacy, Numeracy, Computing, Communications, Art.

HMP Inverness: Communications, Literacy, Information Communication Technology, English for Speakers of Other Languages.

HMP Kilmarnock: Literacy, Numeracy, English, Maths, Creative Writing, IT, Art, Music.

HMP Perth: Maths, English, Information Communication technology, Art, Small Group Work (literacy), Adult Numeracy Group, English for Speakers of Other Language, Teaching Kitchen, History, Guitar, Book Keeping, Drama, Languages, Adv. Learning, Peer Tutor Training, Job Club.

HMYOI Polmont: For the remand prisoners with high educational needs, classes on literacy and numeracy are available. 16 to 17-year-old remands attend with their convicted peers, with classes on ICT, communications, literacy, numeracy, English, creative writing, poetry and citizenship available.

The following establishments do not hold remand prisoners: HMP Glenochil, Open Estate, HMP Peterhead, HMP Shotts.