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: S4W-18972

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what stakeholders it consulted prior to publication of the white paper on independence about establishing a separate regulator for (a) advertising and (b) gambling in an independent Scotland.

Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland was informed by a range of research and discussions.Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland makes no proposals in relation to a separate regulator for advertising in an independent Scotland. Advertising is self regulated by the industry through the Advertising Standards Authority. Independence need make no difference to this. Gambling in England, Wales and Scotland is currently regulated by the Gambling Commission. It is in the interests of both Scotland and England and Wales to ensure stability of the regulation of gambling during the transitional period. We will consult widely with all stakeholders before deciding whether to establish an independent gambling regulator.

Question reference: S4W-18970

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what stakeholders it consulted about establishing a separate media regulator in an independent Scotland prior to publication of the white paper on independence.

Question reference: S4W-19002

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18742 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013, whether any delivery company was used in addition to Royal Mail to distribute the postcard in support of the white paper on independence.

Question reference: S4W-18975

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 10 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) legal implications and (b) cost for consumers of maintaining the UK International Telecommunication Union code in an independent Scotland.

Scotland’s international dialling code will be set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) when Scotland is formally recognised as an independent country by the United Nations. As set out in Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland, we will seek to ensure that Scotland continues to use the 0044 international dialling code, through the ITU. This would be similar to the current shared use of the 001 international dialling code by a number of North American countries including Canada and the USA.

On the basis that telecoms markets currently operate on a Great Britain-wide basis and will continue to do so following independence, and given the existing practice of countries sharing international dialling codes, the Scottish Government has assessed that the continued use of the 0044 code is achievable and that there will therefore be no legal and cost implications of maintaining this code in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-18974

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 10 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what industry stakeholders it consulted about coverage obligations for internet providers prior to publication of the white paper on independence.

The Scottish Government has regular engagement with industry stakeholders, at both ministerial and official level, which informed the approach to telecommunications in an independent Scotland that was set out in Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland. This engagement included general discussions on coverage obligations.

Specific coverage obligations would be a matter for the government of an independent Scotland and industry stakeholders would be consulted on the development of such proposals at the appropriate time. Independence would allow us to deliver a more coherent approach to extending mobile and broadband coverage across Scotland than is currently possible by aligning policy, taxation, funding and regulation.

Question reference: S4W-18742

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it used the Royal Mail to deliver copies of its leaflet regarding the white paper on independence and, if not, which service it used.

Question reference: S4W-18743

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of producing the white paper on independence and of the paper’s launch and subsequent advertising campaign.

I refer the member to the Official Report of the Meeting of the Parliament on Tuesday 26 November 2013 at column 24856. The official report is available at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/OfficialReport.aspx

I also refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18194 on 18 December 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-18676

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many working hours extensions have been granted for (a) marine and (b) exceptional works since the start of construction on the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Question reference: S4W-18680

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours have been worked on the Forth Replacement Crossing project (a) after 7pm on Monday to Friday and (b) after 6pm on Saturday.

The Code of Construction Practice allows for 24 hour working on marine works, which has and continues to take place other than planned shut downs at holiday periods and as a result of adverse weather. For non-marine works, the total number of approved hours after 7pm on Mondays to Fridays and after 6pm on Saturdays is 1,245 and relate predominantly to the principal contract concrete batching plant in Rosyth docks, and some overnight works on Fife ITS and M9 Junction 1a for gantry erection and asphalting. This total does not include main crossing works undertaken on Saturdays between 6pm and 7pm, which are permitted in the Code of Construction Practice. The actual number of hours worked of the approved total is not recorded centrally.

Question reference: S4W-18678

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours have been worked on construction on the Forth Replacement Crossing project outwith normal working hours as defined in the Forth Replacement Crossing Code of Construction Practice.

The Code of Construction Practice allows for 24 hour working on marine works, which has and continues to take place other than planned shut downs at holiday periods and as a result of adverse weather. For non-marine works, the total number of approved hours out with normal working hours is 3,495 and relate predominantly to the principal contract concrete batching plant in Rosyth docks, and some overnight works on Fife ITS and M9 Junction 1a for gantry erection and asphalting. The actual number of hours worked of the approved total is not recorded centrally.