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-15103

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with government officials from (a) Iraqi Kurdistan, (b) Iraq and (c) Turkey in the last six months.

Question reference: S4W-15105

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many times ministers have met officials from the government of Iraqi Kurdistan in the last 12 months; where the meetings took place, and what was discussed.

No meetings with ministers and officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government took place over the last 12 months.

I had a courtesy meeting with Mr Zaid Izzadin Mohammed Noori, Consul General for Iraq and Dr Alawi, First Consul for Iraq who are based in Manchester on 19 February at the Scottish Parliament.

The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop had an informal meeting with Abdulrahman Dheyab, the General Director of Iraqi Culture Centre during the course of the Edinburgh International Culture Summit of 13 and 14 August. They discussed the forthcoming performance of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq during the Edinburgh Fringe and future ways of Iraq and Scotland future working together. Mr Dheyab and Ms Hyslop also attended the performance of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq on 26 August at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S4W-14940

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much the fixed element of the road equivalent tariff formula costs each driver on each crossing and how much the annual fixed costs are that this element is aimed at offsetting.

Question reference: S4W-14935

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what numerical formula it uses to calculate the road equivalent tariff and when it was first used.

The road equivalent tariff (RET) formula for a car is a fixed element of £5.00 plus a rate of £0.80 per mile. For foot passengers the RET fare is a fixed element of £2.00 plus £0.13 per mile.

This current formula was first used for the roll out of RET to Islay, Colonsay and Gigha in October 2012. The intention is to update the formula annually in line with the cost of travel and to apply the formula at the start of each summer timetable period.

Question reference: S4W-14936

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) car, (b) passenger, (c) driver and (d) pence per mile fares it uses to calculate the road equivalent tariff.

The road equivalent tariff (RET) fare for a car is calculated by a fixed element of £5.00 plus a rate per mile of £0.80.

A driver and any passengers will be charged as foot passengers. For foot passengers the RET fare is a fixed element of £2.00 plus £0.13 per mile.

The fixed cost element of the fare is designed to offset the elements on each route such as the costs of maintaining harbour infrastructure at each end of the route and the cost of maintaining the vessel.

As noted in the Ferries Plan, published in December 2012, the RET formula will be updated annually in line with the cost of travel.

The Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan (2013 – 2022) can be found at:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/strategy-and-research/publications-and-consultations/j254579-00.htm.

Question reference: S4W-14937

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the 10 most commonly driven cars in Scotland are, expressed as a percentage, and how much it costs per mile to drive them.

No information is held by the Scottish Government on the most commonly driven cars or the associated cost per mile to drive them.

Information on the 10 most popular new cars sold is available from Table 1.11 of Scottish Transport Statistics No 31: 2012 Edition. This table can be accessed by following the attached link:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/strategy-and-research/publications-and-consultations/j251205-026.htm.

Information on vehicle running costs by type and size of engine is available from the RAC and is provided in the following link:

http://www.emmerson-hill.co.uk/downloads/Motoring_Costs_April_2012.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-14938

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the equivalent road distance is, expressed in miles, for each ferry crossing used in road equivalent tariff calculations.

The information requested is set out in the following table.

Routes	Miles
Tayinloan - Gigha	2.5
Uig (Skye) - Tarbert (Harris)/Lochmaddy (North Uist)	29.2
Kennacraig - Islay	32.3
Oban - Colonsay	36.6
Ullapool - Stornoway (Lewis)	52.2
Oban - Coll/Tiree	59.7
Oban - Castlebay (Barra)/Lochboisdale (South Uist)	N/A*

Note: *For this route the mileage was not used to calculate the fare level, which would have resulted in higher fare levels.

Question reference: S4W-14939

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it received the Advertising Standards Authority findings relating to the road equivalent tariff (RET) and when CalMac Ferries Ltd's additional clarifying information about RET was or will be made publically available in CalMac Ferries Ltd's advertising.

Transport Scotland and CalMac Ferries Limited corresponded with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regarding CalMac’s advertising of RET between March and May 2013.

ASA wrote to CalMac on the 15 March 2013. The case was transferred to Transport Scotland who replied to ASA on 16 April. ASA responded with recommendations on 8 May 2013.

Following the ASA recommendations, CalMac Ferries Limited made ASA aware of their plans and updated their website and templates for printed versions of the Explore magazine. These updates provided more explanatory information about RET to CalMac’s customers.

ASA replied to CalMac, copying in Transport Scotland, on 13 May confirming that they will close their file on the complaint following the completion of the planned changes.

Question reference: S4W-14943

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the prices calculated for the road equivalent tariff are equivalent to driving the same distance by road and, if not, whether it will rename the road equivalent tariff accordingly.

Question reference: S4W-14941

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it calculates the drivers' fare element of the road equivalent tariff that is based on "other public transport modes in Scotland", given that individual bus and train fares can vary considerably.

<>Halcrow Group Limited’s “Phase 1 Stage 2 Report” published in February 2008, calculated the average cost per mile of travelling by rail and bus on different routes across Scotland. A copy of the report can be accessed through the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/935/0061364.pdf.

The report recommended a foot passenger fare of a fixed element of £2.00 plus a rate per mile of £0.10. The rate per mile was updated to £0.13 in October 2012 to reflect the then current cost of travel.