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-12616

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 28 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-11998 by Kenny MacAskill on 24 January 2013, what resource is being made available in the police central government budget to deliver the savings.

Question reference: S4W-11927

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 12 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much notice farmers are given if their December single farm payments are delayed due to administrative errors.

I regret that the various pieces of information required to answer this question are either not held in a readily accessible form or not held at all. My officials have examined what would be required to extract the basic information, review the relevant claims, and compile a result. This would involve creating specific computer interrogation and reviewing individual claims. My officials have estimated that this would cost around £1200 or twice the disproportionate cost threshold (£600). However, I refer the member to the answer to question
S4W-11923 answered on 25 January 2013 that is 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-11924

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 12 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers have not yet received their 2012 single farm payments as a result of clerical errors.

I regret that the various pieces of information required to answer this question are either not held in a readily accessible form or not held at all. My officials have examined what would be required to extract the basic information, review the relevant claims, and compile a result. This would involve creating specific computer interrogation and reviewing individual claims. My officials have estimated that this would cost around £1200 or twice the disproportionate cost threshold (£600). However, I refer the member to the answer to question
S4W-11923 on 25 January 2013 that is 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-11928

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 12 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers have had their single farm payments delayed in two successive years through no fault of their own.

The European Commission has legislated for a payment window that opens on 1 December 2012 and closes on 30 June 2013. Payments are made within this window and cannot be classed as late. The Scottish Government has a good record of performance in making all payments well before the closing date. Farmers are paid as eligibility checks are completed and for individual farmers this stage will be reached at a different date within each scheme year. I regret that the various pieces of information required to answer this question are either not held in a readily accessible form or not held at all. My officials have examined what would be required to extract the basic information, review the relevant claims, and compile a result. This would involve creating specific computer interrogation and reviewing individual claims. My officials have estimated that this would cost around £1200 or twice the disproportionate cost threshold (£600). However, I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-11923 on 25 January 2013 that is 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-12419

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers (a) have met (b) are to meet UK Government ministers to discuss the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

Question reference: S4W-12418

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to work with the Groceries Code Adjudicator to ensure a fair and consistent approach to the food supply chain throughout the UK.

Question reference: S4W-12506

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 5 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has relating to maximum broadband speeds and not-spots across Shetland and how often this information is updated.

As part of the project to procure next generation broadband across the Highlands and Islands, Highlands and Islands Enterprise obtained data from suppliers that indicated where there is no current or planned (within the next three years) commercial deployment of next generation broadband in Shetland. This data has been revised during the procurement process to ensure the most up-to-date definition of the intervention area is known prior to conclusion of the procurement.

Ofcom publishes broadband speeds data annually on the following website: http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/. 2012 data indicates that average broadband speeds in Shetland are 5.2 Mbps.

Question reference: S4W-12505

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 5 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how Shetland will benefit from the (a) £120 million announced in June 2012 for Highlands and Islands digital connectivity and (b) £5 million fund announced in August 2012 to help bring next generation broadband to some of Scotland's most remote communities.

The £120 million announced in June 2012 for the Highlands and Islands and Next Generation Broadband project will deliver significant next generation broadband coverage throughout Shetland. Procurement of this project, which is being managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, is expected to conclude shortly, after which, rollout details will be known.

Community broadband projects in Shetland, and across Scotland, can register interest in the Scottish Government’s £5 million Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) Seed Fund via the CBS website:

http://www.communitybroadbandscotland.org/index.php/funding, ahead of the first open application round in April 2013. CBS launched with a pioneer phase which is supporting community broadband projects in Applecross, Colonsay, Ewes Valley, Elvanfoot, Tomintoul and Glenlivet and Corgarff and Glenbuchat.

Question reference: S4W-12462

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment's letter to Tavish Scott MSP of 17 January 2013, for what reason 10% of businesses did not receive their single farm payment before the end of 2012 and when they will be paid.

By the end of December 94% of all farmers had been paid. By 25 January, almost 98% of farmers had been paid - 18,420 from an estimated population of 18,855. The expenditure at 25 January stood at £436,857,618.76.

The EC has legislated for a payment window of 1 December to 30 June in which to settle claims. There are three main reasons why a payment might be made later:-

The need to confirm that the claim is eligible: this could involve checking the eligibility of land declarations or undertaking inspections;

Farmers undertaking changes to business structures: such as cases of inheritance, mergers of businesses, or businesses splitting to become two or more legal entities: and the need to recover outstanding debts and deal with breaches of scheme or cross-compliance conditions.

Resolving these issues inevitably takes longer than for other more straightforward payments and, in some instances, we are dependant upon the farmer providing information. It is not possible, therefore, to provide a date when all outstanding claims will be paid, but we expect payments will be completed well before the closure of the payment window, which has been the pattern for several years.

Question reference: S4W-12417

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the accuracy of Audit Scotland’s evidence to the Public Audit Committee on 16 January 2013 (Official Report, c. 1114), that "It is not a given that a national IRMP will draw resources from the Highlands and Islands down to the central belt." following the creation of the National Fire and Rescue Service.

Decisions on the allocation of resources are currently a matter for the eight Scottish Fire and Rescue Services, and from 1 April 2013 will be the responsibility of the single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). It will use the IRMP as a business planning tool to ensure the most effective and efficient use of its resources, and to demonstrate prudent use of public funding.

The SFRS is under a statutory duty to ensure adequate arrangements for fire and rescue services in all 32 of Scotland’s local authority areas.