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-18019

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to install next-generation superfast broadband in Highland and eastern Perthshire.

The Scottish Government and its partners are investing over £280 million in our Step Change programme which, alongside commercial deployment, will deliver next generation broadband access to 95% of premises in Scotland by 2017-18.

The programme, which includes an investment from Perth and Kinross Council, will deliver significant improvements to the Perth and Kinross local authority area, with coverage of at least 90% of premises expected. Without this investment, coverage of only 41% would have been achieved commercially.

On 28 October 2013, we published a map indicating high-level deployment phasing for the programme, available at:

http://www.digitalscotland.org/media/16354/ros_171013.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-17753

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will amend the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill to state that the current definition of marriage is a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society.

Question reference: S4W-17756

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, if same-sex marriage was introduced, what its position is on whether it would be appropriate for public sector employers to take into account the views on this of (a) applicants for posts and (b) staff when considering their suitability for employment.

The Government considers that public sector appointments should be based on merit and not on any views which applicants and staff may have on same sex marriage.

Local authorities and public bodies are subject to the Equality Act 2010 and, as such, are directly prohibited from discriminating against any person because of their religion or belief.

In addition, the Human Rights Act 1998 makes it unlawful for public authorities to breach the European Convention on Human Rights. The convention includes provisions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to freedom of expression.

Question reference: S4W-17754

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will seek to amend the Equality Act 2010 to (a) include in the protected characteristic of religion or belief, support for the current definition of marriage and (b) ensure that people opposed to same-sex marriage should not experience any detriment because of their views.

No.

The Scottish Government fully respects the belief held by many people and organisations that marriage can only ever be between a man and a woman. However, we would not support an amendment to the protected characteristic of religion or belief in the Equality Act 2010 to make specific provision on beliefs about marriage.

Adding a specific amendment to the protected characteristic which related to beliefs about marriage could cast doubt about whether other strongly held beliefs are covered as well.

Where necessary, the Government is proposing provision to protect specific persons, such as the provisions in the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill, and related amendments to the 2010 Act, to make it clear that religious and belief bodies opposed to same sex marriage are under no obligation to solemnise such marriages.

The Government has indicated that persons opposed to same sex marriage should suffer no detriment just because of their reasonably expressed views. The Bill has provision at section 14 making it clear that the introduction of same sex marriage will have no impact on existing rights to freedom of speech. In addition, the Lord Advocate has issued prosecution guidance in relation to same sex marriage:

http://www.copfs.gov.uk/images/Documents/Prosecution_Policy_Guidance/Guidelines_and_Policy/PROSECUTION%20GUIDANCE%20IN%20RELATION%20TO%20SAME%20SEX%20MARRIAGE.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-17757

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will amend the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 to specify that organisations opposed to same-sex marriage will not fail to meet the charity test because of this view.

No. We do not consider such an amendment is necessary.

Section 7 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 provides that a body meets the charity test if its purposes consist only of one or more of the charitable purposes and it provides public benefit. One of the charitable purposes laid down in section 7 of the 2005 Act is the advancement of religion.

Decisions on charitable status are a matter for the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). OSCR have advised us that the simple expression of a view on same sex marriage which was to the furtherance of a body’s charitable purposes is not expected to adversely affect the body’s charitable status.

In addition, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill has provision at section 14 making it clear that the introduction of same sex marriage will have no impact on existing rights to freedom of speech.

Question reference: S4F-01654

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2013

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on the Student Awards Agency for Scotland's finding that the level of grants paid to university students from the poorest backgrounds has fallen by 3%.

Question reference: S4W-17661

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether and, if so, how it will ensure that wind turbine applications currently in the planning process are refused planning permission if they are without an OFGEM licence or exemption from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Matters concerning OFGEM licences or exemptions relate to the interpretation of electricity legislation in the Court of Session’s decision in the Viking wind farm judicial review. The decision does not concern applications for planning permission made under planning legislation and to how the planning system operates.

Consequently, the Scottish Government considers that it is not appropriate to refuse planning permission for wind turbine applications without OFGEM licences or exemptions.

Question reference: S4W-17667

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 29 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to receive notification from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills of its response to the Pub Companies and Tenants consultation.

Question reference: S4W-17660

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it will issue to local authority planning departments dealing with wind turbine applications from developers without an OFGEM electricity generation licence or an exemption from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Question reference: S4W-17452

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 7 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on clarifying the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 in relation to charges made while granting a tenancy.

The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 states that it is an offence to require payment of any premium (in addition to rent and a refundable deposit of no more than two months’ rent), as a condition of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy.

As many tenants were being charged a range of additional fees in order to access privately rented accommodation, section 32 of the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011, which came into force on the 30 November 2012, clarified the law by amending the definition of a premium in the 1984 Act, to make clear that a premium means “any fine, sum or pecuniary consideration, other than rent, and includes any service or administration fee or charge”.