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-07278

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 11 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been done into introducing oil stamp saving schemes in Scotland.

Last year Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, invited the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum to undertake an independent review of the Scottish Government's Fuel Poverty Strategy, to ensure that we are best able to assist fuel poor households in Scotland.

The review is ongoing and I will ask the Cabinet Secretary if this initiative can be looked at as part of the forum's work in considering future options for tackling fuel poverty.

The Scottish Government has funded the setting up and running of the Energy Savings Trust, an advice network agency which provides advice to consumers on ways to save money and to improve efficiency of energy use in domestic homes.

The Energy Savings Trust provides free and independent advice on how to save money on energy bills in people’s homes and businesses. The service covers all the changes you can make in your home and business, from simple tips for saving water, to advice about new energy-efficient boilers, to detailed information about insulation and about availability of grants, loans and schemes which can all contribute to increased energy efficiency and lower energy bills.

Question reference: S4O-01243

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Commission on the Delivery of Rural Education has considered the issues regarding school transport and the current statutory limits for this.

Question reference: S4W-07279

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce an oil stamp saving scheme.

Last year Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, invited the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum to undertake an independent review of the Scottish Government’s Fuel Poverty Strategy, to ensure that we are best able to assist fuel poor households in Scotland.

The review is ongoing and I will ask the Cabinet Secretary if this initiative can be looked at as part of the Forum’s work in considering future options for tackling fuel poverty.

The Scottish Government have funded the setting up and running of the Energy Savings Trust an advice network agency which provides advice to consumers on ways to save money and to improve efficiency of energy use in domestic homes.

The Energy Savings Trust provides free and independent advice on how to save money on energy bills in peoples homes and businesses. The service covers all the changes you can make in your home and business, from simple tips for saving water, to advice about new energy-efficient boilers, to detailed information about insulation and about availability of grants, loans and schemes which can all contribute to increased energy efficiency and lower energy bills.

Question reference: S4O-01112

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the economy in the south of Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-06975

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the planning procedures for facilitating mobile telecommunications development.

We have no plans at present to review the permitted development rights which exempt certain telecommunications development from the need for a planning application. We are engaged in a public consultation on proposed amendments to planning application procedures. Though not specific to telecommunications development, it includes an opportunity to comment on any aspect of these procedures. The consultation paper, Miscellaneous Amendments to the Modernised Planning System, can be viewed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/03/5577.

Question reference: S4W-06977

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding spectrum fees being kept in proportion with network investment for telecommunications companies.

Question reference: S4W-06976

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms there are to allow telecommunications companies to access publicly-owned land.

Question reference: S4W-07073

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 May 2012
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Keith Brown on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made toward its target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes, and what funding and arrangements are being put in place for local programmes within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The Scottish Government is on track to deliver in excess of 6,000 affordable homes per year, of which in excess of 4,000 will be social homes. I am today publishing guidance to set out councils' responsibilities for bringing forward Strategic Local Programmes to deliver affordable housing in their areas, together with Resource Planning Assumptions for each council for the three year period through to March 2015.

Following discussion with representatives of councils and housing associations, the guidance introduces a new and stronger strategic role for councils; will incentivise greener house building by providing an additional £4,000 of subsidy per “green” unit; and sets out higher subsidy rates for social housing developments, especially in rural areas.

The Resource Planning Assumptions represent an investment of almost £582 million in housing over the next three years, including the TMDF (Transfer of Management of Development Funding) budgets for Glasgow and Edinburgh which were announced earlier. Allocations within this by local authority are in the following table:

Local Authority	Total
Highlands and Islands and Moray
Highland	19.915
Orkney	6.161
Shetland	4.166
Western Isles	2.521
Moray	6.317
Sub Total	39.080
North and East
Aberdeenshire	9.506
Angus	7.204
City of Aberdeen	6.061
City of Dundee	9.816
Clackmannanshire	2.871
Falkirk	9.194
Perth and Kinross	9.595
Stirling	6.845
Sub Total	61.092
South and East
East Lothian	9.605
Fife	11.627
Midlothian	6.810
The Scottish Borders	3.221
West Lothian	9.109
Sub Total	40.372
North and South Clyde
Argyll and Bute	13.191
East Dunbartonshire	11.073
East Renfrewshire	4.359
Inverclyde	5.052
Renfrewshire	14.738
West Dunbartonshire	7.078
Sub Total	69.705
South and West
Dumfries and Galloway	11.255
East Ayrshire	5.842
North Ayrshire	9.361
North Lanarkshire	27.938
South Ayrshire	5.314
South Lanarkshire	14.582
Sub Total	74.292
Total	284.541
AHSP - Glasgow	2.540
AHSP - GHA	28.327
AHSP - Edinburgh	6.560
Total	37.427
fTMDF - Glasgow	181.138
TMDF - Edinburgh	78.744
Total	259.882
Grand Total	581.850

Question reference: S4O-00972

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how EU project bonds could be used to support infrastructure investment in Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-00951

Asked by: Aileen McLeod, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports research and development in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector in South Scotland.