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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 696 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-11973

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish Enterprise appraises its stakeholder engagement in relation to (a) single outcome agreements and (b) its business plan.

Question reference: S4W-11970

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish Enterprise evaluates its current planned activities.

Question reference: S4W-11920

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take regarding air pollution levels at Scotland's main railway stations following the publication of a recent Network Rail study on the matter.

The publication of their Strategic Business Plan earlier this month, is Network Rail's opportunity to set out its plans for the railways in Scotland during 2014-2019, including responding to the specification set out by the Transport Minister Keith Brown during his rail statement to Parliament last summer. We will continue to work with Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and Network Rail to ensure that the interests of users, taxpayers and wider stakeholders in Scotland are reflected in the final determinations for 2014 to 2019, which will be made later this year.

In the revisions to Scottish Ministers Guidance to ORR published in July 2012, we have stated that regulatory processes and frameworks support, and do not act as a barrier to the effective stewardship of the natural environment for which Network Rail is responsible.

Question reference: S4W-11974

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Linda Fabiani (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): on 18 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what it has done to tackle smoking on parliamentary premises.

The SPCB has a smoke-free policy applying to all of our enclosed workplaces and restricting smoking to the designated areas detailed in the policy. If anyone wishes to complain about the policy not being adhered to, they should express their concerns in the first instance to the Facilities Management Helpdesk on extension 85100 or by contacting Visitor Services staff in the case of members of the public. Any complaints logged will be referred to the Health and Safety Adviser for investigation and further action as appropriate.

Question reference: S4O-01720

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what employment initiatives it provides to tackle unemployment among people aged 24 and over.

Question reference: S4W-12146

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the increasing number of fire incidents reported in the home.

The latest Fire Statistics Scotland 2011-12 publication presents the number of dwelling fires over the last 10 years. They have in fact been declining since 2008-09. Details are as follows:

Fires by location, 2002-03 to 2011-12^p - Scotland¹

Number of Primary Fires

Year	Dwellings
2002-03²	7,875
2003-04	8,131
2004-05	7,048
2005-06	7,061
2006-07	6,963
2007-08	6,666
2008-09	6,705
2009-10^r	6,573
2010-11^r	6,300
2011-12^p	6,149

Notes:

p – provisional.

r – revised.

1 – figures before 2009-10 for primary fires are based on sample data weighted to Fire and Rescue Service totals.

2 – does not include incidents that occurred during national industrial action in November 2002, January 2003 and February 2003.

Fire prevention and protection activity over recent years has been key to reducing the number of fires, casualties and losses in Scotland. These activities remain strategic priorities. The Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2013, which is currently under consultation, proposes that the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will have a duty to promote fire safety at national and local levels. This includes the continued promotion of Home Fire Safety Visits aimed at helping vulnerable people protect their homes.

Question reference: S4W-11794

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 8 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of genetically modified food production.

Question reference: S4W-11670

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in relation to the report on the future of the Scottish economy by the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.

The Ernst and Young ITEM Club forecasts that the Scottish economy will contract by 0.1% this year compared to a contraction of 0.2% for the UK economy as a whole and that the recovery will continue to be weak next year.

The Scottish Government continues to focus extra resource and effort on priority areas to support output and employment, with a particular emphasis on boosting public sector capital investment; taking action to tackle unemployment, particularly youth unemployment; and enhancing economic confidence by encouraging private sector investment and providing security to Scottish households.

Question reference: S4W-11875

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government when the results from the 2011 Census will be available.

Scotland’s Census 2011: Release 1A is published today (Laying number: SG/2012/254). This report presents the first results from the 2011 Census in Scotland, which was held on 27 March 2011. The statistics provide estimates of the usually resident population of Scotland on Census Day broken down by age and sex along with estimates of the total usually resident population in each council area. A copy of the report is available in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre (Bib. number 54593), or from the Scotland’s Census website at:

www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk.

Question reference: S4W-11564

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to ensure accountability for funding that it provides to organisations.

Public sector organisations are held to account via annual reports and accounts, which are laid before the parliament. Accounts are normally subject to audit by the Auditor General and all public sector organisations are subject to examination by the Auditor General into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which they have used their resources in discharging their functions. In addition, where Accountable Officers have been designated by the Permanent Secretary in his/her role as Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration, the Accountable Officers have a personal responsibility to the Parliament for the propriety and regularity of the public finances of the organisations and ensuring that the resources of the organisations are used economically, efficiently and effectively.

Funding provided to organisations outwith the public sector is subject to legally enforceable conditions of grant, including requirements for written statements of compliance and the provision of access to the Scottish Government’s Internal Audit Division and the Auditor General.