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

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Question reference: S4O-04740

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the UK Government regarding the devolution of onshore coal and gas extraction licensing.

Question reference: S4W-27892

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers a reasonable time to provide a substantive answer to a written question that has received a holding response, and how it ensures that this timescale is adhered to.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that members receive prompt, accurate responses to their questions. The target time for parliamentary questions is 10 working days when the Parliament is sitting, and 20 working days during recess. Where this target is not met and a member receives a holding response, substantive answers are provided thereafter whenever the information requested is available. The length of time involved will depend on a number of factors.

Question reference: S4W-28059

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to renegotiate PFI/PPP contractual payments to reduce the cost.

The Scottish Government has commissioned the Scottish Futures Trust to examine potential ways of reducing existing PFI contract payments. In addition a review has been undertaken by the Scottish Futures Trust of a number of operational PPP contacts across Scotland to identify opportunities where, with further focussed work, significant savings could be achieved.

Further details of this work are included in the Scottish Futures Trust Business Plan for 2015-16, available at the following website:

businessplan2015.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/

Question reference: S4W-28062

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it would consider asking the International Monetary Fund for assistance in renegotiating PFI/PPP contracts in the health sector.

Question reference: S4W-27895

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on concerns that it is purposely withholding substantive answers to questions regarding fracking and what action it is taking to allay these concerns.

Question reference: S4W-27893

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that it will provide substantive answers before the end of the parliamentary session to all of the written questions regarding fracking that are in receipt of holding responses, and for what reason some questions that received such responses in March 2015 have yet to receive a written response.

Question reference: S4W-27896

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26325 by Fergus Ewing on 13 July 2015, in light of the original questions receiving holding responses on 24 April 2015 and that the statement was made by the minister on 28 January 2015, by what date it will provide substantive answers to questions S4W-25126, S4W-25128 and S4W-25129 regarding fracking.

Question reference: S4W-27891

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26325 by Fergus Ewing on 13 July 2015, for what reason no update regarding fracking has been provided and what information is still being gathered by officials.

Question reference: S4W-27969

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24476 by Fergus Ewing on 8 October 2015, whether it will provide details of the "interested stakeholders" it will be consulting with regard to (a) fracking, (b) unconventional oil and gas extraction and (c) unconventional coal gasification.

For further details of meetings already held, I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26272 on 27 July 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government will continue to meet with as wide a range of stakeholders as possible as part of the consultation process.

Question reference: S4W-25129

Asked by: John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government who will be commissioned to carry out the public health impact assessment on unconventional oil and gas extraction, including fracking, which was announced by the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism on 28 January 2015.