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-13288

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 28 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of all wind farm proposals under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 has been (a) withdrawn during scoping or pre-application, (b) refused permission and (c) approved by the Scottish Government since 2007.

Of those wind farm proposals under section 36 of the Electricity Act on which clarity has been sought, since 2007:

38.7% have yet to be determined.

32.6% have been granted permission;

28.7% have not received permission due to either being withdrawn during scoping and pre-application, being withdraw at the application stage or being refused permission. Of those applications which have been withdrawn, some will have been revised and reduced in size to under 50 megawatt and subsequently resubmitted to the Planning Authority for their consideration.

Question reference: S4O-01968

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the call from the National Union of Journalists for a moratorium on job cuts at BBC Scotland and its decision to bring forward redundancies before the end of the financial year.

Question reference: S4O-01938

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Scottish Ambulance Service takes to meet patients' travel and emergency needs in Caithness.

Question reference: S4O-01890

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in repairing sea defences on the east coast following the December 2012 storms.

The storms of the night of 14 December 2012 were described by many as the worst they had experienced in a lifetime. On 8 February 2013 the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment announced an additional £1 million funding to be available from the emergency harbours fund to support emergency repairs work in fisheries harbours. A number of the requests from harbours such as Wick, Lossiemouth and Dunbar harbours have been agreed and work is underway utilising these additional funds.

We continue to engage with a number of other harbours who have yet to make a formal request.

Question reference: S4O-01787

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 6 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what potential benefits will accrue to remote and rural areas in the north and west following the announcement of a pilot scheme in Ardnamurchan to devise new ways of delivering healthcare in such areas.

Question reference: S4F-01177

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 February 2013

To ask the First Minister what the impact will be on Scotland's fishing fleet of Iceland's proposed 15% reduction in its mackerel quota.

Question reference: S4W-12658

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4O-01765

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how the Renewable Energy Investment Fund will operate.

Question reference: S4W-12096

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 18 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government on what occasions the Scottish Public Finance Manual has been applied to potential community land buyouts.

Question reference: S4W-12095

Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 18 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish Public Finance Manual defines best value.