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: S3W-40266

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Fit4Fun programme, which has been tackling childhood obesity in the Borders, is having its funding reduced.

The Scottish Government does not fund the Fit4Fun programme directly, it is funded through monies allocated to NHS Borders for delivery of their Child Healthy Weight Intervention in support of the HEAT 3 target. Each health board in Scotland are allocated funding and the decision lies with them as to what programmes are put in place in their area, and the level of funding that the programmes receive.

The Heat 3 targets for each health board can be seen in the following table:

NHS Board	Target March 2011
Ayrshire and Arran	420
Borders	194
Dumfries and Galloway	253
Fife	414
Forth Valley	580
Grampian	607
Greater Glasgow	850
Highland	484
Lanarkshire	1012
Lothian	879
Orkney	40
Shetland	74
Tayside	440
Western Isles	70
Total	6,317

All boards are expected to meet these targets, however it is up to them how they do that.

Question reference: S3W-40265

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what total funding has been received in the Borders from the £11 million targeted to school-age children under the Healthy Eating, Active Living programme and by which organisations

Question reference: S3W-39839

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what direction the European Commission has provided on the action that it requires the Scottish Government to take in order to release the €40 million of regional development funding that is being withheld and what action it has taken as a result.

Question reference: S3W-39834

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first made aware that the European Commission had concerns over the allocation of regional development funding in Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-39840

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on Scottish projects of the decision by the European Commission to suspend over €40 million of regional development funding for 2010-11.

Question reference: S3W-39841

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the over €40 million of regional development funding suspended by the European Commission will be released.

Question reference: S3W-39835

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding the allocation of regional development funding and when they took place.

For the 2007-13 period, European Structural Funds in Scotland comprise four programmes: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in each of the Highlands and Islands and in Lowlands and Uplands programming areas.

The programmes have been interrupted not suspended. An interruption is a temporary arrangement, whereas a suspension is of a more permanent nature.

Individual projects are not affected by the suspension of payments to the Scottish Government by the European Commission. The interruption refers to the reimbursement of Structural Funds payments by the Commission to the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government will continue to meet all eligible claims by projects.

The ERDF programmes were officially interrupted by the European Commission on 22 December 2010 and this was the point at which the Scottish Government was formally made aware that funds were going to be temporarily withheld.

The ESF programmes were officially interrupted by the European Commission on 15 February 2011; again, this was the point at which the Scottish Government was formally made aware that funds were going to be temporarily withheld.

The European Commission imposed the interruptions as, in its view, the Scottish Government had not carried out sufficient management and control checks prior to its payment declaration in December 2009.

The European Commission has confirmed that the interruptions will be lifted when the Scottish Government provides sufficient evidence that an increased level of management and control checks have been undertaken.

The interruption process, whilst temporary in nature, takes time to resolve. To ensure that this is progressed, the Scottish Government provided the European Commission with additional evidence on the 17 February 2011 and again on 23 February 2011.

We intend that a complete response to the interruptions will be sent to the Commission by Easter. Subject to the Commission''s timetable, it is anticipated that the interruptions will be lifted by the summer.

Question reference: S3W-39832

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first made aware that over €40 million of European regional development funding for 2010-11 was at risk of being withheld from Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-39837

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the European Commission since the suspension of over €40 million of regional development funding for 2010-11.

Question reference: S3W-39833

Asked by: Jeremy Purvis, MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 9 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first made aware that over €40 million of European regional development funding for 2010-11 had been officially suspended.