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: S4O-00999

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on Finland’s approach to education.

Question reference: S4O-00979

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West 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 many prosecutions there have been under the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 for smoking in non-smoking premises and permitting another person to smoke in non-smoking premises.

Question reference: S4O-00934

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to Holocaust educational programmes.

Question reference: S4O-00899

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet Scottish Water.

Question reference: S4O-00865

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for the Cardiac Assessment of Young Athletes programme.

Question reference: S4O-00613

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many secondary schools were inspected in 2011.

Question reference: S4O-00495

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses are receiving financial support from the small business bonus scheme.

Question reference: S4W-04277

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive who took the decision to dissolve the Scottish Safety Camera Advisory Board.

The decision to dissolve the Scottish Safety Camera Advisory Board (SAB) was taken by the former Director of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme and the former Chief Constable of Tayside Police in his capacity as chair of SAB. The reasons for this decision are outlined in the response to S4W-04275 on 7 December 2011. 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.

Question reference: S4W-04276

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Safety Camera Advisory Board held its last meeting.

Question reference: S4W-04282

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what reduction there was in the number of people (a) killed or seriously injured (KSI) and (b) involved in personal injury collisions at Scottish safety camera sites in the period 2008 to 2010, compared with the prior three-year baseline period; how this reduction compares with the reduction in Scottish KSIs from 1997 to 1999, and what the estimated financial saving is per year as a result.

Figures published in the Scottish Government statistical bulletin Key Scottish Safety Camera Programme Statistics, 2010 show that:

(a) the number if people killed or seriously injured at safety camera sites is 63 per cent lower following camera enforcement when compared with the baseline number of people killed or seriously injured at these sites; and

(b) the number of people involved in personal injury collisions at camera sites is 49 per cent lower following camera enforcement when compared with the baseline number of collisions resulting in personal injury at these locations.

When comparing a baseline of 1997-99 for KSI’s on all of Scotland’s roads with figures for 2008-10, on average there has been a 42% reduction in KSI’s (see the following table).

Average Number of Killed/Seriously Injuries (Scotland)

Year
1997-99 (Ave)	4,319
2008-10 (Ave)	2,506
Percentage change	-42%

It is not possible to say for certain how many deaths and serious injuries were prevented by the presence of a safety camera. Figures provided by the Department for Transport at Westminster show that the cost of a fatal accident is £1,855,013, a serious accident costs £205,303 and a slight injury accident costs £20,306.

The budget allocated to the Scottish Safety Camera Programme in 2011-12 was £4.6 million. If cameras have prevented three fatal accidents than the cost benefit associated with this reduction outweighs the cost of running the Safety Camera Programme.