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: S5F-00758

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2017

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S5W-05823

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the full (a) capital and (b) lifetime (i) borrowing and (ii) maintenance cost will be of the (A) Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie Tipperty, (B) Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service National Centre, (C) Royal Hospital for Sick Children/Department of Clinical Neurosciences, (D) Dumfries acute services redevelopment and (E) new Orkney hospital and healthcare facilities project; how the costs will be accommodated in its (1) budget and (2) capital borrowing allocation, and whether extra costs, including long-term debt and interest repayments, will be incurred by the organisation that will operate the completed project.

Information on these projects, including the overall capital investment value, is contained within the Infrastructure Investment Plan Project Pipeline report available from the following link:

www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/IIP/IIPProjectPipelineSep2016.

Further information on the non-profit distributing projects, including unitary charge payments, is published annually and is available from the following link: www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/12308/NPDhubPipelinepayments.

In relation to the new Orkney Hospital details of the project will be published (on the same basis as other NPD projects) when the project has reached financial close.

Borrowing and maintenance cost information is contained within the contracts held by the procuring authorities. This information, which was subject to competition during the procurement process, is subject to confidentiality provisions in the contracts for a time limited period of typically two years.

The capital costs have been accommodated in the Draft Budget 2016-17 and Draft Budget 2017-18.

We would expect to take decisions about borrowing in 2016-17 later in the year on the basis that it is more cost effective. The Draft Budget 2017-18 sets out our intention to make full use of borrowing powers in 2017-18 but final decisions are expected be taken late in 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-05825

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much in (a) capital and (b) additional costs of non-profit distributing projects has been paid upfront by the organisations operating them.

Question reference: S5W-05824

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what profits will be made by each company involved with the (a) Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie Tipperty, (b) Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service National Centre, (c) Royal Hospital for Sick Children/Department of Clinical Neurosciences, (d) Dumfries acute services redevelopment and (e) new Orkney hospital and healthcare facilities project, including from long-term (i) interest and (ii) fees.

As these projects were procured under the Non Profit Distributing model, there are no profits distributed to the private sector investors in the project companies that have been set up and which hold the contracts with the procuring authorities.

Information on interest and fees is included in the financial models which underpin the contracts This information, which was subject to competition during the procurement process, is subject to confidentiality provisions in the contracts for a time limited period of typically two years. Information on the profit levels of sub-contracting companies, such as the construction contractor, is not held.

Question reference: S5F-00736

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2017

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S5O-00493

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how its proposed new climate change targets will take account of the Paris Agreement's goal of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Question reference: S5F-00651

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2016

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S5F-00617

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2016

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S5O-00453

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects its tax policies to have on inequality of wealth and income.

Question reference: S5O-00404

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what improvements it considers necessary to the provision of abortion in Scotland.