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-17082

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what powers it has to prevent adverts that might be considered offensive, misleading or liable to incite racial hatred being placed in public buildings.

Question reference: S4W-16699

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 6 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its target to eradicate fuel poverty, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the cost of the Energy Company Obligation on people in Scotland.

At the joint energy summit with the UK Government on 23 of January 2013 I raised six key demands, including “That the UK Government ensures that the costs of the Energy Company Obligation initiative are passed onto consumers in a way which best protects the poorest and most vulnerable households.”

The Scottish Government is making available £79 million of funding to establish the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS). This will deliver on the Fuel Poverty Forum’s recommendations for Area Based Schemes to tackle areas of high fuel poverty alongside national schemes to provide support for the most vulnerable households wherever they live. Our spending will aim to help lever in around £120 million investment from Energy Companies through the Energy Company Obligation creating an annual fund of around £200 million to support energy efficiency in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-16475

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether internet (a) infrastructure and (b) surveillance will be addressed in the white paper on independence.

The main legislation relating to surveillance of internet and other communications is the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which currently makes provision for the acquisition of communications data and the authorisation of lawful interception of communications. This legislation would continue to operate in an independent Scotland at the point of independence. Any changes would be the responsibility of a future Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will publish its detailed white paper with positive proposals on the opportunities and gains of independence in the autumn. Material on the referendum and the Scottish Government’s proposals for an independent Scotland can be found at: www.scotreferendum.com including published papers and speeches. This site will be regularly updated with additional material including the Scottish Government’s white paper in the run up to the referendum.

Question reference: S4W-16474

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether an independent Scotland would have the technical capability to protect internet traffic from surveillance by UK intelligence agencies.

Question reference: S4W-16476

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many high-capacity cables taking internet traffic in and out of Scotland do so without passing through other parts of the UK.

Question reference: S4W-16700

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 2 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its target to eradicate fuel poverty, what assessment it has made of the measures called for by the Energy Bill Revolution campaign and what information it has on how many properties in Scotland could be made more energy efficient if the UK Government used the estimated £4 billion collected from carbon taxes over the next 15 years to fund the measures called for by the campaign.

Fuel poverty is a devolved issue and the Scottish Government is already committing funding to support the installation of measures to make homes in Scotland more energy efficient, as called for by the Energy Bill Revolution. Unlike England, where the only funding to improve household energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty comes from obligations placed on energy companies in the Energy Bill and private funding through the Green Deal, the Scottish Government is doing all it can to improve the energy efficiency of homes in Scotland.

The new Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland were launched on 1 April 2013 and offer a package of support to help all those who are struggling to pay their energy bills and keep themselves warm. The Scottish Government is providing £79 million in the current year to support these area-based and national schemes and lever in energy company investment to create the £200 million fund. Over time all households should see positive benefits from improvements in energy efficiency as a result of these schemes and may help them reduce their fuel bills.

It is estimated funding allocated in the first funding round of the area based scheme will see 25,000 to 30,000 households receive around 40,000 measures to improve the energy efficiency of their home and help tackle fuel poverty. And it is estimated that around 300,000 poorer households in total are eligible for insulation and/or heating measures under the Affordable Warmth Scheme and Energy Assistance Scheme.

Question reference: S4W-16471

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 30 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scotland’s access to the internet is dependent on internet exchange points in London and Manchester and whether there are plans to establish (a) an internet exchange point in Scotland and (b) direct connections to internet exchange points in other European countries.

Most internet traffic to, from and within Scotland currently goes through one of three internet exchange points in London, Manchester or Leeds.

As part of our work to improve Scotland’s digital infrastructure and achieve world class connectivity by 2020, the Scottish Government is facilitating discussions with industry aimed at establishing an internet exchange point in Scotland.

This work is being taken forward by LINX (London Internet Exchange Ltd), a not-forprofit member led organisation that operates exchanges in London and Manchester. Excellent progress is being made and we anticipate that an internet exchange, called IXScotland, will be installed in Edinburgh in October this year.

It will be for LINX to determine what connections are required to equivalent exchange points in Europe. These are negotiated and delivered depending on the needs of exchange members.

Question reference: S4W-16573

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what bus operators applied for monies through each of the Scottish Green Bus Funds.

Details of successful bidders under the Scottish Green Bus Fund are published annually and results for the three rounds to date can be found on the Transport Scotland Website at:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/public-transport/Buses.

In addition to the published information on successful bidders, bids were also received from MacEwans Coach Services in rounds one and two; Secure Airparks Ltd in rounds two and three and Stagecoach East in round three. These bids were subsequently withdrawn by the operators concerned and no funding was awarded.

Question reference: S4T-00416

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the affordability and public reporting concerns raised in Audit Scotland's report, Scotland's key transport infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S4O-02282

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the prohibition of convicted prisoners from voting in elections is compatible with its commitment to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into an independent Scotland's written constitution.