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-13384

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many representations it has received requesting a call-in of the decision by North Lanarkshire Council on 6 February 2013 to rationalise Abronhill and Cumbernauld high schools.

The total number of representations made to the Scottish Ministers under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (2010 Act) about North Lanarkshire Council’s proposals for Abronhill High School and Cumbernauld High School is almost 800. This figure includes a number of duplicate or multiple representations, the precise number of which is still being determined.

However, the decision on whether to issue a call-in notice is not dependent on the number of representations made but where it appears to the Scottish Ministers that the education authority may have failed:

(a) in a significant regard to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act so far as they are relevant in relation to the closure proposal, or

(b) to take account of a material consideration relevant to its decision to implement the proposal.

Question reference: S4W-13385

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 13 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) highest number and (b) average number of representations is that it has received requesting a call-in of a local authority decision under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

The number of representations made to the Scottish Ministers under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 about school closure proposals varies significantly on a case by case basis. In many cases no representations have been made while in others there have been some hundreds of representations.

The highest number of individual representations made to the Scottish Ministers about a single school closure proposal is nearly 900.

The average number of representations made to the Scottish Ministers about a school closure proposal, based on the 75 school closure proposals considered to date, is estimated to be around 30.

Question reference: S4O-01918

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how civic society is engaging with the process involved in the lead-up to the independence referendum.

Question reference: S4W-13033

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 5 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of children in Scotland who will be deemed to be in poverty as a result of changes in welfare benefits since 2010.

The Scottish Government does not produce forecasts of poverty, however analysis published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in October 2011 estimated that the number of children in the UK living in relative poverty will rise by approximately 700,000 between 2009-10 and 2020-21. In 2009-10 200,000 children, 20 per cent of children, were living in relative income poverty in Scotland, this was 7.7 per cent of all children in the UK living in relative income poverty. Assuming Scotland’s share of UK child poverty remains unchanged at 7.7 per cent in future years, this would imply an additional 50,000 children in Scotland will be living in relative poverty by 2020-21. This estimate does not include changes subsequently introduced by the UK Government.

Question reference: S4F-01203

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2013

To ask the First Minister what the impact will be on the Scottish economy of the downgrading of the UK Government’s bond rating.

Question reference: S4O-01821

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what importance is placed on Education Scotland’s findings on local authority plans to close schools.

Question reference: S4O-01776

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage healthy eating in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

Question reference: S4W-12335

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what estimates it has made of the number of extra children in Scotland who will be deemed to be in poverty as a result of the provisions in the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill.

The Department of Work and Pensions are estimating that the uprating measures in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 will result in around an extra 200,000 children being in relative income poverty compared to uprating benefits by CPI. Based on Scotland’s current share of children in poverty, this will result in an estimated 15,000 children being pushed into poverty as a result of the 1% uprating of working-age benefits.

Question reference: S4O-01685

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that student debt in Scotland remains the lowest in the UK.

Question reference: S4O-01574

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the economic impact will be of the proposed merger between AG Barr and Britvic.