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: S5O-02198

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the findings of the 50mph speed limit pilot for HGVs on the A9.

Question reference: S5W-16725

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people from the NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney and (d) Shetland area have travelled to another NHS board area to receive treatment involving a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner in each year since 2016, and how much this has cost.

Patients from NHS Highland, Western Isles, Orkney and Tayside travel to NHS Grampian to receive positron emission tomography (PET). Based upon patient’s home postcode, between 1st January 2016 and 30th April 2018, the number of affected patients was:

• Highland 643

• Shetland 81

• Orkney 64

• Western Isles 25

• Tayside 0

Highland also referred a proportion of their patients to Glasgow and from April 2016 – March 2017 163 patients received PET-CT there. The cost of each PET/CT is approximately £1,000.

Question reference: S5O-02159

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to bring forward a Clean Air Bill.

Question reference: S5W-16302

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has paid Serco NorthLink Ferries to operate the Northern Isles Ferry Service in each year since July 2012.

I refer the member to S5W-04450 on 14 November 2016 which details the amount of subsidy paid to Serco NorthLink Ferries from contract year one to contract year four (July 2012 – June 2016).

The Scottish Government paid Serco NorthLink £42,239,234.76 to operate the Northern Isles Ferry Service in contract year 5 (July 2016 – June 2017).

The total amount paid for contract year 6, which ended on 25 April 2018, has not yet been finalised.

It should be stated that the annual grant for each contract year includes the subsidy to support the services, fuel, port dues as well as all other maintenance and other necessary operational costs for all vessels.

The element within the annual grant attributable to vessel charter is part of contractual agreements with third parties; the Royal Bank of Scotland, Seatruck and most recently Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited. The financial arrangements within these agreements are commercially confidential matters for those companies.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-16300

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to record (a) car and (b) commercial vehicle usage on Northern Isles Ferry Services routes, and whether this data will be published in its official transport statistics.

Transport Scotland meets with the current operator of the Northern Isles Ferry Service Public Service Contract, Serco NorthLink Ferries on a monthly basis to discuss a range of operational issues, including the number of cars and commercial vehicles carried on its services.

Transport Scotland’s official annual publication; “Scottish Transport Statistics” includes car and commercial vehicle carrying information of all subsidised ferry contracts, including the Northern Isles Ferry Service. These statistics are published retrospectively with the latest figures to end 2016 available via the following link.

https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/41863/scottish-transport-statistics-2017-with-correction-to-table-214.pdf

Serco NorthLink Ferries also publish their annual carrying data on their website. The latest data covering 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 can be accessed via the following link.

http://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/information/publications/statistics/

Question reference: S5W-16299

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much compensation will be paid to Pentland Ferries following the introduction of the Road Equivalent Tariff scheme on the Scrabster-Stromness route.

Question reference: S5W-16301

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited regarding the cost of purchasing freight vessels to operate as part of the Northern Isles Ferry Service contract.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has a bareboat charter arrangement with the owners of the current freight vessels (MV Helliar and MV Hildasay) that are utilised on the Lerwick, Kirkwall and Aberdeen routes. The bareboat charter was agreed on 1 March 2017 and runs for a 5 year period with a ‎2 year extension option being available. As part of the charter agreement there are
‎3 milestone points at 3, 5 and 7 years at which point CMAL have the option to purchase the freight vessels.

These vessels are currently sub-chartered by CMAL to Serco Northlink Ferries details of which are commercially sensitive and cannot be released.

Discussions are on-going regarding the future freight vessel requirements and involve Transport Scotland, CMAL and the operator who are working together to consider the future freight demand for the Northern Isles.

Question reference: S5W-16298

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the accuracy of the data that is kept to record (a) car and (b) commercial vehicle usage on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service.

CalMac, as operator of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service is responsible for the accuracy and collection of this data. Carrying statistics are available on the CalMac website by following the link:

https://www.calmac.co.uk/corporate/carrying-statistics

Transport Scotland also publishes the Scottish Transport Statistics, the most recent version, 36, 2017 edition, can be found on the Transport Scotland website by following the link. Table 9:12 of the Scottish Transport Statistics provides passenger and vehicle carryings:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-transport-statistics-no-36-2017-edition/chapter-9-water-transport/

Question reference: S5O-02110

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the anticipated security of supply of medical isotopes following the UK's withdrawal from Euratom.

Question reference: S5W-16128

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) PM2.5 and (b) PM10 particulate matter monitors there are, and what plans it has to introduce more.