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-26015

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how the proposed changes to the CalMac pension fund will impact on (a) Caledonian MacBrayne, (b) Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and (c) David MacBrayne Ltd staff.

Question reference: S4W-26010

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish (a) the minute of and (b) details of any policy proposals that arose at the meeting of 9 April 2015 between officials from Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and Transport Scotland lawyers regarding the retender of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.

Question reference: S4W-26019

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will announce the successful bidder for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract before the Scottish Parliament election on 5 May 2016.

Question reference: S4T-01065

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to the concerns of the CalMac workforce, who have recently been balloted for strike action.

Question reference: S4W-25932

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25677 by Derek Mackay on 3 June 2015, whether it considers that the information provided is consistent with the comment in the Department for Transport impact assessment report, Raising the national speed limit for HGVs > 7.5t on single carriageway roads in England and Wales, that "there is little academic evidence about how a change in the HGV speed limit would affect road casualties. We commissioned a report by TRL [Transport Research Laboratory] (2009) into the potential effect of an increase in the HGV<7.5 speed limit on single carriageway roads. Unfortunately, the final report was unable to reach any firm conclusions about the likely effects", and what the reason is for its position on this matter.

The Department for Transport used analytical modelling in its impact assessment for single carriageway roads in England and Wales which forecast that ‘there would be an additional 1.7 to 3.5 fatal and 4.2 to 8.5 serious accidents involving HGVs >7.5t each year as a result of the speed limit increase’. The lack of academic evidence referred to by the Transport Research Laboratory , combined with this modelling work, means that the Scottish Government does not believe there is justification for a blanket change in the HGV speed limit in Scotland at present.

Question reference: S4O-04472

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received regarding the cost of flights to and from Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

Question reference: S4W-25832

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to David MacBrayne Ltd was of the bid to the UK Government for the contract to manage the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre.

Question reference: S4W-25837

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many David MacBrayne Ltd employees worked on the joint bid for the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre contract; when that contract will start, and whether David MacBrayne employees will transfer to Solent Gateway Limited.

Question reference: S4W-25834

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of David MacBrayne Ltd’s joint bid to manage Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre.

The board of David MacBrayne Ltd (DML) considered that the opportunity at Marchwood allowed DML to grow its business into wider transport logistics in line with the DML Business Plan 2014-16 (approved by the DML board in May 2014). It also reflects Scottish Ministers’ intent that DML should, where it is appropriate to do so, seek contracts elsewhere in the UK and beyond, and with the Programme for Government (2014-15) which sets out a call for a common national endeavour, involving the values of enterprise and innovation, to build Scotland’s place in the world.

Question reference: S4W-25767

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what financial commitment David MacBrayne Ltd (DML) has made to Solent Gateway Ltd and what risk assessment has been carried out of how Solent Gateway Ltd failing would impact on (a) DML and (b) taxpayers.