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: S3W-07629

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of the tendering process for the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay.

Question reference: S3W-07627

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took to encourage Scottish shipbuilders to tender for the contract for building the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the route serving Islay.

Question reference: S3O-01738

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Edinburgh would gain and how many would lose from a council tax freeze.

Question reference: S3W-07205

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the percentage changes in real terms in its budget in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Question reference: S3W-07820

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth went to the Trump National Golf Club, Westchester, New York on 2 December 2007 on the occasion of the globalscot conference and, if so, which officials accompanied him.

Question reference: S3W-07690

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what planning applications have been called in without an appeal by the applicant and following refusal by the local planning authority since May 2007.

Question reference: S3W-07688

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the meetings at which the First Minister discussed the Trump Organisation's planning application for a golf development at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire.

Question reference: S3W-07823

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether section 6.11 of the Scottish Ministerial Code, which states that “Ministers, and in particular the Planning Minister, must do nothing which might be seen as prejudicial to that process, particularly in advance of the decision being taken”, has been breached by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, in light of any visit to the Trump National Golf Club, Westchester, New York on 2 December 2007.

If the member wishes to makea formal allegation about me in relation to the Scottish Ministerial Code then heshould write to the First Minister.

The circumstances surroundingmy attendance at the Globalscot reception at the Trump National Golf Club have beenpresented, in full, to the Parliament, in response to a number of otherparliamentary questions.

Section 6.11 of the MinisterialCode advises that ministers should not act in a way that might be viewed as beingprejudicial to the planning process, citing as particular examples: (i) taking adecision, or being part of the decision-making process, in respect of an applicationwhich falls within the minister’s constituency; (ii) expressing an opinion publiclyon a particular case which is, or may subsequently come, before the minister fordecision; (iii) meeting the developer or objectors to discuss the proposal, butnot meeting all parties with an interest in the decision; or (iv) commenting ondecisions once they have been issued, other than in terms of what has appeared inthe decision letter or, in the case of structure plan approvals, any accompanyingexplanatory annexes.

In the course of my attendanceat the event held at the Trump National Golf Club, I took no decisions about theTrump Organization’s planning application regarding the Menie estate; expressedno public opinion on the application; met no members of the Trump Organization,which was not, in any case, represented at the event; met no objectors to the application,and made no comment on any decision relating to the application, as none had beentaken at that time.

For the avoidance of doubt, andcontrary to media reports, I did not receive any hospitality from the Trump Organizationwhilst attending this event, nor did I play a round of golf, a sport in which Ihave not participated since approximately 1975.

Question reference: S3W-07822

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what official engagements the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth had in New York on 2 December 2007 and who was present at each engagement.

Question reference: S3W-07821

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what official engagements the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth had in New York on 3 December 2007 and who was present at each engagement.