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: S5W-19793

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports in each police area there have been each year of contraventions of the (a) Fireworks Act 2003 and (b) Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004, and how many subsequent (i) arrests, (ii) charges, (iii) prosecutions and (iv) convictions there were.

(i) Scottish Government does not hold this information. Police Scotland have confirmed they do not currently collect data in respect of 'arrests'.

(ii) Number of charges (data provided by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service).

	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18
Fireworks Act 2003	9	8	9	*	-	*	-	*	*	-	-
Fireworks (S) Regulations 2004	51	22	33	27	30	19	10	17	9	*	8

* = fewer than 5

(iii) Number of people proceeded against in Scottish Courts under the Fireworks Act 2003 and Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004, 2007-08 to 2016-17.

	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
FIREWORKS ACT 2003¹	1	-	2	4	-	-	-	1	-	-
FIREWORKS (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004¹	12	1	-	5	2	-	-	-	-	-
Total¹	13	1	2	9	2	-	-	1	-	-

1 - where main crime

Source: Criminal Proceedings database

(iv) Number of people convicted in Scottish Courts under the Fireworks Act 2003 and Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004, 2007-08 to 2016-17.

	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
FIREWORKS ACT 2003 ¹	-	-	2	3	-	-	-	1	-	-
FIREWORKS (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004¹	10	1	-	5	1	-	-	-	-	-
Total¹	10	1	2	8	1	-	-	1	-	-

1 - where main crime

Source: Criminal Proceedings database

Question reference: S5W-19791

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many breaches of the Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004 there have been each year, broken down by police area.

Question reference: S5W-19792

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many times police officers in each police area have seized fireworks in each year since 2003, also broken down by the legislation used to carry this out.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The figures provided by Police Scotland are a simple count of the number of crimes and offences recorded in each local authority, and we don’t receive further details on the characteristics or circumstances of individual crimes and offences, such as whether property has been seized or the specific legislation used. The member may wish to write to Police Scotland directly to request this information.

Question reference: S5O-02558

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of fireworks on animal welfare, and whether it plans to amend the fireworks regulations to take account of this.

Question reference: S5W-19697

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has had with the Victims' Commissioner for (a) England and Wales and (b) London, and what issues were discussed.

I have not had any recent meetings with the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales or the Victims’ Commissioner for London.

I have met a number of victim support organisations and victims’ families. These discussions have directly informed the package of commitment relating to victims in the Programme for Government and the development of the Victims Taskforce, which will ensure victims’ voices are heard and provide them with better support and information.

Question reference: S5W-19498

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether a form was made available for businesses to complete if a lease was terminated or assigned to another party prior to the start of the three-year Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) lease reviews.

Question reference: S5W-19493

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has set Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) late return penalties higher than those for stamp duty.

The arrangements for LBTT have been designed to reflect Scots law and practice, the specifics of the Scottish housing market and the Scottish approach to taxation. As such, there are a number of areas where LBTT and Stamp Duty Land Tax differ. The LBTT penalty regime, which was introduced following detailed scrutiny of the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Bill by the Scottish Parliament, is intended to promote compliance and deter non-compliance.

Question reference: S5W-19499

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how all tenants, including businesses, can notify Revenue Scotland that a lease has been terminated with regard to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).

Question reference: S5W-19495

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) returns have been submitted following the three-year review return date that were (a) within one to three and (b) over three months late.

Question reference: S5W-19497

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to businesses that are tenants and are being served with Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) return reminders after their solicitors filed their initial returns.