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-01652

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 10 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent consideration it has given to a register of interests for members of the judiciary.

The Scottish Government participated in a debate on a public petition on a register of interests for members of Scotland's judiciary on 9 October 2014 and the then Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Paul Wheelhouse, gave evidence on the petition to the Petitions Committee on 9 December 2014. The First Minister and Mr Wheelhouse also wrote to the Committee about the petition on 30 March 2015 and 31 July 2015 respectively.

Question reference: S5W-13094

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to tackle climate change.

Scotland is a world-leader on climate change, with sustained progress against ambitious targets and a commitment to strengthen these further with a new Bill. The statutory annual emissions reduction target has been met for the second successive year, and Scotland is well on track to meet its world-leading interim 2020 target of a 42% emissions reduction from baseline levels.

The Scottish Government’s draft Climate Change Plan available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/climatechange/climate-change-plan sets out the policies and proposals across all sectors of the economy to reduce Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 66% from baseline levels by 2032. The final version the Plan will be published in February 2018 and will be strengthened by commitments on low-carbon transport, infrastructure and energy efficiency included in this year’s Programme for Government which has been described as the greenest in the history of the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government also continues to support on-the-ground low carbon action across the country. Through the Climate Challenge Fund we have invested
£85.8 million to date in 986 projects, which have delivered a wide range of community and environmental benefits.

As part of Scotland’s strong role in international efforts to tackle climate change, the First Minister presented messages from states and regions worldwide at a high level session attended by the UN Secretary-General at the recent COP23 talks in Bonn. Confirmation of almost £4 million from the Scottish Government’s Climate Justice Fund was given at COP23 to help developing countries tackle climate change and increase the role of women in climate change action.

Question reference: S5O-01500

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by Universities Scotland, Working to Widen Access.

Question reference: S5O-01454

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the commissioning of programmes with MG Alba.

Question reference: S5W-12047

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent international efforts it has taken part in to address marine pollution.

The Scottish Government's Marine Litter Strategy has over 40 on-going action points which all aim to reduce the amount of litter entering our seas and international waters. The Strategy and action points support the international commission OSPAR in its objectives to substantially reduce amounts of marine litter and also helps Scotland meet our obligations under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive to achieve good environmental status in our marine waters by 2020 and the requirement that “the properties and quantities of marine litter do not cause harm to the coastal and marine environments”. Marine Scotland is currently working closely with the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations to introduce a UK-wide ban on the manufacture and sale of rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads. Following the announcement in the Programme for Government, plans are also underway to host an international conference on healthy seas with a focus on marine litter in early 2019.

Question reference: S5W-12197

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 2 November 2017

Question reference: S5O-01417

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Question reference: S5W-11884

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when properties in rural areas that are connected to exchanges via Exchange Only lines, rather than through green roadside cabinets, can expect to have access to superfast broadband.

Around 192,000 Exchange Only lines have been serviced to date by the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) roll-out. The DSSB programme is on target to extend fibre broadband access to 95% of premises in Scotland by the end of 2017, with over 800,000 premises connected so far.

However, the Scottish Government is aware that some areas and premises are still without access to fibre broadband and, even where it is available, experiences can vary. That is why, despite telecoms delivery being a reserved matter, the Scottish Government has made the unique commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband coverage across Scotland by 2021. Any homes and businesses not capable of accessing superfast broadband, including those serviced by Exchange Only lines, will be eligible for investment through our Reaching 100% (R100) programme.

Question reference: S5W-11493

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the office of the Judicial Complaints Reviewer is adequately resourced.

The office of the Judicial Complaints Reviewer (JCR) is a demand led role and consequently the budget for the JCR is not cash limited. My officials are working with the JCR to ensure that he has the necessary support and resources.

The current expectation is that the role will require approximately three to four days per month but the Scottish Government will fund additional days where that is necessary to perform the functions of the office. In addition to the daily fee paid to the JCR, the Scottish Government pays for all the JCR’s office and travel expenses and funding has also been provided for larger expenditure such as the cost of setting up a website.

Question reference: S5O-01232

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for the implementation of the deposit return scheme.

This is an ambitious policy that will completely change the way we approach the use and disposal of everyday items - it is therefore important that we take the time to do it right.

We have asked Zero Waste Scotland to work in partnership with businesses, environmental organisations and other groups over the coming year to design a system which meets Scotland's needs. We will hold a public consultation before legislation is introduced. It will then be necessary to provide sufficient lead in time for everyone to prepare for what will be a significant change in business models and consumer behaviour.