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-08135

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress Scottish Development International has made in fostering trade links with Turkey.

Scottish Development International (SDI) led an energy focussed trade delegation between 24 and 28 June 2012 that visited Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul. This mission has resulted in an agreement to involve the major Turkish oil and gas pipeline contractor, BOTAS in a workshop on pipeline-related industries in Scotland. In addition, a number of the Scottish companies that participated in the mission are planning to return to Turkey to follow up business leads generated as a result of the trade mission.

Earlier in June, SDI hosted a visit to Scotland by the Middle Black Sea Development Agency (OKA), the economic, social and cultural development agency of the Turkish Middle Black Sea region.

Question reference: S4W-07940

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bariatric surgery operations were carried out by NHS Forth Valley in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

ISD central records do not include any bariatric surgery procedures carried out by NHS Forth Valley hospitals in the financial year ending 31 March 2011. Figures for the financial year ending 31 March 2012 are expected to be available in September 2012.

The data for Forth Valley has been identified as being incomplete on central returns. NHS Forth Valley and ISD are working to resolve this.

NHS Forth Valley report that in 2010-11 they provided Bariatric Surgery Procedures using facilities at Ross Hall Hospital in Glasgow as surgical facilities at the former Stirling Royal Infirmary were unsuitable for bariatric surgery cases. The number of procedures provided at Ross Hall Hospital for NHS Forth Valley Residents in 2010-11 was 18.

Question reference: S4W-08130

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 2 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made regarding reform of the EU Regional Aid Guidelines.

The European Commission has issued a discussion paper on its proposals for the new Regional Aid Guidelines, which will come into force in 2014. The proposals in the discussion paper are not helpful for Scotland, and we are directly engaged in negotiations with the Commission so that aid is not unnecessarily restricted, precisely at the time when flexibility around this sort of support for investment is required. We expect to see formal draft proposals in October, with a further round of negotiations before the Regulations are finalised towards the end of 2012.

Question reference: S4W-08136

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 29 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made toward the declaration of Bo’ness and Kinneil foreshore as a nature reserve.

Question reference: S4W-08129

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the survival rates are for small to medium-sized enterprises in Falkirk district at (a) 12 and (b) 36 months and how this compares with the rate for Scotland.

Table 1 shows the proportion of businesses born each year, which were still in business one year on and three years on. These data are taken from the Business Demography 2010 publication which contains the most up to date data available.

Table 1: New Business Survival Rates, after One Year and after Three Years, Falkirk Local Authority Area and Scotland

Year Business Born

1 Year Survival Rate

3 Year Survival Rate

Falkirk

Scotland

Falkirk

Scotland

2005	96.0%	95.3%	62.6%	64.0%
2006	95.8%	96.5%	67.7%	65.7%
2007	97.0%	96.1%	65.2%	65.5%
2008	95.0%	93.4%	..	..
2009	91.3%	90.8%	..	..

Source: Business Demography 2010, Office for National Statistics.

Note: ..Denotes that data are not yet available.

Question reference: S4W-08137

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made toward extending the John Muir Trail to the Falkirk Council area.

Question reference: S4W-08034

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made toward the creation of the Inner Forth landscape partnership.

A partnership board has been established, bringing together a number of key public and third sector partners. The board is responsible for determining the direction and strategy of the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, monitoring delivery and ensuring funding requirements are met. The board is currently awaiting the outcome of an application submitted earlier this year to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a Landscape Partnership Scheme which could secure a £4 million package of measures for the Inner Forth. A decision on the HLF application is expected in July 2012.

Question reference: S4W-08002

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) local authorities and (b) public bodies have completed a Gaelic language plan as per the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

To date, a total of 23 Gaelic Language Plans have been agreed by Bòrd na Gidhlig as per the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

Five of these are local authorities (four are at the stage of undertaking renewals as per the timetable in their original plans). The other 18 are Scottish Public Authorities, which includes the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament (one is at the stage of undertaking a renewal as per the timetable in their original plan).

Another 27 bodies (a mixture of local authorities and public bodies) are formally in the process of preparing plans for the first time.

Question reference: S4O-01129

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2012
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received regarding the impact on businesses of the proposed water framework and industrial emissions directives.

Question reference: S4O-01065

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement it has had with the partners of the NorthConnect interconnector between Norway and Scotland and what steps it is taking to encourage further development of interconnectors between Scotland and the Nordic region.