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-08784

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Transport and the Islands will reply to the letter dated 8 February 2017 from John Finnie MSP regarding the ferry services for Orkney and Shetland.

Question reference: S5W-08850

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 2 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people in Scotland are exempt from tax, also broken down by type of tax, and how many are ordinarily resident in (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of UK.

Revenue Scotland is responsible for the collection and management of the fully devolved taxes and is bound by taxpayer confidentiality, but reports monthly statistics for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and quarterly statistics for Scottish Landfill Tax. The Scottish Government has in place appropriate data sharing arrangements to allow policy development. Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2015-16 provides the numbers of dwellings exempt from Council Tax, and chargeable dwellings in receipt of Council Tax discounts and reductions, for each year from 2011 to 2016. The Scottish Government does not hold any information on exemptions regarding UK reserved taxes collected in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-08848

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 2 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations that operate in Scotland have employees who receive immunity from (a) criminal and (b) civil law.

A number of international organisations whose officers enjoy immunities and privileges under Scots law are listed in the International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges) (Scotland) Order 2009, as amended and as to be further amended by the draft International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2017 when it is made by Her Majesty in Council. These organisations are:

Schedule 1 International Mobile Satellite Organisation

Schedule 2 International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation

Schedule 3 Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation

Schedule 4 International Seabed Authority

Schedule 5 European Court of Human Rights

Schedule 6 UNESCO

Schedule 7 Organisation for the Prohibition Of Chemical Weapons

Schedule 8 International Maritime Organisation

Schedule 9 Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation

Schedule 10 European Police College

Schedule 11 International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Schedule 12 European Organisation for Nuclear Research

Schedule 13 International Organisation for Migration

Schedule 14 European Union Military Staff

Schedule 15 European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere [pending]

Other international organisations enjoy immunities and privileges by virtue of Westminster legislation, for example the European Communities Act 1972 which covers EU staff. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have provided the following applicable list of international organisations in the UK (excluded from this list are organisations already mentioned):

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO)

CAB International

International Coffee Organisation (ICO)

International Development Corporation (IDC)

Commonwealth Foundation

International Finance Commission (IFC) – World Bank Group

Commonwealth Secretariat

International Grains Council (IGC)

Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)

International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

European Banking Authority (EBA)

International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF)

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

European Commission

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA/GSMC)

International Sugar Organisation (ISO)

European Investment Bank (EIB)

European Medicine Agency (EMA)

International Whaling Commission

European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Outstation) – European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI)

North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO)

European Parliament

North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)

European Parliament Office in Scotland Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

European School

OSPAR Commission

European Space Agency (ESA)

UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

UN Information Centre (UNIC)

Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO)

UN World Food Programme

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) – World Bank Group

In addition to these international organisations diplomatic immunity will be applicable to diplomats.

Question reference: S5W-08849

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 2 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding which organisations that operate in Scotland have employees who are exempt from taxation.

The Scotland Act 2016 extends income tax powers provided for in the Scotland Act 2012. The Scottish Parliament has the power to set the Scottish income tax rates and bands, and HMRC will continue to be responsible for its collection and management.

HMRC continues to be the owner of data relating to income tax liabilities, and the Scottish Government has appropriate data sharing arrangements with them to allow policy development. HMRC are bound by taxpayer confidentiality, but publish aggregated statistics annually.

Question reference: S5W-08871

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its consultation on changes to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), what assessment it has made of Scotland's ability to meet the Aichi targets if the proposal to introduce an increased threshold for EIAs for forestry is introduced.

Question reference: S5O-00900

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on locations in Scotland holding UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Question reference: S5W-08500

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the benefit-cost ratios for the A9 dualling project were (a) prior to the introduction and (b) after one year’s operation of average speed cameras.

Question reference: S5W-08169

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what sanctions exist for conduct by appointed religious representatives on local authority education committees, which, if conducted by an elected member, would be reportable to the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

Question reference: S5W-08214

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 28 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-07487 by Jamie Hepburn on 16 March 2017, whether it will ask Skills Development Scotland to insist that the modern apprenticeship vacancies advertised on the website must be at least Two Tick or Disability Confident.

Skills Development Scotland is currently working with MA training providers and employers in a range of ways to raise awareness of Disability Confident processes and encouraging them to meet the criteria. An example of this was the 'Get Connected: progressing equality and diversity in modern apprenticeships' event, Skills Development Scotland delivered in partnership with the Scottish Training Federation as part of the recent Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

In addition, Skills Development Scotland will be rolling out a series of information sessions for training providers on Disability Confident from April 2017 onwards. The sessions will be held at various locations across Scotland with the first to be held in Kilmarnock on April 10.

The SDS web site 'Our Skillsforce' provides guidance and support to employers and training providers of disabled MAs. This includes signposting to additional support provided by partners.

Question reference: S5W-07919

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 27 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to support people in the North Scotland electricity distribution network area regarding Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks' proposed increase in additional distribution costs in 2017-18 by 23%, with a further 10% increase planned each year until 2023, due to the upgrade of submarine transmission lines, and what discussions it has had or plans with the (a) supplier and (b) UK Government about this.

Scottish Ministers meet regularly with SSE to discuss matters regarding investment proposals for grid in the North Scotland area – most recently on 15 March 2017.

The Scottish Government and Marine Scotland have been working closely with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and the electricity regulator Ofgem since 2014 to ensure that the costs to consumers in the North of Scotland associated with the subsea distribution cable replacement programme are proportionate and can be demonstrated to be justified.

The final impact on cost is currently not known. However, SSEN is undertaking a cost benefit analysis for each and every cable to be replaced and installed. This is designed to ensure all factors are considered in determining the most appropriate method of installation, and any additional cost is justified. The amount of any increase in expenditure is not expect to be finalised until around October 2018.

Scottish Ministers continue to press our UK counterparts to support invest in grid connectivity – particularly to the Islands Authority areas as well as ‘bootstraps’ on the east and west coasts.