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-22275

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 21 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what plans ministers have to visit Gypsy/Traveller sites in The Highland Council area.

Question reference: S4W-22269

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 21 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the closure of a Gypsy/Traveller site by a local authority does not unduly impact on the way of life of the Gypsy/Traveller community.

Local authorities are responsible for decisions regarding the provision of Gypsy/Traveller sites in their area, including any decision to close a Gypsy/Traveller site. The Scottish Government is not directly involved in assessing the impact of such a closure. However, a local authority has to consider the accommodation needs of Gypsy/Travellers as part of a Housing Need and Demand Assessment and when developing its local housing strategy and development plan. Each Local housing strategy goes through a review process, with input from Scottish Government officials, and comments are provided as appropriate. These comments can cover Gypsy/Traveller site provision.

Question reference: S4W-22272

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) The Highland, (b) Argyll and Bute, (c) Moray and (d) Perth and Kinross Council about the needs of the Gypsy/Traveller community.

Question reference: S4W-22276

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it consults with the Gypsy/Traveller community.

Question reference: S4W-22277

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with EU member states about supporting the Gypsy/Traveller lifestyle.

Question reference: S4W-22204

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that funding for domestic violence services reflects the need for such services.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to tackling domestic violence. In spite of unprecedented pressure on the Scottish budget, record funding of £34.5 million has been allocated for 2012-15 (an increase of 62% on the amount committed over the period 2004–07) to support work to tackle all forms of violence against women (including domestic violence). This includes funding for projects which deliver frontline services, or build capacity in local partnerships to strengthen responses to violence against women.

In the coming period funding for services will be aligned to the priorities set out in Equally Safe Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls.

Question reference: S4W-22273

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages collaborative working across local authorities regarding the facilities required to maintain the Gypsy/Traveller lifestyle.

We are aware of some local authority collaboration on site provision. We are working with key stakeholders, including representatives of local authorities, to develop an overarching strategy and action plan for Gypsy/Travellers. Through this work, we will consider other areas where collaboration would be helpful.

We also engage regularly with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on a range of race equality issues, including those relating to Gypsy/Travellers.

Question reference: S4O-03482

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what methods of consultation it uses to gauge the views of cyclists regarding major trunk road works.

Question reference: S4O-03427

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government about equalising the minimum wage regardless of age, given the impact on youth employment.

Question reference: S4W-22032

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 July 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider instituting a mechanism for reviewing the public interest charitable status test applied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator that reflects the fact that "public interest" can change with time and circumstances.

The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’) makes ‘public benefit’, which is a well-established concept in charity law, unlike ‘public interest’, a criterion of the charity test. Parliament has set out in section 8 of the 2005 Act, the matters that the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) must take into account in assessing whether a charity (or a body wishing to get charitable status) provides public benefit.

OSCR already has the power to review whether existing charities continue to meet the Charity test. Section 28 and section 30 of Chapter 4 of the 2005 Act provide OSCR with the power to make inquiries into a charity at any time and to remove any charity that no longer meets the charity test. An organisation that does not provide ‘public benefit’ will not meet the requirements of the charity test and will be removed from the register.

There are over 23,500 charities in Scotland. OSCR undertakes in depth reviews of a small number of charities in groups where there is a perceived likelihood of failing the charity test, and then disseminates the results effectively to other relevant charities. This is a proportionate and targeted approach, in line with regulatory principles.