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-02199

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 15 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the local authority’s reported failure to comply with National Standards of Community Engagement regarding the proposals for the Whitesands’ flood prevention scheme.

Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the proposed Flood Protection Scheme for the Whitesands in Dumfries, and I understand that the Council has carried out several public engagement exercises around the development of the proposed Scheme. The Scottish Government encourages all public sector bodies to engage effectively with communities about decisions that affect them, and has provided the National Standards for community engagement as a tool to help bodies develop their own practice. They are not compulsory. Councils are independent organisations accountable to their own electorate, and it is for them to determine how to conduct appropriate consultation and engagement for particular projects.

However, there is a formal statutory process which leads to confirmation of a flood protection scheme. Once Dumfries and Galloway Council has started this process, it will provide another opportunity for people to lodge objections to the proposals, which the council will then be obliged to seek to address.

Question reference: S5W-02198

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 15 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the COSLA distribution group for flood prevention to ensure that applicants comply with National Standards of Community Engagement.

The agreement the Scottish Government has reached with COSLA means that funding for Flood Protection Schemes will be distributed to councils via the General Capital Grant in accordance with the priorities set out in the Flood Risk Management Strategies published by SEPA in December 2015. There is no application process. However, the formal statutory process for confirmation of a flood protection scheme will still need to be completed. This process will provide an opportunity for people to lodge objections to the proposals, which the council concerned will then be obliged to seek to address. The National Standards for community engagement set out best practice principles for the way that councils and other public bodies engage with communities. They are not compulsory, but they are good practice and can help deliver the outcomes we wish to achieve.

Question reference: S5W-02192

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the refreshed National Standards of Community Engagement will be published; which body will be responsible for monitoring compliance with them, and what information it has regarding (a) whether adherence to these will be made a condition of funding for large projects and (b) what sanctions could be imposed on public bodies that fail to follow these, including (i) whether this could include the withholding of national funding and (ii) what course of action will be open to communities affected by any such failure.

We expect the refreshed National Standards for Community Engagement to be published in late September 2016. The National Standards are a practical tool to help improve the experience of all participants involved in community engagement. The National Standards are not compulsory and as such there is no body responsible for monitoring compliance. There is also no current policy intention to make adherence to the National Standards a necessary condition of funding for large projects.

Question reference: S5O-00162

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it is having with the cultural sector regarding the impact of Brexit on the arts.

Question reference: S5O-00099

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on Scottish tax revenues of leaving the EU.

On 23 August 2016 the Scottish Government published analysis showing that if Scotland is taken out of the EU there is a significant risk to Scottish tax revenues.

Figures based on a range of UK level studies suggest that Scottish tax revenues could be between £1.7 billion and £3.7 billion lower a year by 2030 than if Brexit did not occur. That is equivalent to cutting the budget overseen by the Scottish Parliament by between 6% and 13%.

Question reference: S5W-01650

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 18 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK Government's decision to suspend payments from the £3 billion European Regional Development Fund will have on Scotland.

The 2007-13 European Regional Development Fund programme for Lowlands and Uplands Scotland was suspended by the European Commission in 2015. This means that the commission is withholding circa 110 million in re-payments due to the Scottish Government. Following detailed consultation and discussions with the commission it is likely that the suspensions will be lifted in the next few weeks and the funds released to the Scottish Government.

The current 2014-20 European Structural Funds programmes are unaffected.

Question reference: S5W-00593

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff NHS Borders employs, and how this compares with September 2006.

Question reference: S5O-00042

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the management of Scotland's Rural College.

Question reference: S4O-05655

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 10 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many young people in Dumfries and Galloway will be eligible to claim educational maintenance allowance following the extension of the programme.

Following the First Minister’s announcement on the expansion of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Programme, which came in to force from 1 January 2016, an estimated additional 10,000 school pupils and an additional 12,000 college students will now become eligible to take up an EMA. These estimates have been made on a national, rather than regional basis. As the member will know, the EMA is a demand led programme and eligibility is based on income thresholds which makes it difficult to predict the numbers of young people who will be eligible within each local authority.

Statistics on the number of young people who have received an EMA payment in an academic year are published annually. The most recent statistics show that 1,180 young people in Dumfries and Galloway received EMA payments in academic year 2013-14 and the statistics for academic year 2014-15 will be published later this month.

The recent changes to the EMA programme’s eligibility criteria serve to demonstrate that unlike in England, the Scottish Government remains committed to providing financial support directly to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them overcome financial barriers to access and stay in learning.

Question reference: S4W-29944

Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the independent review of the impacts of underground coal gasification will include (a) consultation on and (b) an assessment of the impact of unconventional gas developments on (i) wildlife and habitats and (ii) areas protected for wildlife.

The scope of the independent review of underground coal gasification (UCG) can be found on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/onshoreoilandgas/UCGIndependentReview

The review will prepare a well-developed and evidenced description of potential environmental, health and regulatory issues associated with UCG, which will include issues associated with the protection of wildlife, habitats and protected areas.

To support the review, Professor Gemmell will establish an advisory group and/or other stakeholder forum(s) to provide expert and stakeholder input on a wide range of issues, including environmental issues and regulation, public health, spatial planning, climate strategy, community engagement, industry, geosciences, and energy.