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: S4O-00314

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is being given to promote further and higher education in the south of Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-03066

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Aileen Campbell on 30 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the progress is of the review of protective barriers in building regulations.

The Scottish Government has completed its review of this aspect of the building regulations, which was initiated as a result of the tragic circumstances of the death of 21 month old Ben McCreath. From October 2011, revised guidance applies to protective barriers and this will further protect children in and around new non-domestic buildings.

We are also producing a guidance leaflet Are Your Barriers Safe? which should help to raise awareness of potential hazards in existing buildings. This advises owners and occupiers to assess the safety of existing protective barriers and alter them as appropriate.

Question reference: S4F-00103

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2011

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to boost economic growth.

Question reference: S4W-02153

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-02152

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-02151

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-01403

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consult on the changes to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

The Scottish Government, along with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations, published a vision for the way ahead in terms of simplifying the CRC scheme on 30 June 2011. This vision sets out the main simplifications that government would like to propose for formal consultation early in 2012. These proposals will provide greater business certainty by continuing the fixed price sale, rather than auctions of allowances in a capped system, into the second phase as recommended by the Committee on Climate Change and allow business greater flexibility for organisations to participate as natural business units. These proposals will reduce the administrative burden, in particular by reducing the number of the fuels reported from 30 to four and a range of other measures. Government will also reduce perceived complexity of the scheme, by removing the 90% rule and CCA exemption rules, but achieving broadly the same outcomes, and reduce overlap with other schemes. In particular, businesses covered entirely by CCAs will not need to register and EU ETS installations will no longer be require to purchase allowances for electricity supplies.

The first reporting year of the CRC is now over, and many organisations are now, for the first time, in the process of identifying and recording their entire energy use. In this year, we have seen the importance of the CRC for stimulating the market for new low carbon goods and service industries, including in energy measurement, in remotely read meters, in voltage optimisers, in low energy lighting.

Government wish to ensure that we take account of all the aspects of the scheme, and the lessons learned in the last year. As participants have not yet completed the first full cycle, and in order to make sure we get the technical details right, and ensure we have correctly identified the likely cost savings, the Scottish Government, DECC and the other devolved administrations will continue the informal dialogue with participants throughout autumn 2011. Government will then formally consult on legislative proposals in early 2012.

There have been suggestions that the CRC should just be turned into a tax. This was considered by the UK Government, however, because of the other elements of the CRC, namely robust organisational measurement of energy use and reputational drivers, the tax required to deliver the same carbon savings would be significantly higher. Energy costs are not a significant fraction of turnover or revenues, other barriers prevent cost effective savings being made. Therefore, the simplified CRC is the best way to achieve these savings. This will provide a basis for a simplified CRC and certainty for the future. Government will review the CRC, and its relation too other policy measures in 2017.

Question reference: S4W-01173

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to extend the protection afforded to sharks, skates and rays (elasmobranchs).

Question reference: S4O-00088

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it and the Scottish Funding Council invested in research and development in the south of Scotland in 2010-11 and what share this represented of such investment across Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-00056

Asked by: Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been achieved in assessing the business case for re-establishing local rail services between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed.