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-05727

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings has it had with the Stagecoach Group, or organisations associated with that group, in the last year and what issues were discussed.

The Stagecoach group are an important contributor to the Scottish Economy. As such, they meet regularly with a range of government ministers and officials. A single record of all such meetings could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, from the information we have available, Transport Scotland met Stagecoach 23 times last year as set out in the table. Details of ministerial meetings can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements.

Transport Scotland Meetings with Stagecoach

Date	Attendees	Issues Discussed
20-01-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach FirstGroup Lothian Buses Jacobs	Forth Public Transport Strategy - Inaugural bus operators meeting
24-02-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Logica ERG	Concessionary Travel - ERG Technical Review
14-03-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach	Concessionary Travel - Operator Liaison
04-04-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach	M77 Hard Shoulder Running
14-04-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach	Concessionary Travel - Live Reimbursement Planning
07-06-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach ACT Almex	Concessionary Travel - Partnering Workshop Host Operator Processing System (HOPS) replacement
5-07-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Lothian Buses Jacobs	Forth Public Transport Strategy - Progress meeting for bus operators
14-07-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach	Concessionary Travel - Live Reimbursement Planning
21-07-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach	Concessionary Travel - Fare tables and reimbursement
13-09-2011	Transport Scotland CPT – Stagecoach, FirstGroup, Lothian Buses, McGill’s Buses, Arriva Scotland West, EM Horsburgh	CPT Conference Closed Door Session
13 & 14-09-2011	Numerous bus stakeholders	CPT Conference
14-09-11	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Dundee City Council ITSO ACT Logica	Concessionary Travel - Host Operator Processing System (HOPS) Replacement Project Board
30-09-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach FirstGroup McGill’s Buses	Winter Resilience
18-10-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach	M77 Hard Shoulder Running
28-10-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Dundee City Council ITSO ACT Logica	Concessionary Travel - Host Operator Processing System (HOPS) Replacement Project Board
11-11-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Dundee City Council ITSO ACT Logica	Concessionary Travel - Host Operator Processing System (HOPS) Replacement Project Board
15-11-2011	Transport Scotland Stagecoach FirstGroup Lothian Buses CPT Jacobs	Forth Public Transport Strategy - Progress meeting for bus operators, which included detail on bus driver training
13-12-2011	Transport Scotland CPT – Stagecoach, FirstGroup, McGill’s Buses, Lothian Buses	Bus Service Operators Grant
21-12-2011	Transport Scotland CPT – Stagecoach, FirstGroup, McGill’s Buses, Lothian Buses	Bus Service Operators Grant
11-01-2012	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Argent Energy	Use of Biofuels
17-01-2012	Scottish Government Transport Scotland Stagecoach FirstGroup Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group Aberdeen City Council Aberdeenshire Council Scottish Enterprise SSE	Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Project
18-01-2012	Transport Scotland Stagecoach Dundee City Council ITSO ACT Logica	Concessionary Travel - Host Operator Processing System (HOPS) Replacement Project Board
7-02-2012	Transport Scotland Stagecoach FirstGroup CPT West Lothian Council Sestran Fife Council City of Edinburgh Council Jacobs	Forth Public Transport Working Group - Meeting to discuss the proposed refreshed Public Transport Strategy
5-03-2012	Transport Scotland Stagecoach FirstGroup Lothian Buses CPT West Lothian Council Sestran Fife Council City of Edinburgh Council Jacobs	Forth Public Transport Working Group - Progress Meeting

Question reference: S4W-05860

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 14 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive which formerly contracted-out services it has brought in-house since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-05861

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 14 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive which formerly in-house services it has contracted out since 2007.

Question reference: S4F-00548

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2012

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will announce its position on same-sex marriage.

Question reference: S4W-05974

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether passengers can be refunded for a train journey in relation to which First ScotRail has failed to provide a service or has provided a poor quality of service in terms of punctuality, overcrowding or other grounds for complaint.

As set out in ScotRail’s Passengers’ Charter, if the train a passenger intends to use is delayed or cancelled, and they decide not to travel, ScotRail will refund in full the cost of their ticket with no administration fee. ScotRail also provides compensation if a train is delayed for 30 minutes or more for non-season ticket holders or one hour for season ticket holders. Compensation is also provided if seat reservations are not honoured.

Claims will also be considered by ScotRail for delays, disruptions or poor service on an individual basis.

Question reference: S4W-05871

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether tenants considered to be under-occupying a socially rented home should be required to move to a smaller property.

Question reference: S4W-05872

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 8 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to local authorities on the use of compulsory purchase to bring more properties into residential use.

Question reference: S4O-00788

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the skills base in the economy.

We are committed to providing the support people need to find sustainable, productive employment which contributes to economic growth through:

Curriculum for Excellence, where all children and young people are entitled to opportunities for developing skills for learning, life and work throughout their learning;

Our Post-16 Reforms which aim to prepare learners for work and provides the tools they need to be productive and stay in employment;

Direct action to tackle unemployment including Opportunities for All, our National Training Programmes and support for workforce development; and

By working with partners, including industry bodies, to develop Skills Investment Plans to ensure that skills and training provision meets employers’ needs and anticipates and supports the future growth opportunities across the Scottish economy.

Question reference: S4W-05855

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it measures the siting or availability of fast food outlets near schools or provides guidance to local authorities on dealing with applications for such outlets.

The Scottish Government does not measure the siting or availability of fast food outlets near schools. Scottish Planning Policy (2010) contains guidance on the role of development plans in retailing, though no specific guidance is provided to local authorities on dealing with planning applications for fast food outlets. There may be scope for local licensing authorities to develop policies to help protect public health which can inform the licensing application process for mobile food vans and some have already done so successfully.

However, we are committed under the Preventing Obesity Route Map to producing, in partnership with COSLA, a new Beyond the School Gate toolkit to promote healthy eating in the vicinity of schools, and facilitating information sharing across Scotland. While work on the toolkit is progressing, local authorities have been contacted to encourage local take-up of the Healthyliving Award, a Scottish Government funded programme which helps food outlets prepare and promote the sale of healthier food options.

Question reference: S4W-05868

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes are empty and how it (a) monitors and (b) measures the level of empty residential property.

In September 2011, there were approximately 71,000 empty properties in Scotland. Of these around 25,000 were long term empty properties and around 46,000 were exempt from council tax because they were unoccupied.

(a) The Scottish Government monitors the level of empty residential properties through annual collection of the Council Tax Base (CTAXBASE) statistical return from local authorities. The return collects data on the number of dwellings on the council tax valuation list, and identifies, among other things, the number of dwellings receiving exemptions or discounts because they are empty.

(b) The total number of empty dwellings is measured by counting the number of dwellings which are exempt from paying council tax because they are unoccupied (unoccupied exemptions), plus the number of dwellings receiving a council tax discount because they are long term empty.

Dwellings can have an unoccupied exemption under a range of different circumstances. These include unoccupied exemptions with no time limit for example where the liable person has moved to receive or provide personal care, and time limited unoccupied exemptions for new dwellings, dwellings in need of substantial repair or where liability falls to be met from the estate of a deceased person.

Long term empty properties are unfurnished properties which have been empty for six months or more and are currently entitled to a discount between 50% and 10% of their council tax bill.

A full list of council tax liability including discounts and exemptions is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/counciltax/leaflets/liability