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-00396

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is regarding the statutory repairs system for shared buildings in the City of Edinburgh Council area.

Question reference: S4W-03871

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on active and sustainable travel, as referred to in the 2011 SNP manifesto, in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15 and what proportion this represents of (a) overall transport spend, (b) transport spend excluding the Forth Replacement Crossing and (c) overall spend as laid out in the Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13.

The Scottish Government’s planned spend on active and sustainable travel, as reflected in the spending review and draft budget, is set out in the following table, together with the requested comparisons. The draft budget is still subject to parliamentary proceedings.

	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Sustainable and Active Travel (SAT)	£25 million	£16 million	£25 million	£15 million
Total Transport	£1,804 million	£1,884 million	£1,956 million	£1,986 million
SAT as % of above	1.39%	0.85%	1.28%	0.76%
Transport less Forth Crossing	£1,604 million	£1,602 million	£1,675 million	£1,627 million
SAT as % of above	1.56%	1.00%	1.49%	0.92%
Total Scottish Government	£33,523 million	£33,862 million	£34,431 million	£35,187 million
SAT as % of above	0.07%	0.05%	0.07%	0.04%

Question reference: S4W-03554

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority spent on (a) cycling and (b) active transport as a whole in the most recent year for which information is available, also expressed as a percentage of its transport spending.

Question reference: S4O-00361

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in bringing forward an approved tenancy deposit protection scheme and when the details of such a scheme will be announced.

Question reference: S4W-03809

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2011
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Russell on 4 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how and when it will respond to the recent consultation on university tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK.

I will today be laying before the Scottish Parliament new legislation which will enable Scottish universities to set their own tuition fees for students who usually live in other parts of the UK. This will not affect eligible Scottish domiciled students who, as now, will continue to have their tuition fees paid. It is vital that we take immediate action to protect places at our universities for home domiciled students. I believe this is the right decision for Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-03830

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2011
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angela Constance on 4 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund.

Question reference: S4W-03227

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would maintain the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 in Scotland if the Act were repealed by the UK Government.

The Human Rights Act 1998 is itself explicitly reserved by Part I of Schedule 4 to the Scotland Act. The Scottish Parliament nonetheless has competence in relation to “observing and implementing obligations under the Human Rights Convention”. Were the 1998 Act to be repealed by the UK Government, it would be open to the Scottish Parliament to pass its own legislation implementing relevant convention rights, within the constraints set by the current constitutional settlement.

Question reference: S4W-03226

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on a repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and any consequences for Schedule 4 of the Scotland Act 1998.

Question reference: S4O-00297

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what encouragement it gives local authorities to invest in walking and cycling facilities.

Question reference: S4W-02873

Asked by: Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 30 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02592 by Keith Brown on 21 September 2011, whether it expects to update the estimated carbon impact of the Edinburgh Glasgow Rail Improvement Programme as the project develops and, if so, when.