Parliamentary questions
Douglas Lumsden
1,891 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that there is an adequate number of justices of the peace to meet demand.
Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost has been of administering the justice of the peace system in each of the last five years.
Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic impact of Transport Scotland-funded projects in Aberdeen and the north east over the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33099 on 22 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-an…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are in place to monitor and report on the economic impact of Transport Scotland-funded projects after their completion.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Evaluation is essential to the work of Transport Scotland to assess whether policies and interventions are being delivered as intended, and to help identify ways to improve them.Transport Scotland follows published evaluation guidance for both rail and road p…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of cases handled by justices of the peace in each of the last five years resulted in convictions.
Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases were handled in each of the last five years by justices of the peace, broken down by case type.
Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has in place to ensure that government-owned vehicles comply with emissions regulations.
Answer · Ivan McKee: All Scottish Government fleet vehicles are maintained in line with manufacturers guidelines to ensure emission regulation compliance.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what methodology is used to identify the projects funded by Transport Scotland that deliver the greatest return on investment.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Public Finance Manual sets out the appraisal framework for proportionately securing best value and value for money. The methodology on applying this appraisal framework, where there is a change sought to the transport system requiring Scottish Go…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role regional economic development plays in funding decisions by Transport Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: To inform funding decisions, all projects supported by Transport Scotland are required to follow our standard Business Case process, including the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). Identified options for Transport Scotland investment are assessed …
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which projects funded by Transport Scotland in the last five years have delivered the largest economic impact, and how this has been assessed.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All major transport projects are appraised and evaluated in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual and Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) which are consistent with HM Treasury Green Book guidance. The Green Book (Section 6.1) generally discour…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the role of justices of the peace contributes to the overall efficiency of the justice system.
Answer · Angela Constance: Justice of the peace courts deal with less serious summary crimes such as speeding, careless driving and breach of the peace. Being a Justice of the Peace is a voluntary role that is filled by lay people from within the local community who receive training in…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much employment has been generated by Transport Scotland-funded projects in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33099 on 22 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-an…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on the purchase or use of personalised number plates for its official vehicles.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government does not have a specific policy, however we don’t currently own or use personalised number plates on official vehicles and have no future plans to do so.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it evaluates the economic impact of projects funded by Transport Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Evaluation is essential to the work of Transport Scotland to assess whether policies and interventions are being delivered as intended, and to help identify ways to improve them.Monitoring and evaluation typically use a mixture of qualitative and quantitative…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the performance and effectiveness of the justice of the peace system.
Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many personalised or special vehicle number plates it owns, and what the cost of any such plates has been over the last five years.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government does not own any personalised or special vehicle number plates, therefore there are no associated costs.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the environmental impact of its vehicle fleet, including in relation to (a) emissions and (b) fuel usage.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has a dedicated team that manage all aspects of our fleet. Part of this role is to ensure vehicles are maintained in line with manufacturers recommended maintenance schedules and guidelines to ensure emission compliance and the active …
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average caseload is for a justice of the peace.
Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to transition its vehicle fleet to low-emission or zero-emission vehicles.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government is fully committed to the decarbonisation of its vehicle fleet. To support this, a replacement strategy has been in operation since 2015 to replace end of life vehicles with zero or ultra-low emissions vehicles where possible.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current charges are for accessing records from National Records of Scotland, and how these compare with the charges five years ago.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:Registration service fees are set by the Registrar General for Scotland with the approval of the Scottish Ministers under The Registra…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has implemented to ensure the security and privacy of data held by National Records of Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:NRS operates an information security governance and assurance structure aligned to ISO 27001 and HM Government security framework.Pers…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cars it currently (a) owns and (b) leases, and what the current annual cost of operating these vehicles is.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government fleet is made up of 187 vehicles, all vehicles are outright purchased and we don’t currently lease any vehicles.The total cost of operating the fleet from 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2024 was £334,706.
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Registers of Scotland regarding digital transformation and modernisation of registry systems.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament and Digital transformation and modernisation of the Registers of Scotland systems are the responsibility of the Keeper.RoS is delivering a significant programme of di…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how Registers of Scotland ensures that its registry management systems meet the needs of users, including legal professionals and the general public.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament.RoS formally surveys its customers (professionals and citizens) twice a year through the Customer Services Institute to benchmark customer satisfaction and customer e…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has undertaken of public (a) awareness and (b) use of services provided by National Records of Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:NRS is a member of the Institute of Customer Service and participates in an annual Business Benchmarking Survey. The survey focusses o…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the operational efficiency of Registers of Scotland.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament and is subject to regular scrutiny from the Economy and Fair Work Committee, including on the work it is delivering to improve operational efficiency.The Scottish Gov…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average processing time currently is for requests made to National Records of Scotland, and what measures are in place to improve this.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:NRS has differing processing times depending on the nature of the request. NRS monitors these timescales through robust Key Performanc…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to recruit and retain Justices of the Peace, particularly in rural areas.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government works alongside the Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees (JPACs) to recruit Justices of the Peace. JPACs across all areas in Scotland advise the Scottish Government on where pressures exist, and the recruitment needs to alleviate t…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the digitisation of records held by National Records of Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:NRS regularly releases digitised records and archives through the Scotland’s People website, with the numbers reported on Page 2…
8 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual operating cost of National Records of Scotland has been in each of the last five years.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:The total annual operating costs of NRS for the last five years are:£32,845m (2023-24)£63,812m (2022-23)£61.905m (20…