Parliamentary questions
Sarah Boyack
2,373 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
18 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances would it allow a local development plan to contradict the national planning framework.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01373 on 11 July 2011. Planning legislation requires that in preparing a local development plan the planning authority (a) are to take into account the National Planning Framework; (b) are to have regard to su…
16 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first notified of the oil spill from Shell's Gannet Alpha platform and how this notification was given.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Government officials based at the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, who are the Marine Scotland on call Duty Officers, were first notified of the spill via a telephone call from Shell at 1pm on 11 August 2011. As is routinely the case in relation to the…
15 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report on (a) emissions reductions achieved and the amount invested under the Energy Company Obligation, (b) the number of Green Deal assessments and packages agreed in Scotland and (c) emissions reductions achieved under the Green Deal.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation are UK Government initiatives that will be made available in Scotland with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament and government. The Scottish Government will hold a joint consultation with the UK Government in …
15 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons Marine Scotland has learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spillage in relation to wildlife protection.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Detailed analysis of the environmental impacts arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident is still awaited. The Scottish regulatory community take very seriously the need to apply any lessons as they emerge, albeit that some of these will be relevant only to…
15 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with The Shell Group regarding the oil spillage from its Gannet Alpha platform.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The First Minister and myself spoke directly to Shell senior management regarding their response to the spill and to stress the importance of clear communication. Scottish Government officials have also contributed to the Operations Control Unit established b…
15 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons Marine Scotland has learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spillage in relation to the fishing industry.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02236 on 14 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliament…
15 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons Marine Scotland has learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spillage in relation to public health.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02236 on 14 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
15 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans Marine Scotland has in place to deal with major oil spillages.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations sets out the roles and responsibilities of the wide range of agencies involved in responding to such an incident. Marine Scotland’s primary role in this context is to …
11 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it has made to address flooding problems on the Glasgow to Edinburgh rail line.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish ministers fund Network Rail to operate, maintain and renew the railway infrastructure in Scotland. Generally, Scottish ministers do not specify how Network Rail spends the money, as it has a wide variety of challenges to meet in achieving the target …
11 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what rail routes, including those connecting with the rest of the United Kingdom, have been identified as vulnerable as a result of climate change.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has not carried out any modelling to identify rail routes vulnerable as a result of climate change. However, Network Rail under UK Climate Change obligations provided the Secretary of State (of the Environment) a report in April 2011 …
11 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency planning is in place to address weather-related disruption to key rail routes.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish ministers do not specify the level of contingency plans that the rail industry makes for any type of event. However, it is expected that the rail industry has sufficient and robust plans in place so that the effects of forseeable disruptive events ar…
11 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what future investment it considers necessary to enable the railway network to continue to operate in the event of rain, wind and low temperatures.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish ministers fund Network Rail to operate, maintain and renew the railway infrastructure in Scotland, and fund First ScotRail to deliver the franchised passenger services. The Scottish Government has set Network Rail and First ScotRail performance targe…
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth on ensuring that the next Budget (Scotland) Bill increases funding for peatland restoration and the extent to which this could con…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s action to meet statutory emissions reduction targets is a collective responsibility across all ministerial portfolios, and all Cabinet Secretaries are currently engaged in discussions in preparation for the Spending Review. There are…
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring it is conducting on the use of council tax discounts specified in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
Answer · John Swinney: The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 placed a duty on local authorities to introduce a minimum £50 discount for council tax, where householders undertake efficiency improvements to their home. The Scottish Government, as required by the act, will report on …
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth to ensure that the next Budget (Scotland) Bill fully funds the implementation of policies and proposals contained in the report, L…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s action to meet statutory emissions reduction targets is a collective responsibility across all ministerial portfolios, and all Cabinet Secretaries are currently engaged in discussions in preparation for the spending review.
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is taking to ensure his directorate's compliance with Part 4 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01934 on 11 August 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybu…
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has had with Cabinet colleagues to facilitate Scottish Water becoming a renewable energy generator and on the extent to which this could contribute to meeting the annual targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) A…
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Water is the single largest consumer of electricity in Scotland, using 450 gigawatt hours per year. This equates to over 1% of Scotland’s electricity demand. In March 2011, ministers approved Scottish Water’s growth plan for the 2011-15 period which…
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring it is conducting on the use of business rates discounts specified in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Section 67 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act clarifies the position with regard to the power to introduce a business rates discount. The Scottish Government keeps the business rates regime under regular review, including the need for any new discount schem…
5 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish a report on emissions attributable to consumption of goods and services for 2010, as required by section 37 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Work is currently underway within the Scottish Government to review the options for reporting on the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Scotland’s consumption of goods and services in order to determine the most suitable approach to fulfilling the repor…
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines there are for recording and monitoring the emission of pollutants.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency provides a wide range of guidance and support for regulated business, both through guidance material published on its website and in hard copy, and through bespoke advice. Guidelines are also provided through conditi…
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures the accuracy of data in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (SEPA) Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01853 on 16 August 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybu…
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ask the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to review whether there have been instances of underreporting of chemical discharges by companies submitting information to the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has proactively commissioned a review of the accuracy of data on the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory. The government is being kept informed of the progress of this work.
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is regarding the reported errors in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (SEPA) Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for maintaining the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory, the content of which is supplied by individual regulated businesses. SEPA has confirmed that a number of entries in the inventory are in…
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are there for recording and monitoring waste transfers.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Guidance on recording and monitoring of waste transfers is set out in the Duty of Care Code of Practice made under section 34(7) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This code places a duty on anyone who in any way has a responsibility for controlled was…
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring procedures there are to monitor the controlled discharge of pollutants.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) uses a combination of sampling data provided by regulated businesses themselves, and monitoring information gathered by SEPA staff at individual regulated sites, to ensure that the conditions in permits or lic…
25 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that returns submitted by operators for inclusion in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (SEPA) Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory are accurate and that they represent safe levels of emissions and waste transfers.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) provides an on-line system to enable businesses to supply data to the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI). The system should automatically identify where significant changes have occurred between repor…
29 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure the financial viability of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
28 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan has in relation to the assessment of plans under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the assessment of plans or projects under the (a) habitats and (b) environmental impact assessment regulations.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the offshore wind support component of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) was undertaken, in accordance with the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, and the Environmental Report was publ…
28 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it expects the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan to have in relation to the development of Hunterston power station.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The purpose of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) is to provide onshore support, with the focus on Scottish ports and harbours, for the development of a globally competitive offshore renewables industry based in Scotland. The focus of the N-R…
28 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that a local development plan could contradict the national planning framework in relation to section 25 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and, if so, what the effect of this would be for the determination of planning applications.
Answer · John Swinney: Following changes made by the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, section 16 of Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 requires planning authorities to take account of the National Planning Framework in preparing their local development plans. Section …