Parliamentary questions

Alex Johnstone

582 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

2 Jun 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend support for the adoption of environmentally friendly public transport such as hydrogen and electric fuelled buses.

28 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the business case for the closure of sheriff court buildings included capital being realised from the redundant assets.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

28 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provision was made in the business case to close sheriff court buildings to finance any additional costs associated with their redeployment.

28 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it will give to communities who wish to take over former sheriff court buildings.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Court Service (SCS) gives priority to, and provides full support and assistance to community interest groups who express an interest in taking on the ownership of former SCS properties. The Scottish Government also provides a range of support fo…

12 May 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any further investigation into whether an over reliance on wind turbines as a source of electricity played a role in the grid failure on 16 April 2014.

30 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a conviction for the sale of drug-taking paraphernalia in Yorkshire and a decision by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service not to pursue a case in Angus, for what reasons such prosecutions are not being brought in Scotland.

Answer · Lesley Thomson: The decision for raising criminal proceedings in Scotland in any case is a matter for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). In any case there has to be a sufficiency of evidence in law available before consideration of raising proceedings ca…

30 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it can take to prohibit the sale of drug-taking paraphernalia from retail premises.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The classification of drugs and supply of drug paraphernalia is a reserved matter. The Scottish Government recently hosted a summit on enforcement methods to tackle the emergence of new psychoactive substances (so-called ‘legal highs), building on the learni…

17 Mar 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the cost of an independent Scotland’s welfare system and whether it would seek the co-operation of the UK Government in its implementation.

10 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many units have been completed under the National Housing Trust.

3 Mar 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the availability of flood insurance for homes and businesses in areas that have experienced flooding.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I spoke to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on 27 February 2014 about a number of issues relating to flood insurance in Scotland. In particular, I passed on concerns that had been raised with me by David MacDonald of Stonehaven Flood Action Group and…

17 Feb 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages local authorities to take advantage of the private and institutional funding streams that are available to them.

13 Jan 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government aims to use the planning process to prevent unconventional gas production.

5 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has given to local authorities on inspection regimes for premises offering a tattooing service.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Skin Piercing and Tattooing) Order 2006 gave local authorities the power to license individuals who carry out skin piercing or tattooing activities as a business. The Scottish Government has not provide…

5 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted for failure to register their premises as a tattooing establishment in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A person is required to register themselves and their premises with their local council in order to get a certificate of registration (or licence). A person failing to register would be prosecuted under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 Section 7(1). …

5 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted for tattooing without a licence in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. People prosecuted for tattooing and/or skin piercing without a licence under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 Section 7(1)1 Approximate Local Authority area2 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011…

5 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many licences for tattooing, skin piercing and electrolysis each local authority has issued in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Responsibility for enforcing tattooing and skin piercing legislation lies with local authorities and not the Scottish Government. Accordingly this information is not held centrally.

21 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it plans to provide to local authorities to help them protect vulnerable people from telephone cold calling.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government funds the National Adult Protection Coordinator post at the people protection organisation ‘WithScotland’ and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre. They both have been working with local authorities on pilots on a system for call bl…

19 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide local authorities with the records of prison visiting committees that cease to operate.

18 Nov 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve safety on the A937 between Montrose and Laurencekirk.

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much Cycling Walking and Safer Streets funding it allocated to each local authority in 2012-13.

Answer · Keith Brown: This information is already in the public domain in Local Government Finance Circular No. 1/2012 Annex O, published on 9 February 2012 and available on the Scottish Government Website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00390674.pdf.

31 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its buildings have electric vehicle charging points.

Answer · John Swinney: There are presently four Scottish Government buildings with dedicated electric vehicle charging points.

31 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many government car service vehicles are electric.

Answer · John Swinney: The government car service presently has one hybrid (petrol/electric) vehicle.

31 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households have received support from the scheme to fund the installation of home charging points for electric vehicles.

Answer · Keith Brown: Since the Scottish electric home charger installation scheme was launched in autumn 2012, we have 100% funded the installation of 65 home charge points across Scotland.

31 Oct 2013 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether the Parliament campus has electric vehicle charging points.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: The SPCB has installed two charging points for electric vehicles. One is located in the internal car park and one in the service yard.

28 Oct 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost is of providing NHS services for visitors and temporary migrants to Scotland.

30 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs will be directly created as a result of offshore wind farm developments.

16 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide support to take the Great Tapestry of Scotland to communities around the country.

9 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to reduce waiting times at accident and emergency departments.

3 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an independent Scotland would set a financial cap for welfare payments and, if so, what level this would be set at; what the timescale would be for its introduction; what annual savings it would bring, and how many people it would affect.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It will be for the first Scottish Government of an independent Scotland to decide welfare policy and whether and at what level a financial cap should be set. The household benefit cap currently set by the UK Government will affect around 4,600 households in S…

2 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of court capacity following the implementation of its court closures policy.