Parliamentary questions
Alex Johnstone
582 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Jun 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister how much it would cost annually for an independent Scotland to raise benefit payments to a level that the Scottish Government considers appropriate.
29 May 2013 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether the external security facility will be delivered on time and on budget.
23 May 2013 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that court fines and police antisocial behaviour penalties are collected.
7 Jan 2013 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to the victims of recent flooding in Stonehaven and other areas.
12 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions there have been for breaches of the private landlord registration scheme.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: Responsibility for administration of the Landlord Registration scheme rests with local authorities. The Scottish Government monitors local authority Landlord Registration enforcement activity, and since January 2011 there have been 11 cases reported to the pr…
12 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid in fees by private landlords since the private landlord registration scheme was introduced.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: Since 2006, £11.2 million has been paid by landlords making online fee payments to local authorities. There are approximately 197,709 approved landlord registrations in Scotland. Each landlord is obliged to pay a registration fee of £55 every three years and …
12 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs to administer the private landlord registration scheme.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: It is not possible to provide an exact figure for the total annual running costs of the landlord registration scheme as responsibility for administration of the scheme rests with local authorities. The Scottish Government provides the national Landlord Regist…
12 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it cost to develop the private landlord registration scheme.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: Responsibility for administration of the Landlord Registration Scheme rests with Local Authorities. To help meet the start up costs associated with delivery of the scheme, the Scottish Government made a total of £5.2 million of grant funding available to loca…
10 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on considering the adoption of the 111 telephone number for non-emergency healthcare services.
Answer · Alex Neil: Consideration for the adoption of the “111” number, for access to non-emergency healthcare services in Scotland is ongoing. As members will appreciate, it is important to ensure decisions affecting access to NHS services are based on the best available eviden…
6 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publish a five-year strategy for engagement between Scotland and Japan.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is very pleased with the long and positive relationship we have built with Japan, who has been an important trading partner for Scotland for many years. In 2010, Scottish exports to Japan were valued at £295 million. Last month the Cab…
3 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to assist farmers who continue to be affected by extremely wet soil conditions.
26 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported 1.3% fall in sales in October 2012, whether it will reconsider the public health levy.
19 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Qualifications Authority about the preparedness of secondary schools for the new curriculum for excellence examinations.
12 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects the average of 77 weeks for a decision on major housing applications to have on the house construction industry.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many solemn criminal trials are expected to be transferred from Aberdeen Sheriff Court to Stonehaven Sheriff Court in 2013.
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
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil debates at sheriff courts were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil debates at (a) Aberdeen and (b) Stonehaven Sheriff Court were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil proofs, including ordinary, family, summary cause and small claim, at sheriff courts were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil proofs, including ordinary, family, summary cause or small claim, at (a) Aberdeen and (b) Stonehaven Sheriff Court were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many solemn criminal trials at (a) Aberdeen and (b) Stonehaven Sheriff Court were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) summary and (b) solemn criminal trials at sheriff courts were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many summary criminal trials at (a) Aberdeen and (b) Stonehaven Sheriff Court were called but adjourned for lack of court time in 2011.
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
1 Oct 2012 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed smart travel card scheme will be able to provide integrated public transport ticketing throughout Scotland.
13 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that sportscotland is withholding funding from it, what action it is taking to avoid redundancies at the Scottish Gymnastics Association.
Answer · Shona Robison: My understanding is that the Scottish Gymnastics Association has issued redundancy notices to seven of its sport development and high performance staff. In order to safeguard these posts, sportscotland has stepped in and will pay these staff members directly …
4 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to allow housing charities that are not housing associations to access government subsidy for the construction of new homes.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government has already supported a number of housing charities in the construction of new homes. The 2011 Innovation and Investment Fund allowed housing charities to submit proposals, under a competitive bidding process, for government subsidy. H…
29 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of sports governance is adequate to deliver athletes to represent Scotland effectively at the Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Shona Robison: We are confident that sportscotland has the appropriate levels of sport governance in place to deliver for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Sportscotland is developing and strengthening Scotland’s performance sport infrastructure by direct investment in …
29 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what factors other than performance and management information are assessed in relation to the funding decisions of sportscotland.
Answer · Shona Robison: Sportscotland is responsible for its own funding decisions and is accountable to ministers for them. Its investment in Scottish governing bodies of sport (SGBs) is based on SGBs’ detailed plans which as well as performance must also set out development and pa…
29 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive under what powers a retired senior civil servant has been invited to investigate the governance of Scottish Gymnastics and what the terms of the inquiry are.
Answer · Shona Robison: Sportscotland is accountable for the major investment of public funding into Scottish governing bodies, including the Scottish Gymnastics Association (SGA). Following receipt of certain serious allegations, sportscotland has instigated an independent review o…
14 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks on livestock by raptor species have been recorded in the last five years and how this information is published.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not record this information.
13 Jun 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses the population of raptor species across Scotland and how this information is recorded and published.