John Wilson

10 Apr 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of UCAS.

Answer · Angela Constance: Scottish Government officials meet with UCAS on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.

19 Mar 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the findings of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland's report, When parents are detained.    

13 Mar 2013 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many of its staff will be affected by contract changes resulting from proposed UK Government policy on pensions and terms and conditions; whether it is taking action to deal with any such impact, and, if so, what action.

Answer · David Stewart: SPCB staff are automatically enrolled into the Civil Service pension arrangements on appointment. Of the total head count of 470 SPCB staff as at 31 March 2013, 10 SPCB staff have opted out of the Civil Service pension arrangements. As a result 460 SPCB staff…

13 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its staff will be affected by contract changes resulting from proposed UK Government policy on pensions and terms and conditions; whether it is taking action to deal with any such impact, and, if so, what action.

Answer · John Swinney: Civil Service pensions is a reserved matter. All employees of the Scottish Government who have chosen to be members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, are affected by changes to the pension scheme. The Scottish Government opposes the increase in p…

12 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the chief executive of NHS Lanarkshire and what issues were discussed. 

11 Mar 2013 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Water regarding the decision to curtail the activities of Scottish Water Horizons.

27 Feb 2013 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many oral questions have been (a) lodged for and (b) taken at SPCB Questions in the current parliamentary session.

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the number of housing repossessions.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government has taken measures to assist households at risk of repossession. The Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act 2010 provides legislative protection for home owners. The Act requires all repossession cases to call in court; requi…

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it will provide to credit unions in 2013-14.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Credit unions are eligible to apply for Scottish Government third sector organisational support programmes and development funds and we encourage them to do so. We shall ensure that credit unions and their representative bodies are made aware of any new third…

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of its policies on poverty and social inclusion, what discussions it has with (a)  Office of Fair Trading and (b) UK financial authorities regarding the personal current account market.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12720 on 28 February 2013. 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…

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of its policies on poverty and social inclusion, whether it considers that there is effective competition in the personal current account market. 

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12718 on 28 February 2013. 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…

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of its policies on poverty and social inclusion, whether it monitors whether the retail banking sector meets the five objectives set out for it by the Office of Fair Trading on 13 July 2012.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12720 on the 28 February 2013, the Scottish Government meets regularly with the OFT, which has responsibility for the five objectives for the retail banking sector. All answers to written parliamentary questio…

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of its policies on poverty and social inclusion, whether it plans to meet representatives of the Office of Fair Trading to discuss the content of the Review of the personal current account market.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Government Officials maintain contact with the OFT on a regular basis and will continue to discuss matters of mutual interest.

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the retail banking sector and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Details of all ministerial engagements are published in arrears on the Scottish Government website and can be accessed using the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements. The database includes 36…

30 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of its policies on poverty and social inclusion, what its position is on the Office of Fair Trading's Review of the personal current account market.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government welcomes the Office of Fair Trading’s Review of the personal current account market, noting that the OFT has found that the sector has become more concentrated since its last review in 2008. The Scottish Government shares the OFT’s con…

24 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what community benefit it expects open cast coal developments to provide.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Planning Policy on opencast coal states that there should normally be a presumption against new opencast coal developments unless they are environmentally acceptable or provide local community benefits which outweigh the impacts.

24 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that open cast coal developments deliver community benefit at a level comparable to renewable energy developments.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As for renewable energy developments, community benefit arrangements are provided on a voluntary basis by opencast coal operators. Scottish Planning Policy provides guidance that operators should work closely with communities from an early stage of developing…

22 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-11920 by Keith Brown on 22 January 2013, what actions it is taking in cooperation with the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail specifically to reduce air pollution levels at Scotland’s main railway stations before the publication of the final…

Answer · Keith Brown: A number of engagements with the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail are planned prior to a final determination being made in October 2013. These engagements provide an opportunity to both review and challenge all relevant aspects of Network Rail's pla…

16 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what benefits it expects to be gained from the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) and Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE) funding initiatives.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: SPRUCE, Scotland’s £50 million JESSICA Fund, provides loan support to revenue-generating regeneration projects within the 13 eligible areas targeted within Priority 3 of the Lowland and Uplands Scotland ERDF Programme 2007-2013. It is anticipated that the fun…

16 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what employment initiatives it provides to tackle unemployment among people aged 24 and over.

8 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the increasing number of fire incidents reported in the home.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The latest Fire Statistics Scotland 2011-12 publication presents the number of dwelling fires over the last 10 years. They have in fact been declining since 2008-09. Details are as follows: Fires by location, 2002-03 to 2011-12p - Scotland1 Number of Primar…

19 Dec 2012 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what it has done to tackle smoking on parliamentary premises.

Answer · Linda Fabiani (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):: The SPCB has a smoke-free policy applying to all of our enclosed workplaces and restricting smoking to the designated areas detailed in the policy. If anyone wishes to complain about the policy not being adhered to, they should express their concerns in the f…

19 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish Enterprise appraises its stakeholder engagement in relation to (a) single outcome agreements and (b) its business plan.

Answer · John Swinney: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to reply to you.

19 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish Enterprise evaluates its current planned activities.  

Answer · John Swinney: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to reply to you.

18 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) Ofgem and (b) the UK Government regarding the impact on consumers of rising energy costs.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government officials have regular and on-going discussions with Ofgem and the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change on a range of energy issues, including what more can be done to mitigate the impact of rising…

18 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take regarding air pollution levels at Scotland's main railway stations following the publication of a recent Network Rail study on the matter.

Answer · Keith Brown: The publication of their Strategic Business Plan earlier this month, is Network Rail's opportunity to set out its plans for the railways in Scotland during 2014-2019, including responding to the specification set out by the Transport Minister Keith Brown duri…

13 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the results from the 2011 Census will be available.  

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scotland’s Census 2011: Release 1A is published today (Laying number: SG/2012/254). This report presents the first results from the 2011 Census in Scotland, which was held on 27 March 2011. The statistics provide estimates of the usually resident population o…

11 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of genetically modified food production.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government maintains a precautionary approach to the production of genetically modified food and will continue to defend the integrity of our own food and drink sector by continuing to oppose the cultivation of GM crops in Scotland. In addition, …

4 Dec 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has in place to ensure equality of treatment and diversity with regard to the public appointments that it makes.

4 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in relation to the report on the future of the Scottish economy by the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.

Answer · John Swinney: The Ernst and Young ITEM Club forecasts that the Scottish economy will contract by 0.1% this year compared to a contraction of 0.2% for the UK economy as a whole and that the recovery will continue to be weak next year. The Scottish Government continues to f…