Parliamentary questions
Patrick Harvie
1,454 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is legislation in force that could achieve the same effect as the US law, the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 and, if not, whether it will consider introducing measures to do so.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act 2010 outlaws the creation, sale, marketing, advertising, exchange or distribution of “animal crush” videos. An “animal crush” video is defined as any photograph, film, video or digital recording which (a) is obscene and …
19 Sep 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its policy on nuclear weapons, whether it will participate in the spring 2013 conference in Norway on the humanitarian consequences of these.
12 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to combat far right extremism.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is committed to creating a society in which intolerance and prejudice have no place and in building trust, respect and understanding within Scotland’s multi-faith and multi-cultural society. Prejudice and intolerance can fracture comm…
30 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether limits could be set on the number of betting shops that can operate in certain areas, in a manner similar to the limits applied to sex shops under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Gambling is a reserved matter and the Scottish Government has no power to set limits on betting shop numbers. Decisions about premises licences for betting shops must be made in accordance with the criteria set out in the Gambling Act 2005 and with regard to…
30 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its powers under the Gambling Act 2005 allow it to set limits on the provision of fixed-odds betting terminals in premises licensed under the Act.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Gambling is a reserved matter. The limited powers devolved would not allow the Scottish Government to set limits on the provision of category B2 gaming machines (which includes fixed-odds betting terminals) in premises licensed under the Gambling Act 2005.
30 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the impact of the provision of fixed-odds betting terminals on the issue of problem gambling.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Gambling is a reserved matter. The Scottish Government is aware of some concerns in relation to fixed odds betting terminals as revealed by the Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010 and other studies. However, the causal link between problem gambling and fixed od…
30 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussion it has had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 and its impact on problem gambling.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Gambling is a reserved matter. The Scottish Government has corresponded with the UK Government regarding our concerns about the impact of the introduction of new technologies and the liberalisation of gambling laws upon problem gambling. In particular we hav…
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-06539 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 April 2012, what funding has been allocated to establish the consultant level training posts in community sexual and reproductive healthcare; what the (a) process and (b) timescale for recruitment for this is and what …
Answer · Alex Neil: As indicated in the answer to question S4W-06539, the intention is to advertise training posts in Community Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare from next year. As part of the Scottish Government project to reshape the medical workforce, last year, the Cabinet …
25 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its proposed bill on same-sex marriage will ensure that married or civilly partnered transgender people are not required to divorce or dissolve their partnership before re-registering their gender.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Paragraph 3.42 of the consultation on the registration of civil partnerships and same sex marriage said: “If Scotland should move to introduce same sex marriage, then, in future, there would be no need in law for transgender people to divorce before obtaining…
25 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its proposed bill on same-sex marriage will provide for a period during which same-sex couples may convert a civil partnership into a marriage.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Paragraph 3.43 of the last consultation noted that “If Scotland should introduce same sex marriage, some existing civil partners may wish to convert their partnership into a marriage”. Paragraph 3.44 noted that the detail “will be included in the consultation…
25 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its proposed bill on same-sex marriage will also provide for mixed-sex civil partnerships.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: No.
25 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes to equality legislation it considers desirable before introducing same-sex marriage and whether the UK Government has agreed to make these changes.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Our view is that an amendment to the Equality Act 2010 is required to give certainty on protection for individual celebrants taking a different view from a religious body that does agree to conduct same sex marriage. We will work with the UK Government to sec…
2 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the possible consequences of a widespread outage of banking services and what contingency plans exist to deal with such a situation.
Answer · John Swinney: Matters relating to the financial services industry are reserved to the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government is working with Her Majesty's Treasury and others to strengthen the resilience of the industry in Scotland. In the event of a widespread ou…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many bus punctuality improvement partnerships are in operation and what assessment of their impact is being undertaken.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has knowledge of two Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership (BPIP) in operation. One operating in Aberdeen and the other operating in Dundee and Angus. Assessments are carried out by the relevant transport authorities and evidence is …
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether bus operators are required to provide punctuality data to it or any of its statutory bodies.
Answer · Keith Brown: Bus operators are required, when asked, to provide punctuality data to both the Traffic Commissioner and the local authority.
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the work of enforcement examiners will be involved with bus punctuality assessment.
Answer · Keith Brown: Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) examiners involved in bus punctuality improvement will, as part of their duties, assess the suitability of systems for monitoring and improving punctuality that operators have in place. This work is considered to fo…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether enforcement examiners have been engaged to work on bus punctuality and, if so, how many.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government provide funding to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to undertake bus punctuality improvement work in Scotland. Presently there are four enforcement examiners and bus punctuality forms part of their overall enforcement ro…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had regarding a replacement for bus compliance officers.
Answer · Keith Brown: Discussions regarding the provision of bus compliance is currently ongoing with both Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and Bus Users UK.
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the implementation of a Scotland-wide bus survey that would make it possible to compare performance by area and by bus operator.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has no plans to implement a Scotland-wide bus survey at this time, however, the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is asked of a sample of households across Scotland each year and includes questions on passenger satisfaction including bus…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the terms of the regulations laid before the UK Parliament in June 2012 in relation to the (a) Green Deal, (b) Energy Company Obligation and (c) Renewable Heat Incentive and what impact they will have in Scotland.
Answer · Alex Neil: In relation to the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, the Scottish Government is content with the regulations and consented to them being laid before the UK Parliament. In terms of the regulation relating to the Renewable Heat Incentive, we remain con…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement it had with the UK Government regarding the development of regulations laid before the UK Parliament in June 2012 in relation to the (a) Green Deal, (b) Energy Company Obligation and (c) Renewable Heat Incentive.
Answer · Alex Neil: In relation to the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation, the Scottish Government worked very closely with the UK Government on the development of the regulations to ensure they were sufficiently flexible to allow Scottish specific circumstances to be take…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that enhanced oil recovery would be compatible with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Enhanced oil recovery is compatible with the Scottish Climate Change Act and its targets if it does not give rise to any net increase in Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions. As Enhanced Oil Recovery is not new to the North Sea Oil and Gas industry and has b…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the (a) climate change and (b) direct environmental impacts that may arise as a result of enhanced oil recovery.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Enhanced oil recovery is compatible with the Scottish Climate Change Act and its targets if it does not give rise to any net increase in Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions. As Enhanced Oil Recovery is not new to the North Sea Oil and Gas industry and has b…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-07040 by Keith Brown on 11 May 2012, how many of the vessels will need to be replaced in the next (a) six and (b) 12 years and what the estimated cost of a new vessel is in each case.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Final Ferries Plan will provide details of the investment required for vessels and will set out how we will ensure that our funding priorities can be met over the period of the Ferries Plan to 2022. The Final Ferries Plan will be published later this year…
20 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-07040 by Keith Brown on 11 May 2012, which ferry routes are served by the six vessels leased by the public sector from the private sector and what the (a) leasing, (b) maintenance and (c) other costs have been in each year of each contract.
Answer · Keith Brown: The ferry routes served by vessels leased or chartered by the public sector from the private sector are as follows: Northlink Ferries Ltd The MV Hjaltland and the MV Hrossey operate between Aberdeen and Kirkwall / Lerwick, with the MV Hamnavoe operating bet…
19 Jun 2012 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what it is doing to promote the availability in the building of beer brewed in Scotland.
30 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-07396 by Alex Neil on 30 May 2012, when it will provide a substantive response.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not hold information on individual contracts centrally over this period. Monthly details of individual items of expenditure over £25,000 since 2010 are published at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/expenditure. Details of indivi…
30 May 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Renewable Energy Investment Fund will be open for bids from community bodies.
22 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what value of public contracts it has awarded to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG in each year from 1999-00.
Answer · Alex Neil: Scottish Executive does not hold records of contracts for the period 1999 to 2000.
14 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will lay before the Parliament a report on energy-efficient discount schemes, as required under section 66 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Ministers will report to the Parliament on energy-efficient discount schemes, as required under section 66 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, during the summer.