Parliamentary questions

Patrick Harvie

1,454 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

18 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to improve mobile 3G coverage across the country.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As set out in the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy, published on 3 March 2011, we are committed to working with industry and Ofcom in identifying barriers to increased mobile coverage and assessing how these may be overcome. Many barriers to increased 3…

18 May 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in relation to the creation of a multi-modal smartcard system for public transport and whether this will be achieved within the current parliamentary session.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has provided Smart enabled Electronic Ticket Machines to the entire Scottish bus fleet, as part of its administration of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme, and is working with First ScotRail on a trial of similar systems for the…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the invitation to submit notes of interest setting out funding requirements under the 2011-12 Freight Facilities Grant scheme, what the total capital cost of all projects advised by rail and by water is; what the total minimum value of Freight Facilities Grant support indi…

Answer · Keith Brown: Of those notes of interest which identified costs the capital cost of the rail projects was between £19.1 million and £22.6 million and that of the water projects was £17.2 million. The total minimum level of Freight Facilities Grant support identified was be…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors the use by local authorities and police forces of acceptable behaviour contracts in respect of children and young people, particularly in relation to the frequency and circumstances of their use.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions authorisations for dispersal powers under section 19 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 have been made where the grounds cited include antisocial behaviour by children or young people in each year since 2005, broken down by (a) police force and (b)…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40598 on 21 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions authorisations for dispersal powers under section 19 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 have been made in each year since 2005, broken down by (a) police force and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The use of antisocial behaviour measures covering the period October 2004 to March 2008, including dispersal orders, can be found on the Scottish Government website at <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/">www.scotland.gov.uk</a>. Information beyond that date…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders have been granted in relation to people (a) under 16, (b) 16-17 and (c) over 18 in each year since 2005, broken down by local authority area.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider the consultation process on Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee given that many objections have not been acknowledged due to an invalid email address.

Answer · Jim Mather: A decision was taken within the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) at the beginning of October 2010 to cease acknowledging representations in writing, due to the excessive costs involved. This meant that members of the public who submitted representat…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason an invalid email address was given on the Energy Consents Unit website for objections to be made to Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee and what steps it took to rectify this problem.

Answer · Jim Mather: Press notices were placed in the Scotsman on 17 August 2010 and in the Dundee Courier and Edinburgh Gazette on 17 August 2010 and 24 August 2010 advising members of the public of the submission of the application. These notices advised members of the public t…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has acknowledged receipt of every objection letter that its Energy Consents Unit has received in relation to Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee.

Answer · Jim Mather: There is no requirement under legislation to acknowledge, either in writing or electronically, representations received. Due to the excessive cost, both in postage and in staff time, it is no longer the policy of the Energy Consents and Deployment Un…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many objection letters its Energy Consents Unit has received in relation to Forth Energy’s proposals for a biomass power station at Dundee and, of those, how many have been published on the relevant website.

Answer · Jim Mather: To date, the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) have received 36 consultation responses from a variety of organisations with an interest in the development. These responses are all available on the Scottish Government website. The ECDU have also recei…

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what BP’s estimate is of lost revenue in the event of damage to the BP Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: Financial information relating to those costs is commercially confidential and cannot be released.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken an assessment of the geographical area likely to be affected by any damage to the BP Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: Yes.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what volume of oil would be spilt if the BP Forties pipeline system were ruptured during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: While the volume has been calculated for designing suitable mitigation measures it would be inappropriate to release this information.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the £100 million contingency liability cap to BP in relation to any damage caused to the Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing has been calculated and for what reason this was not included in the environmental statement for the Forth Crossing Ac…

Answer · Keith Brown: The cap was set following negotiation with BP. The Environmental Statement does include the cost of mitigation measures.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether provision has been made for any damage to the BP Forties pipeline system after the Forth Replacement Crossing is completed and, if so, how this has been calculated and costed.

Answer · Keith Brown: The issue has been discussed in confidence by the finance committee.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans have been put in place to carry out routine or other maintenance to the BP Forties pipeline system where the Southern Approach Road crosses it; who will bear the cost, and whether a risk assessment has been carried out.

Answer · Keith Brown: The works undertaken during the Forth Replacement Crossing works will ensure further routine and other maintenance on the pipeline does not disrupt the Southern Approach Roads. Any future work on the pipeline after completion of the road will be carried out w…

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to the BP Forties pipeline system, Transport Scotland investigated whether it would be safer to move the Southern Approach Road to link directly from the new Forth Bridge on the west side of Dundas Castle to the M9 at Winchburgh and, if so, for what reason the report …

Answer · Keith Brown: During 2008, Transport Scotland considered a number of alternative options for the southern connecting roads. An assessment of the options and the reasoning for their rejection is provided in the DMRB Stage 2 Corridor Report. The location of the BP pipeline w…

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Transport Scotland has a business continuity programme in place to manage the risks in the event of the BP Forties pipeline system being damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland will continue to operate in the event of any damage to the pipeline.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are insurance policies or contingency liabilities in place for local residents and businesses for any damage incurred to them during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: Insurance will be taken out to cover damage to third parties as a result of the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing. There are no contingent liabilities in respect of those third parties.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are insurance policies or contingency liabilities in place for local residents and businesses for any damage incurred to them in the event of the BP Forties pipeline system being damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Project Insurance Programme includes provision for third party damage. There are no Third Party Contingent Liabilities.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how long it will take to shut down the BP Forties pipeline system manually if it is damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40177 on 14 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/…

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether an automatic shutdown is in place in the event of the BP Forties pipeline system being damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing and, if so, how long it takes to operate.

Answer · Keith Brown: On detection of a loss of flow, pipeline pumps will automatically shutdown and isolation valves will close. A manual shutdown of the pipeline may also be initiated following detection of a leak at site. Shutdown would take approximately two minutes.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of fire risk is posed by construction work on the Forth Replacement Crossing being carried out close to the BP Forties pipeline system.

Answer · Keith Brown: The fire risk to the Forties Pipeline has been assessed as minimal in relation to the Forth Replacement Crossing works.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency liability there is for third parties affected by possible damage to the BP Forties pipeline system during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing, for example as a result of evacuation and clean-up costs.

Answer · Keith Brown: A contingent liability exists in connection with the proposed construction of the Forth Crossing where it impacts on the existing BP Fortes oil pipeline. The contingent liability is required to cover the remote possibility that the pipeline could be damaged a…

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual cost to BP will be if the Forties pipeline system is damaged during construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: Financial information relating to those costs is commercially confidential and cannot be released. In any event, the actual costs cannot be determined in the abstract and will depend on the particular facts and circumstances.

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the contingency liability for BP has been capped at £100 million if the Forties pipeline system is damaged during the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing.

Answer · Keith Brown: The sum is typical of these types of arrangements in the Oil and Gas industry and was arrived at following negotiation with BP. The number represents the maximum potential liability under the Agreement and BP will bear any losses which exceed that amount.…

3 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the issue of the BP Forties pipeline system was not raised during consideration of the Forth Crossing Act 2011.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Forth Replacement Crossing Team has been in lengthy and detailed engagement with BP and the worldwide insurance market seeking the best possible solution for the public interest. The meeting with the Finance Committee on 22 February 2011 was the first opp…

24 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on research and development, broken down by portfolio, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell: Government spend on research and development (R&D) is collected through the Office for National Statistics Annual Government Research and Development Survey. The latest published figures are for the financial year 2008-09. Scottish Government spe…

28 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36630 by Kenny MacAskill on 21 October 2010, whether it considers that police officers are not bound by the prohibition in section 25 of the Firearms Act 1968 on the supply of firearms to anyone who is drunk or insane.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: It is not for the Scottish Government to provide detailed legal interpretation of the provisions in the Firearms Act 1968. Firearms policy and legislation is reserved to the UK Parliament.