Parliamentary questions

Nigel Don

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

14 Dec 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of both NHS and commercial weight reduction programmes.

23 Nov 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to protect communities from flooding.

7 Nov 2011 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the outcome was of his trip to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

2 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding reform of the common agricultural policy.

7 Sep 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the findings of the cost refinement exercise carried out by Transport Scotland for a grade separated junction at Laurencekirk.

20 Jul 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the protected species classification of gulls.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Birds Directive requires that all wild birds are protected. General licences granted under Section 16(1)(i)&(j) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 authorise the killing or taking of certain wild birds, including some species of gulls for the purpose…

15 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in reducing the number of smokers.

2 Jun 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made toward reinstating roads damaged by severe winter weather conditions.

26 May 2011 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that the High Court of Justiciary should be the final arbiter of criminal cases in Scotland.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish its response to Lord Cullen of Whitekirk’s review of Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry legislation.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government''s response was published today. The response can be accessed at <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/SGResponsetoCullenReview">www.scotland.gov.uk/SGResponsetoCullenReview</a>.

3 Feb 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce levels of underage drinking.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 strengthened legislation to crack down on those selling alcohol to people under 18 and saw the roll out of test purchasing of alcohol. Our Alcohol Act builds on that by banning quantity discounts in off-sales and int…

13 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial estimates it has made of the impact of the VAT increase on Scotland’s police and fire services, broken down by board or authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Police and fire services can recover VAT on all expenditure and therefore no financial estimates have required to be made.

12 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to ensure effective independent monitoring of prisons.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government will consult formally over the next few months on the best and most effective way of providing independent monitoring of prisons across Scotland. The consultation will be launched on 14 January 2011. A copy of the doc…

12 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for meetings regarding town centre regeneration funding it has received from (a) the convener of infrastructure services and (b) officials of Angus Council in each month since October 2009.

Answer · Alex Neil: We have received no requests for meetings regarding town centre regeneration funding from the Convener of Infrastructure Services at Angus Council within that timeframe. According to our records, there were five meetings held with Angus Council offic…

12 Jan 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many written representations regarding town centre regeneration funding it has received from (a) the convener of infrastructure services and (b) officials of Angus Council in each month since October 2009.

Answer · Alex Neil: We have received no written representations from the Convener of Infrastructure Services of Angus Council within this timeframe. According to our records, we have received written representation from Angus Council officials as follows: <table …

17 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37041 by Kenny MacAskill on 25 October 2010, what action it has now taken

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Following the making of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Remedial) (Scotland) Order, 2010 we consulted on the contents of the order with a closing date of 23 December 2010. We are currently assessing the comments made and will shortly lay…

11 Nov 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking with NFU Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive to improve health and safety awareness among the farming community.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Health and safety at work is a reserved matter and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for regulating health and safety in Scotland. Nevertheless the Scottish Government wants to see greater awareness of health and safety issues amongst Scotl…

10 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its response to Lord Gill’s Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government Response to the Report and Recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review was published on 11 November 2010 and is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/11/09114610/0. Copies have als…

22 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will act and what it will need to do to address the issues raised in the judgement of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom that found that requiring sex offenders to register indefinitely on the sex offender register without the opportunity for review was incompatible with Arti…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The UK Supreme Court has ruled that requiring sex offenders to register indefinitely on the sex offender register without the opportunity for review is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). England and Wales will have to introduce …

21 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the reviews of the drug courts and youth courts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The reviews of the drug courts in Glasgow and Fife and youth courts in Airdrie and Hamilton have been published today (Bib. numbers 49573 and 49574). Following broadly positive evaluations, I have decided to extend funding for both drug courts and youth court…

11 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals the Scottish Law Commission has for future law reform projects.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have agreed with the Scottish Law Commission its Eighth Programme of Law Reform, which covers the work to be undertaken by the Commission for the five year period from 2010 until the end of 2014. The programme was presented to Parliament today and is also b…

11 Feb 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated timescale is for consideration of the appeal in relation to the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009 through the possible stages of the Inner House of the Court of Session, the Supreme Court, and the European Court of Justice.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: May I say first that the Scottish Government welcomed Lord Emslie''s decision in January, which rejected all the petitioners'' substantive arguments. We regret that they are challenging it. I understand that the Inner House has recognised the importa…

14 Jan 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs are expected to be created and safeguarded by the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and whether it still expects the route to be completed by the end of 2012.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We expect several hundred people to be employed on its construction and once completed it is estimated that it will create around 14,000 jobs in the North East over 30 years. The principal Orders require to be approved by Parliament and subject to th…

7 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its response to Professor Alec Spencer’s report on his review of the decision to transfer Brian Martin to open conditions.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government''s Response to Professor Spencer''s report will be published today. A copy of the Response will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49904).

12 Nov 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made following the request by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to other UK jurisdictions for information on any problems experienced between these jurisdictions when dealing with family law cases, including the unlawful removal of children by one parent.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We have discussed this matter with our opposite numbers in England and Northern Ireland and intend to meet the Law Society of Scotland shortly. The aim of meeting the Law Society of Scotland is to obtain more information on how often problems of this nature a…

8 Oct 2009 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the problem of illegal drug use.

Answer · Alex Salmond: This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1008-01.htm">http://www.scott…

7 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the decision to transfer the suspects for the Glasgow Airport bombing to the custody of the Metropolitan Police on 2 July 2007 was taken.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: I am aware of claims made in a book published yesterday by a former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Andy Hayman, about the decision to transfer the suspects to London. Mr Hayman''s account of how the decision was taken in July 2007 does not…

29 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government about the future of HM Revenue and Customs offices and employees in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Mather: As noted in the answer to question S3W-11472 on 30 April 2008, under current constitutional arrangements the organisation of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) services in Scotland is a matter for that department. However, the Scottish Government has an interest i…

9 Sep 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to tackle drugs in Scotland’s prisons.

Answer · Fergus Ewing : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0917-01.htm">http://www.scot…

2 Sep 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support tourism in the north east.

Answer · Jim Mather : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0910-01.htm">http://www.scot…