Parliamentary questions
Margaret McDougall
364 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the proposals in the Water Resources (Scotland) Bill will allow (a) Scottish Water's services to be privatised and (b) the water sector to be organised on a regional basis.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: No. The Water Resources (Scotland) Bill is not intended to restructure or privatise Scottish Water. Scottish Water is performing well and will remain in the public sector. The Bill and its accompanying documents can be viewed at: http://www.scottish.parliamen…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will monitor whether additional travel costs are making it impossible for students to continue their studies following college mergers.
Answer · Michael Russell: While the current configuration of college campuses is expected to remain the same, we would expect colleges to monitor the implication of any merger on students through a post merger evaluation process, including the SFC.
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considered a possible increase in the number of college drop-outs when deciding on college mergers.
Answer · Michael Russell: Students’ experience are an important factor in any merger proposal. Moreover, improving colleges’ retention rates is an important aim of our Post 16 reforms, and is a key indicator in college outcome agreements for 2012-13.
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consultations it had with stakeholders regarding the impact on student travel of college mergers.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10490 on 7 November 2012. 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/parliamentar…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government at what stage during its consultation on college mergers it considered a possible increase in student travel costs.
Answer · Michael Russell: In our joint consultation with the SFC “College regionalisation: Proposals for implementing Putting Learners at the Centre” we made clear we expected the major campuses that currently exist to remain. The consultation also made clear the importance, in defini…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what provisions have been made to deal with any extra financial demand that may arise from additional student travel requirements as a result of college mergers.
Answer · Michael Russell: Decisions on individual mergers are a matter for the colleges involved. Colleges will of course consult on their merger proposals and I expect them to consider the views of stakeholders and the public in taking forward merger. That said we are maintaining fu…
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with stakeholders regarding the compulsory microchipping of dogs and when these took place.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government holds regular meetings with welfare organisations including Onekind, the Dogs Trust and the SSPCA. Although the issue of microchipping of dogs would have been raised during these meetings, no meetings have been held specifically to dis…
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has investigated working with other organisations to reduce the cost for owners of the cost of microchipping dogs and, if so, what effect this would have on the cost of introducing compulsory microchipping.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Dogs are only required to be microchipped in Scotland if they are the subject of a notice issued under the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 or under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. If the Scottish Government were to bring forward proposals on the introduction…
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of a dog licence would be under a system requiring the compulsory microchipping of dogs.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not have this information. There are currently no plans to require compulsory microchipping of all dogs in Scotland.
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it would cost to establish and maintain a national database of dogs.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not have this information. There are currently no plans to establish such a database.
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-00789 by Richard Lochhead on 15 March 2012 (Official Report, c. 7344) what further consideration it has given to the compulsory microchipping of dogs.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: In answer to S4O-00789, the Scottish Government replied that: “The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of microchipping in helping to re-unite dogs with owners where dogs have been lost or stolen, which is why it is recommended as best practice in the…
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce dog welfare legislation.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The welfare of dogs is covered by the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. Other relevant legislation includes the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, the Breeding of Dogs Act 1991 and the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Young …
9 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will remove the presumption in favour of carbon capture and storage power generation at Hunterston from the National Planning Framework 2 and replace it with a presumption in favour of nuclear power generation.
Answer · Derek Mackay: There is no provision within planning legislation for the amendment of the National Planning Framework (NPF) between the cycles of formal review. Work has started on the third NPF (NPF3) and Scottish Ministers are currently engaging stakeholders and the publi…
27 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legislative provision covers the wrongful removal of a small landholding from the small landholdings register.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Section 17 of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911 is the legislative provision covering the removal of a small holding from the requirement for the land to be let as a small landholding.
27 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review legislation relating to small landholding in the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no current plans to review legislation relating to small landholding in the current parliamentary session.
27 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) considers that an accurate record is kept and (b) plans to keep a central register of small landholdings.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no current plans to compile and keep a central register of small landholdings. The Scottish Land Court holds a number of records, among which will be orders relating to small landholdings, but does not hold a central register.
27 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to allow farmers of small landholdings to buy the land without having to convert it to a croft.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government considers that tenants of small landholdings may already enter into arrangements with their landlords to purchase their holdings. There is no requirement for the small holding to be converted to a croft before the land can be sold. Con…
27 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) support is available for and (b) it can do to reduce the cost to small-landholding farmers who wish to convert to crofting.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: On application by the tenant of a small landholding in an area designated by Scottish ministers for crofting tenure, the Crofting Commission has the power to convert the small landholding to crofting tenure. Before conversion can take place, the Crofting Comm…
27 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to put provisions in place to ensure that small landholdings that are no longer tenanted are maintained to a reasonable standard by the landlord.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no plans to ensure that small landholdings that are no longer tenanted are maintained to a reasonable standard by the landlord. It is to be hoped that vacant holdings will soon be re-let and the new tenant will maintain them. Land…
2 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on self-regulation of the legal profession.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08506 on 11 July 2012. 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/parliamentarybu…
2 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the need for independent regulation of the legal profession.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Law Society of Scotland is an independent self-regulating professional body for solicitors and conveyancing and executry practitioners. Section 120 of the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010 laid down the regulatory framework for the regulation of the Facu…
2 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the performance of the Law Society of Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not assess the performance of the Law Society of Scotland.
2 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the regulatory system in place for the Law Society of Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Parliament has recently considered and approved two pieces of legislation which significantly modify the regulatory system in place for the Law Society of Scotland, namely the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 and the Legal Servi…
2 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who oversees the work of the Law Society of Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Law Society of Scotland is an independent professional body. It is not regulated by the Scottish Government nor any other body but is subject to the provisions of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 and other enactments.
28 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4O-01121 by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 June 2012 (Official Report, c. 10110) whether it has had discussions with NHS Ayrshire and Arran about breaches of diagnostic waiting time targets in each of the last four quarters and, if so, when and what the outcomes…
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Ministers meet with NHS Chairs regularly to discuss a number of issues including performance against waiting time standards. Scottish Government officials closely monitor and meet regularly with Boards to discuss and support the delivery of waiting time stan…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has regarding the annual number of cases of Lyme disease that are misdiagnosed or unreported.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Surveillance of Lyme disease in Scotland is based on laboratory identification of Borrelia burgdorferi reported to Health Protection Scotland. As clinical notifications are not included, it is not possible to estimate the number of cases of Lyme disease which…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what strategy it put in place regarding the rise in identified cases of Lyme disease that was recorded in the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2010 and what additional resources it will commit toward the (a) prevention, (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment of cases.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In order to contribute to the reduction of Lyme disease in Scotland, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) recently reviewed the latest trends in respect of confirmed cases. This review identified recommendations for further action, including the need for effectiv…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of ticks in Scotland carries Lyme disease and what information it has about the rest of the UK.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The percentage of ticks in Scotland which carry Lyme disease is not known. There have been, and continue to be, research studies conducted in Scotland that have investigated aspects of tick ecology and Lyme disease epidemiology. However, in part because of t…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has made publicly available regarding Lyme disease; how this guidance is issued, and whether it includes details about (a) tick bites and (b) how to remove ticks from the skin.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Information about Lyme disease is available on the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) website - http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/giz/lymedisease.aspx?subjectid=100. Also available on the website is a factsheet titled What Do I Need To Know About Ticks and Tick Borne…
25 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the administration of Dundee City Council regarding the recent visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the administration of Dundee City Council, regarding the recent visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Scotland.