Parliamentary questions

Liz Smith

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

9 Jun 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the remit of Education Scotland school inspections to include the condition of school buildings.

9 Jun 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government last met members of the Commonwealth Games organising committee and whether access to the special reserve was discussed.

14 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of (a) primary and (b) schools that will need to be replaced over the next 10 years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Michael Russell: An annual rating of all schools is provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities and each school is categorised by condition and suitability as ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘poor’, or ‘bad’. This information is published each year as part of the Scottis…

14 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has made available in each year since 1999 under the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme commenced in 2009. The first round of funding was paid in 2010-11. The Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme is taken forward through a phased development. All 32 local authorities have been offered fundin…

12 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the number of tickets made available for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games to people who live in Scotland.

7 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many private meetings (a) cabinet secretaries and (b) ministers have had with newspaper editors in each year since 2007, broken down by newspaper.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All meetings between the First Minister and newspaper editors between 2007 and March 2014 are listed on the Scottish Government website. Also listed are all meetings between Cabinet Secretaries/Ministers and newspaper editors between 2007 and August 2012: ht…

7 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools use portable cabins as classrooms, broken down by (a) school, (b) local authority and (c) number of classrooms.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this level of information. The information is held by individual education authorities as it is their statutory responsibility to provide and maintain school buildings as outlined in Section 17 of the Education (Scotland)…

7 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the electrification of the railway line to Dunblane to include the line to Perth.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government plans to invest £5 billion between 2014 and 2019 to improve rail infrastructure and services. Network Rail will also oversee the development of a rolling programme of electrification at 100km of track per year upon the completion of th…

2 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with local authorities about the increase in pupils in primary and secondary schools with additional support needs.

28 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it and its agencies are doing to promote Perth as one of Scotland’s cities.

28 Apr 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government is having with the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding the future funding of the curriculum for excellence.

17 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in reducing the time it takes for people to see a hearing specialist.

14 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding current council tax bands.

Answer · Derek Mackay: No recent discussions have been held with local authorities or COSLA regarding current council tax bands. However, Scottish Ministers consider the current council tax system as a whole to be unfair and are committed to consulting with others to develop optio…

17 Mar 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it plans to provide for the development of winter sports.

11 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) Tayside Contracts and (b) Perth and Kinross Council regarding the capability of its snow clearing equipment.

Answer · Keith Brown: During adverse weather conditions, the Scottish Government works with local authorities to ensure our roads remain safe, efficient and effective. Responder agencies across Scotland have robust contingency plans in place to ensure that they can cope with the …

11 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the capability of each local authority’s snow clearing equipment.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is responsible for the trunk road network. Individual local authorities are responsible for setting policies that are relevant to local conditions on their own road network. This includes identifying appropriate winter maintenance requ…

5 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how the post office network would operate in an independent Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As the white paper, Scotland’s Future makes clear, independence will allow post office services to focus on what is best for the communities and businesses across Scotland. On independence, Scotland will inherit our share of the state-owned Post Office Ltd, w…

5 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Post Office Ltd regarding the future of the post office network in an independent Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As the white paper, Scotland’s Future makes clear, independence will allow post office services to focus on what is best for the communities and businesses across Scotland. The Scottish Government is in contact with a range of stakeholders, including Post Off…

3 Mar 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the calls from Transform Scotland to upgrade the rail network.

25 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many property owners under its help to buy scheme have expressed a wish to be bought out of the agreement and how many have been rejected.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19915 on 10 March 2014. 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/parliamentarybus…

25 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many property owners under its help to buy scheme it has bought out of the agreement.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Under the scheme a buyer can purchase a new-build property, up to the value of £400,000, with the Scottish Government purchasing an equity share of up to 20% of the property. There is no set deadline by which purchasers must repay to Scottish Government the …

24 Feb 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities following the recent incidents of flooding.

17 Feb 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with Glasgow 2014 officials regarding the financial administration of the Commonwealth Games.

12 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the suspension of (a) council tax for households and (b) non-domestic rates for businesses affected by flooding.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has fully funded the council tax freeze for the last six years to provide much-needed financial relief to vulnerable groups and hard pressed families, and we are committed to continuing this freeze for the lifetime of this Parliament. …

11 Feb 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the SQA regarding the Post Results Service.