Parliamentary questions
John Lamont
759 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 Nov 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether and, if so, from which (a) individuals, (b) organisations or (c) bodies it has sought legal advice regarding a non-nuclear, independent Scotland’s membership of NATO.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the Lord Advocate’s letter to Ruth Davidson MSP of 30 October in which he set out his view regarding the consideration of legal advice. A copy of the letter to Ruth Davidson was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. …
29 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-03885 by Fiona Hyslop on 7 November 2011, what evidence the cabinet secretary used to support the assertions that an independent Scotland would (a) not be forced into adopting the euro and (b) continue to be a member of the EU on the same basis as t…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Since the publication in November 2009 of Your Scotland, Your Voice - which clearly sets out Scottish Ministers’ views on an independent Scotland’s position within the EU and on the Euro - we have repeatedly referred to the views of a range of legal, constitu…
29 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much legal aid was paid to lawyers to represent asylum seekers in each year since April 2008.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The figures given are for advice and assistance and legal aid. They include payments for legal fees to solicitors, advocates and solicitor advocates and for other expenditure such as translators and expert witnesses. The separation into immigration cases and …
29 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many wind farm development applications it has (a) approved and (b) rejected since 2007, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Under s36 of The Electricity Act, Scottish Ministers have determined 35 wind farm applications since 2007. Of these, 29 applications were consented and six were rejected. This list, by planning authority, is as a follows. Name of Development Tech MW Deci…
15 Oct 2012 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how the Business Information Technology (BIT) office processes its customer feedback emails.
Answer · David Stewart : The customer feedback emails are manually collated to provide monthly customer satisfaction information and to aid continuous improvement of BIT service and services. The information is then reviewed by the BIT management team and negative feedback is assign…
3 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many drug finds there were in each prison in each of the last 10 years, broken down by type of drug.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The following table illustrates the number of drug finds recorded in each year since 2002 broken down by establishment. SPS does not carry …
3 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many crimes have been recorded in each of the last 10 years, broken down by type of offence.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number and type of crimes recorded in each of the last 10 years is published by the Scottish Government in the Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2011-12 statistical bulletin. The publication can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications…
11 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that an independent Scotland would automatically be a member of the UN Security Council.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Full details of the Scottish Government’s proposals for independence will be provided in the comprehensive white paper to be published in November 2013.
11 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that an independent Scotland would automatically be a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: In the November 2009 White Paper Your Scotland, Your Voice: A National Conversation, the Scottish Government made clear that an independent Scotland would have choices regarding its membership of NATO.
5 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many accidents there have been on the (a) dualled and (b) undualled sections of the A1 between Dunbar and the border with England in each year since 2002, broken down by severity of accident.
Answer · Keith Brown: The accident data (personal injury accidents) for the period 1 January 2002 to 16 April 2012 is provided in the following tables divided into dual carriageway and single carriageway. Transport Scotland analyses the safety performance of the trunk road network…
3 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on figures showing an 8.2% drop in retail sales on 2011 and an average 17% drop in high street footfall across eight towns in the Borders in the last four years.
23 Jul 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what Scotland’s GDP per hour worked has been relative to the top 31 most productive OECD countries in each year since 2005.
Answer · John Swinney: Scotland’s productivity (measured as output per hour worked) performance relative to OECD countries is monitored through Scotland Performs. Information on the latest performance can be found at Scotland Performs: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Performance…
27 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses have appealed their non-domestic rates since 2007 and what average time was taken to settle the appeals.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government publishes quarterly statistics on Non-Domestic Rates Revaluation Appeals, providing information on the number of properties for which revaluation appeals were lodged at 2005 and 2010 revaluations and the rate at which these appeals hav…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an independent Scotland would have a written constitution and, if so, how this would be (a) drawn up and (b) ratified and whether it will have an option to allow Scotland to become a republic.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: Paragraph 9.19 of the Scottish Government publication Your Scotland, Your Voice (November 2009) states that an independent Scotland could consider “formulating and agreeing a fully codified and written constitution.” Full details of the Scottish Government’s …
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government to ensure that, in an independent Scotland, residents would be able to (a) receive NHS treatment free at the point of use and (b) opt for specialist NHS treatment in a hospital in the rest of the UK.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government remains committed to the Scottish NHS as a publicly funded and publicly delivered service, free at the point of delivery. As laid out in Your Scotland Your Voice (paragraphs 6.9 to 6.11), with independence, cross-border co-operation …
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether people collecting the state pension in an independent Scotland would be able to collect their pension if they moved to England, Wales or Northern Ireland and, if so, which government would pay the pension.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: At the time of independence, welfare benefits and the state pension would continue to be paid as they are. Spending on pensions and benefits accounted for 42 per cent of total government revenue in the UK in 2010-11, but only 40 per cent in Scotland – meaning…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether military personnel based in Scotland would be automatically transferred to the Scottish armed forces in an independent Scotland and, if so, whether there would be a mechanism to allow them to opt out.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: On 2 February 2012, the First Minister confirmed in the Scottish Parliament that in an independent Scotland military personnel would have a choice in terms of the armed forces in which they served. Full details of the Scottish Government’s proposals for indep…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how nuclear waste would be (a) stored and (b) disposed of in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is committed to dealing responsibly with the toxic nuclear legacy this country has inherited. This is not a legacy we would have chosen, but we will continue to ensure that plans for the long-term management of radioactive waste, spen…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the electricity industry would be regulated in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government strongly believes that it is in the shared interests of Scotland and the rest of the UK to continue with the GB-wide energy and electricity markets after Scottish independence, in line with the increasingly integrated EU energy market.…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an independent Scotland would remain part of the national grid.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scotland already has two transmission system owners, Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Ltd and Scottish Power Transmission Ltd, who work closely with National Grid Plc to develop, maintain and operate the electricity grid on a GB-wide basis. The Scottish G…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an independent Scotland would establish a driver and vehicle licensing agency.
Answer · Keith Brown: Full details of the government’s proposals for independence will be provided in the white paper to be published in November 2013.
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in an independent Scotland, national insurance contributions that had been previously made in employment in the rest of the UK would count toward benefits in Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: Yes.
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an independent Scotland would have a national insurance fund.
Answer · John Swinney: At the time of independence, Scotland would continue to have a national insurance fund. An independent Scotland would be able to raise a broad range of taxes, including national insurance, to ensure a fiscally sustainable future. It would be able to make deci…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for investment in an oil fund in the first five years of an independent Scotland and whether the fund would hold UK gilts as assets.
Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister set out in his speech at the London School of Economics on 15 February 2012 it is estimated that, by value, over half of Scotland’s oil and gas reserves could still to be extracted, which would provide approximately 40 more years of product…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to replace the role of the Bank of England in relation to banknotes issued by private Scottish banks in an independent Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08278 on 31 August 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…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would create a central bank in an independent Scotland and, if so, what form such a bank would take.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08278 on 31 August 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…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would guarantee retail deposits in Scottish banks in an independent Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Ministers have outlined their intention to retain sterling in a formal monetary union with the UK, in an independent Scotland. As I set out in my speech to the David Hume Institute on 2 February 2012, our proposal is to maintain the Bank of England a…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether financial institutions in an independent Scotland would participate in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08278 on 31 August 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…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether financial institutions in an independent Scotland would be regulated by the Consumer Protection and Markets Authority.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08278 on 31 August 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…
26 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether financial institutions in an independent Scotland would be regulated by the Bank of England.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Ministers have outlined their intention to retain sterling in a formal monetary union with the UK, in an independent Scotland. As I set out in my speech to the David Hume Institute on 2 February 2012, our proposal is to maintain the Bank of England a…