Parliamentary questions

Alison Johnstone

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

2 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland has informed its policy on native and ancient woodland.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-28252 on 16 November 2015. 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…

2 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to improve areas of degraded or damaged native and ancient woodland.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Findings from the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland in 2014 have been used to inform the development of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Scotland’s Biodiversity – A Route Map to 2020. In particular, ‘Priority Project 2: Restoration of Native Woodland’ …

2 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £200 million investment in new elective treatment centres that it announced on 17 October 2015 will be allocated across each centre.

Answer · Shona Robison: The final allocation for each of the centres will be determined once the final range of services to be provided at each site has been agreed.

27 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27164 by Aileen McLeod on 8 September 2015, when it will announce details of the (a) remit and (b) timetable for the review of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: I expect to be able to announce details of the remit, the timetable and who will be leading the review before the end of 2015.

20 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and (b) management obligations Network Rail would have if a train operating company requested to operate a service on the rail line from Glenrothes with Thornton to Leven.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Should there be a request for its use; Network Rail will be required to reinstate the line at its own cost within a 12 month period. This would be to its previous capability, which in this case is for a single freight service operating on the line at 20mph at…

20 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and (b) management obligations Network Rail has to maintain the rail network from Glenrothes with Thornton to Leven under the short term network change process.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Under the Short Term Network Change process, Network Rail is required to maintain this line to a standard which is sufficient to enable it to be brought back into use within 12 months should such a request be received.

20 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the strategic transport appraisal guidance (STAG2) study into the reopening of the Levenmouth Rail Line will be completed.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Fife Council, as the promoter of this project, are currently undertaking an appraisal in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance to determine the most appropriate transport intervention for the Levenmouth area. Transport Scotland officials have met wi…

24 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Coal Authority requiring near-surface coal reserves to be removed through opencast mining from land identified by a local authority as a preferred option for housing development under a local development plan, prior to development being undertaken.

Answer · Alex Neil: Scottish Planning Policy states: “Local development plans should identify areas of search where surface coal extraction is most likely to be acceptable during the plan period and set out the preferred programme for the development of other safeguarded areas …

24 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on land classified by the Coal Authority as a high risk development area being identified by a local authority as a preferred option for housing development under a local development plan.

Answer · Alex Neil: Planning authorities would need to be confident that the land can be brought forward for development within the plan period, taking account of the Scottish Government’s advice on effective land supply in Planning Advice Note 2/2010. Subsequent development man…

31 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in considering its policy, it will request from the Australian Government information on pollution incidents associated with underground coal gasification projects in Australia.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is clear that the development of new energy technologies such as underground coal gasification must be consistent with our environmental objectives, and we will continue to take a careful, evidence-based approach to such developments. …

31 Aug 2015 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it would invest the £500 million that the UK Government has announced to build nuclear-armed submarine infrastructure to benefit the Scottish economy and create jobs.

16 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of the 98% consultation response in favour of a ban, when it will introduce legislation to ban the use of wild animals in circuses.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: We are currently considering the options for introducing a ban on ethical grounds and I hope to set out my time-table for action shortly.

16 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25792 by Aileen McLeod on 9 June 2015, whether wild pollinators will be covered by its insect pollinator strategy and what resources it has committed to support the monitoring of wild pollinators.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Insect Pollinator Strategy covers both wild and managed pollinators. The main resource input to monitoring pollinators is currently through the National Pollinator and Pollination Monitoring scheme. The aims of this project are to design and test a sch…

2 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) fixed penalty notices and (b) summonses were issued to motorists in 2014 for exceeding a 20-mph limit, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Derek Mackay: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. This is a matter for Police Scotland.

28 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15634 by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 June 2013, what progress Scottish Natural Heritage has made on its bee action plan and whether it has taken action to monitor the effects of the ban on neonicotinoids.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Since the answer to question S4W-15634 was published, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has produced a document called ‘The Insect Pollinator Strategy’ which is currently being considered by the Scottish Government for comment on matters under its responsibilit…

19 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to tackle dog fouling in light of the responses received to its consultation on promoting responsible dog ownership in early 2014.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The consultation on promoting responsible dog ownership invited respondents to suggest ways in which dog fouling might be tackled more effectively. A number of those suggestions are currently under consideration by Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Governme…