Parliamentary questions

Alison Johnstone

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

6 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what routes are covered by its travel agreement with EasyJet.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The contract between Expotel Ltd and easyJet allows for travel to and from Edinburgh; Glasgow; Aberdeen; or Inverness and London Gatwick; Stansted; or Luton.

6 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a carbon impact assessment was carried out as part of its travel agreement with EasyJet.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As there has been no change to Scottish Government travel policy, no carbon impact assessment was carried out. Scottish Government travel policy continues to reinforce the view that staff must consider if their journey is actually necessary (whether video-con…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the cycling infrastructure projects worth £3.9 million referred to in its news release of 25 November 2012, Swinney outlines further shovel-ready projects.

Answer · Keith Brown: Individual project announcements will be made as and when funding becomes available.

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations the Minister for Transport and Veterans has made to ministers following Cycling Scotland's recommendation that funding for cycle improvements should be sought from budget areas such as health, environment and sport.

Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish Ministers are well aware of the benefits of cross-cutting policy work. Over the last two years, Ministers and Transport Scotland officials have had discussions with colleagues in health (including sport), environment and education to discuss how clos…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for publication of a progress report on the work being carried out by Transport Scotland on road user hierarchy and liability laws.

Answer · Keith Brown: This work is being carried out this year and a report will be sent to the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland Delivery Forum for consideration in early 2013.

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what encouragement and support it gives to public sector organisations to become Cycling Scotland Cycle Friendly Employers.

Answer · Keith Brown: Since 2006, the Scottish Government has awarded Cycling Scotland just over £200,000 for cycling investment in public sector workplaces. In that time, there has been 114 Cycle Friendly Employer Award certificates issued to Scottish public sector employers, rep…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes of the Road Safety Framework Operational Partnership Group meeting of 25 September 2012 and for what reason the most recently published minutes of the Road Safety Strategic Partnership Board are from May 2011.

Answer · Keith Brown: The absence from the Transport Scotland (TS) website of more recent minutes of meetings of the Road Safety Strategic Partnership Board was due to an administrative oversight. Minutes of the meetings of 24 January 2012 and 17 May 2012 have now been added to …

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Cycling Scotland's suggestion that the Minister for Transport and Veterans and local authority heads of transport should hold an annual summit, and what its position is on whether cycling interest groups should be involved.

Answer · Keith Brown: My letter of 12 November to the Cross Party Group on Cycling said: “I welcome the opportunity to speak with elected members of all parties to discuss what more could be done locally to deliver more cycling facilities. Currently, local government officials at…

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the consequences would be of its not meeting its target of 10% of journeys being made by bicycle by 2020.

Answer · Keith Brown: We are committed to reaching the 10% vision for cycling journeys by 2020. We will do this by working in partnership with local authorities and other key stakeholders such as Sustrans, Cycling Scotland and local community groups. We will also encourage private…

21 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ministers have had with (a) EU officials and (b) the UK Government on tackling pests and diseases arriving in the country through the plant and timber trades.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Ministers have attended EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meetings where plant health issues have been on the agenda. Through Scottish Government officials there has also been liaison with EU officials on the Review of the EU Plant Health Regime. …

21 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research (a) the Forestry Commission Scotland and (b) Forest Research is carrying out on the threat to native trees of diseases that (i) are present and (ii) might soon arrive.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Research into tree diseases is undertaken, on behalf of Forestry Commission Scotland and the other parts of the Forestry Commission, by Forest Research which has sites in Roslin, Midlothian and Farnham, Surrey. Details of research programmes aimed at promoti…

21 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10959 by Paul Wheelhouse on 19 November 2012, what progress has been made on research on the spread of Phytophthora ramorum from larch to native oak trees.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Initial work on Phytophthora ramorum by Forest Research involved extensive testing of host tree susceptibility to this disease. This indicated that our native oaks are of low susceptibility. Subsequent field observations throughout the UK have confirmed that …

14 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce secondary legislation under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to deal with the unregulated sale of pets over the internet.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: We are currently discussing the unregulated sale of pets on the internet with our stakeholders and once those discussions have been concluded we shall consider what action needs to be taken to address any specific issues, including the introduction of further…

14 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities is doing to ensure a modal shift toward active travel.

6 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resources are allocated to research on novel pathogens affecting (a) native and (b) commercial conifer tree species.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Research into pathogens affecting native and commercial conifer tree species is undertaken by the Forestry Commission research agency. As part of the devolution process it was agreed that the research agency, Forest Research, would primarily be funded by the …

24 Oct 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Tax Consultation Forum will next meet and what issues will be on the agenda.

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its national walking strategy and what (a) leisure, (b) transport and (c) health stakeholders will be involved in its development.

Answer · Shona Robison: No date has yet been set for the publication of the national walking strategy, however work is underway and a wide range of leisure, transport and health stakeholders will be involved in its development. These will include as a minimum the Mountaineering Coun…

9 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether national development designations proposed to be carried forward from the National Planning Framework 2 to the National Planning Framework 3 will be subject to public consultation.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Yes.

9 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations or contributions it has made to the UK National Ecosystem Assessment.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government has made the following financial contributions to the UK National Ecosystems Assessment (UKNEA): Contribution toward the UKNEA project - £243,936 Contribution towards the cost of UKNEA co-chair - £35,475 Contribution towards costs f…

26 Sep 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that school outdoor environments promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles.

25 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how it ensures high levels of energy efficiency in and (b) whether it has a target power usage effectiveness for new or refurbished data centres in its estate.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The energy efficiency of the data centre at Saughton House will be significantly increased in the next two years by a greater number of Scottish public bodies using the facilities. Negotiations continue with a number of Scottish public bodies to house their I…

25 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase the energy efficiency of the data centre at Saughton House.