John Finnie

10 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21880 by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 July 2014, what the conclusions are of its review and whether it plans to publish them.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Marine Scotland has published their informal review of the Orkney Island Council Ballast Water Management application. The review can be viewed on the Scottish Government website: www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/marine-environment/ShippingMarineEnvironment.

8 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, following publication of its statistical bulletin, Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2013-14, whether it considers the merging of victim and complainer to be the most appropriate way of recording racist incidents and whether it will consider recording them separately …

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland publication series has always followed the definition outlined by Sir William MacPherson in his 1999 report on the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. This is that a racist incident is any incident which is percei…

16 Dec 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities in the Highlands and Islands and Transport Scotland regarding proposed infrastructure projects.

16 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Prince Charles receives copies of confidential Scottish Cabinet documents.

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in the Guide to Collective Decision Making, published in 2008 and available on the Scottish Government's website (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/244314/0068319.pdf), copies of the full minutes of Scottish Cabinet meetings, but not individual Cabi…

1 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will make public the section of the Parliament's risk register covering reputational damage.

Answer · Liam McArthur: While the risk register by its nature seeks to protect the Parliament’s reputation in a general sense, there is no particular section of the register specifically covering reputational damage.

18 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will undertake and make public a risk assessment of the reputational damage that may be caused to the Parliament by the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme holdings in the fossil fuel, defence and tobacco industries.

Answer · John Pentland: As the member will be aware, under the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act 2009 the fund trustees are responsible for the day to day management and administration of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme, including investment policy. Given their lead resp…

4 Nov 2015 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it promotes the Parliament, its values and its work.

9 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the replacement of inadequate facilities at Elgin High School.

Answer · Angela Constance: Under the Scottish Government's £1.8 billion Scotland's Schools for the Future programme, Moray Council has been awarded approximately £14.3 million towards the replacement of Elgin High School.

5 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures there are to ensure that taxi and private hire car drivers are of good character.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Licensing authorities are obliged by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to refuse an application where in their view the applicant is not a fit and proper person to be the holder of the licence. The legislation also requires them to make such reasonable…

25 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the independent panel looking at planning reform has been asked to consider whether the current system is fully compliant with the Aarhus Convention.

Answer · Alex Neil: Through the current system there are statutory frameworks in place to ensure that planning authorities comply with the terms of the Aarhus Convention, including through provisions set out in the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Sco…

25 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the planning system and the land use strategy will be coordinated to take account of each other.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The land use strategy aligns with other Scottish Government policy, including planning. The land use strategy provides a broad context for planning authorities on government policy relevant to land use and we expect all public bodies to have regard to the pri…

25 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its land use strategy will be taken forward following the pilot projects in Aberdeenshire and the Borders.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The land use strategy is currently being reviewed, including taking account of the experience and lessons from the two pilot projects in Aberdeenshire and the Scottish Borders. A public consultation on a draft revised land use strategy will be held later in 2…

25 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the possible costs for people or organisations taking a judicial review on an environmental matter for the public good are consistent with article 7 of the Aarhus Convention relating to public participation concerning plans, programmes and policies relating to t…

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Public participation concerning plans, programmes and policies relating to the environment takes many forms, such as responding to consultations or participating in meetings. In relation to plans, programmes and policies relating to the environment, there ar…

22 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assessment it has made of ethical investment funds with respect to the investment decisions of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme.

Answer · John Pentland: I refer the Member to my answer to Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) question S4W-25996 on 17 June 2015 in which I advised that under the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act 2009 the fund trustees are responsible for the day to day management and a…

16 Sep 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Home Office regarding proposals in the forthcoming Immigration Bill for landlords to carry out checks of tenants’ immigration status and evict undocumented migrants.

11 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its stated position is on extra-judicial killings.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland sits within the international legal framework of human rights standards developed since the end of World War 2. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), incorporated into UK Law in 1998, requires public authorities, including local government…

11 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it would consider holding an inquiry into the extra-judicial killing of a person from Scotland overseas.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This would depend on the facts and circumstances relating to a particular case. However, in general terms, it should be noted that section 28 of the Inquiries Act 2005 provides that Scottish Ministers may only set up public inquiries which are wholly or prima…

11 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government advised the (a) First Minister and (b) Lord Advocate about the death of Ruhul Amin from Aberdeen and, if so, (i) who provided the advice, (ii) when and (iii) under what circumstances.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The First Minister was informed of the death of Ruhul Amin by a senior security official from the UK Government imminently before the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons in her capacity as a member of the Privy Council. The Lord Advocate was no…

25 Aug 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure availability of GPs in remote and rural areas.

29 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to increase grid capacity to assist renewable energy producers in the Highlands and Islands.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government’s third National Planning Framework was published in June 2014 and designates an enhanced high voltage energy transmission network as a national development. It sets out our view that strengthening the electricity grid will be essentia…

20 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S4W-25996 by John Pentland on 17 June 2015, when it expects the Fund Trustees will provide an answer.

Answer · John Pentland : The Fund Trustees issued a response to the member on 28 July 2015.

24 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many sailings on (a) Clyde and Hebrides and (b) Northern Isles ferry routes have been cancelled since 17 February 2014.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Since 17 February 2014 until 24 June 2015 there were 6078 cancelled sailings on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service routes, out of 183,369 scheduled sailings and 9 on the Northern Isles Ferry Service routes, out of 1001 scheduled sailings. The vast majority …

24 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to start the procurement exercise for the 2018-24 Northern Isles ferry services contract, and whether it will take steps to ensure that the services are returned to the public sector.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The current Northern Isles contract is due to come to an end in April 2018. In line with commitments given in the Empowering Scotland’s Island Communities prospectus in June 2014, we have already begun to engage with key partners to scope out the way forward …

16 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the educational impact of schools built under PFI and PPP.

8 Jun 2015 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will follow the example of Falkirk Council and invest some of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme funds in Hearthstone Investments’ Housing Fund for Scotland.

Answer · John Pentland: Under the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act 2009 the Fund Trustees are responsible for the day to day management and administration of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme, including investment policy. I have therefore passed the Member’s question to t…

8 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25752 by Fergus Ewing on 5 June 2015, by what date the decision will be announced and, in light of the report being received in June 2013, what the reason is for the delay in making this.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The consideration that officials and ministers have been required to give to the Allt Duine proposal, the associated environmental impact assessment and the public inquiry report has been complex and meant that we were not able to facilitate a decision before…

2 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the bus grant scheme model can be replicated for the rail freight industry.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government is currently refreshing its rail freight strategy. Among a range of issues, it will consider how best to work with industry and business to maximise opportunities for investment to support a growing and sustainable rail freight sector …

2 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what account it took of the extent to which increasing the speed limit of HGVs to 50 mph on the A9 may have provided a competitive advantage for the road haulage industry over the rail freight industry.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The rationale behind the trial speed limit of 50 mph for HGVs on the A9 is to reduce the speed differential between the slowest moving vehicles and the wider traffic stream, so improving the operational performance of the A9. The mode of transport chosen for…

2 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23164 by Richard Lochhead on 27 November 2014, whether it will provide an update on the progress of the land register and whether it expects to meet its target of registering all public land within five years.

Answer · John Swinney: The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland has undertaken a substantial amount of activity to support the completion of the land register by 2024 and to have all public land voluntary registered by 2019 since Scottish Ministers’ announcement in May 2014. This ha…

2 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22018 by John Swinney on 23 July 2014, what assessment it has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) completeness of (i) its entries and (ii) the entries of other bodies in the electronic Property Information and Mapping Service (e-PIMS).

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government updates its own data through a notification system when changes occur to fulfil its responsibility to the Cabinet Office for the accuracy and comprehensiveness of its data. The Scottish Government is only one of a number of participat…