Mark McDonald

2 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility private landlords have for the conduct of their tenants.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Under Part 7 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 a local authority may serve an antisocial behaviour notice on landlords where an occupant or visitor to a house let by the landlord engages in antisocial behaviour at or in the locality of the …

12 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that people with acquired brain injuries receive appropriate treatment.

25 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with COSLA in relation to constitutional protection for local government in an independent Scotland.

25 Feb 2013 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role it has in the production of Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s inspection reports into the care of older people.

21 Feb 2013 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what work is being done to improve accessibility to the parliamentary campus for people with autistic spectrum disorder.

17 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last received correspondence from Aberdeen City Council regarding local government funding.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has regular correspondence with all local authorities through COSLA. Aberdeen City Council did, however write to the Scottish Government recently regarding the Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme (BRIS). In my response I confirmed th…

17 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action can be taken against charities that operate without authority.

Answer · John Swinney: Under the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the Act) the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has a variety of powers to investigate charities (including those calling themselves charities that may not actually be charities) and bodies which…

17 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the use of door-to-door collection bags by charities is subject to the same rules as other types of charitable collection.

Answer · John Swinney: The current public charitable collection legislation provides for the collection from the public of money for charitable purposes taken either in a public place or by means of visits from place to place. Sections 84 to 92 of the Charities and Trustees (Scotl…

17 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether charities that have authority to operate in Scotland but are registered only in England and Wales have to meet the same registration conditions in Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: By law in Scotland only bodies which are entered in the Scottish Charity Register may refer to themselves as a “Scottish charity” or “a charity registered in Scotland”. Some bodies which operate from other parts of the UK or abroad can call themselves a “cha…

17 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the development and delivery of local strategies to tackle autism will be monitored.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government have provided funding of £35,000 to each local authority in Scotland to develop local autism action plans, according to local need. The Scottish Government will soon be in contact with each local authority to obtain a copy of each acti…

11 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what international diplomats it has met recently and what issues were discussed.

6 Feb 2013 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will (a) respond to its recent consultation on Renewables Obligation banding levels and (b) confirm levels of support for biomass generation.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is publishing today its response to a recent supplementary consultation on changes to the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) legislation and support levels. Our response confirms that support for biomass electricity will be restricted t…

23 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to the police regarding their use of social media when investigating criminal activity.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: It is for chief constables to determine the best way to investigate criminal activity. The Scottish Government does not provide guidance on how they should do this. The Police Service of Scotland is already working on guidance for the use of social media by …

15 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the proposed so-called bedroom tax reductions to housing benefit will have on Scotland's housing associations and local authorities.

8 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how sales of common good land or assets by local authorities are monitored to ensure that best value is achieved.

Answer · John Swinney: Responsibility for securing Best Value lies first and foremost with local authorities themselves. They are under a statutory duty to secure Best Value through Part 1 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. They also are subject to a duty, when disposing…

8 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued guidance to local authorities in relation to the sale of common good land or assets and, if so, when.

Answer · John Swinney: In 2005, the then Scottish Executive published an advisory note to local authorities “Local Government in Scotland Act 2003: Asset Management under Best Value”. This note provides advice on how local authorities manage all assets in their care, including comm…

8 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority has received for sales of common good land or assets in each year since 1999.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

5 Nov 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the implications would be for the Scottish budget if income tax was reduced in Scotland.

30 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the initial reported cost was of each PFI project pursued between 1999 and 2007 and what the total cost of repayments will be for each project.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10737 on 7 November 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/parliamentar…

30 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the PFI liabilities for each (a) local authority and (b) NHS board will be in each of the next five years, also broken down by PFI project.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10737 on 7 November 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/parliamentar…

30 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the PFI liabilities for each (a) local authority and (b) NHS board have been in each of the last five years, also broken down by project.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is available from the Scottish Government website under ‘Unitary Payment Charges’ by way of the following link: www.scotland.gov.uk.

23 Oct 2012 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties recieve support from the small business bonus scheme as part of its rates relief package, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Official statistics published on 24 October 2012 show that in total 89,087 properties benefit from the Small Business Bonus Scheme, an increase of 3,888 from 2011-12 statistics. The following table shows the total number of properties in receipt of relief by…

11 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training there is for health professionals working with patients with autistic spectrum disorder.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Patients with an autistic spectrum disorder will be seen by a range of healthcare professionals working in a variety of care settings, and such professionals will have undergone undergraduate and pre-registration teaching, and postgraduate education and train…

1 Oct 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will fulfil its commitment to deliver free prescriptions.

24 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding improvements to the Haudagain roundabout.

17 Sep 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the UK Government’s rejection of the final offer from Remploy Aberdeen.

17 Sep 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on the study published by the New Economics Foundation relating to a halt to mackerel fishing.

10 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address trends in drink driving among young drivers.

3 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review business rates.

9 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many retailers have been penalised for breaching the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007, also broken down by (a) retailer, (b) penalty and (c) year.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There have been no prosecutions for breaches of the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (as amended).