Parliamentary questions

Willie Rennie

1,353 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18056 by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2013, what topics of mutual interest were discussed at its meetings with the United Nations in September 2013.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18376 on 28 November 2013. 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/parliamenta…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18056 by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2013, for what reason its answer did not include a list of agreed actions arising from its meetings at the United Nations in September 2013.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: It is our view that private meetings between the Scottish Government and particular key stakeholders are undertaken on a confidential basis, to allow free and frank exchange of views.

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, whether it considers that the people of Scotland have a right to know what was discussed at the meetings listed in the answer.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: It is our view that private meetings between the Scottish Government and key stakeholders are undertaken on a confidential basis, to allow the free and frank exchange of views. Where we think it is appropriate to convey our position on a particular issue, we …

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, whether it has commented publicly on all of the meetings listed in the answer and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has not commented publicly about any of the meetings listed in the answer. It is our view that private meetings between the Scottish Government and key stakeholders are undertaken on a confidential basis, to allow free and frank exchan…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, what matters the Minister for External Affairs and International Development discussed with representatives of the government of Syria at the meeting on (a) 16 May 2013 and (b) 9 September 2013.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Minister for External Affairs and International Development has met with Mr Walid Saffour, Ambassador of National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, and members of the Scottish Syrian community respectively on these occasions. The S…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, whether it has a policy position on Kurdistani statehood and whether it discussed the matter with (a) the government of Turkey at the meeting on 31 October 2013 and (b) representatives of Kurdistan on 12 Ju…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not have a position on Kurdistani statehood and the issue was not discussed at either meeting.

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, what geographical or political entity it is referring to as "Kurdistan".

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Minister for External Affairs and International Development met with representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government within Iraq.

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, for which meetings it issued a public statement (a) acknowledging that a meeting had taken place and (b) providing details of the topics discussed.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18369 on 3 December 2013. 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/parliamentary…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, whether it issued a statement (a) prior to or (b) following the Minister for External Affairs and International Development's meetings with representatives of the government of (i) Syria, (ii) Egypt and (ii…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Minister for External Affairs and International Development met with neither representatives of the Syrian nor Egyptian governments. He did meet with the Turkish Ambassador on 31 October 2013 and Mr Walid Saffour, Ambassador of National Coalition for Syri…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17874 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 November 2013, whether its policy is to keep details of the meetings between the Minister for External Affairs and International Development and the governments of other countries out of the public domain.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: No. The Scottish Government publishes information on ministerial engagements and meetings periodically at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17973 by Nicola Sturgeon on 11 November 2013, what the value is of the Lot awarded to (a) TNT Post Scotland Ltd and (b) Royal Mail Group Ltd under the Postal Services Framework.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Total spend within each Lot of the Postal Services framework, from 1 March 2012 (the day the framework commenced) to date is as follows: Lot 1: Ad Hoc/Hybrid Mail - TNT Post Financial Year Spend 2011-12 £1,358,064 2012-13 £14,592,891 2013-14 (year to …

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of rolling out the ASSIST peer-education programme to all secondary schools as part of its tobacco control strategy.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The purpose of the pilot is to consider suitability of ASSIST for Scottish schools. We will of course consider costs as part of that work.

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated to pilot the ASSIST peer-education programme in schools as part of its tobacco control strategy.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As stated in our Tobacco Control Strategy, “Creating a Tobacco – Free Generation” we will use any funds recovered from the costs of legal challenges to invest in tobacco prevention programmes for young people, such as ASSIST.

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make a statement on recent progress made on the pilot of the ASSIST peer-education programme as part of its tobacco control strategy.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We are at the early stages of scoping out this work and will be happy to provide updates as this progresses.

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the requirements for, and granting of, police air operator certificates, as set out in the Air Navigation Order 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The requirements for and granting of police air operator certificates are matters for the Civil Aviation Authority.

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Police Scotland’s decision to no longer use the civil air patrol service and what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding this.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Tasking decisions on the use of particular assets are operational matters for Police Scotland. The Scottish Government and Police Scotland have asked the Civil Aviation Authority to determine what measures can be taken to remove any existing regulatory barri…

11 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the role of the civil air patrol service in carrying out extended searches and what discussions it has had with the service regarding its future role.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government values the contributions of volunteers, including Civil Air Patrol members to resilience and emergency response work, and has been in discussion with Civil Air Patrol, Police Scotland and the Civil Aviation Authority on this issue. The…

8 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) newspapers and periodicals, (b) television stations and (c) journalists the First Minister gave personal interviews to during his recent visit to China; which are owned by or work for the Chinese state, and whether it will place (i) copies of the published interviews and (ii) d…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The First Minister's trip to China and Hong Kong was a huge success, with the announcement of seven Sino-Scots partnerships worth £40 million, senior level meetings with major Chinese companies such as CNOOC and Sinopec and the delivery of two keynote speeche…

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date Professor Stiglitz made the comments on inequality in China referred to by the First Minister in his speech at Tsinghua University in China on 5 November 2013 and whether he has been asked to provide an updated analysis of inequality in China.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The First Minister’s speech at Tsinghua University can be read at http://news.scotland.gov.uk/Speeches-Briefings/Scotland-and-China-Wealth-and-Wellbeing-of-Nations-5dd.aspx. The reference to a statement by Professor Joseph Stiglitz is taken from Globalisation…

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it learned of the visa issue for the Confucius Institute teachers as reported by the BBC on 4 November 2013 and when it first contacted the Home Office on the matter.

Answer · Michael Russell: Ministers learned of the visa issue on 1 November 2013 and contacted the Home Office on 1 November 2013.

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Gini indices for inequality in the UK and China it used to inform the First Minister’s speech at Tsinghua University in China on 5 November 2013.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18191 on 19 November 2013. 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/parliamenta…

6 Nov 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps the Scottish Futures Trust has taken to ensure that non-profit distributing model investment achieves forecast levels.

4 Nov 2013 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17873 by Humza Yousaf on 29 October 2013, whether discussions were held on policies that are dependent on the outcome of the next Scottish parliamentary election.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18056 on 13 November 2013. 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/parliamenta…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17873 by Humza Yousaf on 29 October 2013, what topics were discussed at each meeting; what the outcomes and agreed actions were, and whether follow-up meetings were proposed.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: A variety of topics of mutual interest were discussed. It is expected that similar discussions with representatives of relevant international organisations will be held from time to time. Policies pursued following the next Scottish parliamentary election wil…

28 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17733 by John Swinney on 17 October 2013, when it expects to be able to publish targets for 2013-14 for the business rates incentivisation scheme.

Answer · John Swinney: As explained in my response to question S4W-17733, COSLA Leaders took the decision that they did not want to consider the review of the 2012-13 Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme (BRIS) targets until the final non-domestic rates audited figures for 2012-13…

28 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17733 by John Swinney on 17 October 2013, whether it has been able to assess whether the business rates incentivisation scheme is proving effective in the absence of agreed targets.

Answer · John Swinney: The absence of agreed targets for 2012-13 should have little or no impact on the effectiveness of the business rates incentivisation scheme. Clearly it would have been helpful to have agreed targets but as I explained in my response to question S4W-17733 this…

28 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates since 3 May 2012 the Minister for Local Government and Planning has communicated with SNP councillors on Argyll and Bute Council and what matters were discussed.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As the local government and planning minister, I regularly engage and communicate with councillors. This can include councillors from any of the political parties represented at local government level, including the SNP, and also independents. I most recent…

28 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17688 by Fergus Ewing on 23 October 2013, what organisations collected the names and addresses of businesses and sole traders.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17980 on 7 November 2013. 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…

28 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17688 by Fergus Ewing on 23 October 2013, for what purposes under the Data Protection Act 1998 the names and addresses of businesses and sole traders were collected.