Parliamentary questions
Kevin Stewart
579 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to allowing public sector pension fund assets to be used to build socially affordable housing.
Answer · John Swinney: Following discussions with the Scottish Government, Scottish local authority pension funds have expressed interest in investing in social and affordable housing and are considering how best to do this. Investment decisions are entirely at the discretion of th…
2 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to allowing local authorities to invest common good fund assets in building socially affordable housing.
Answer · Keith Brown: Common good assets and funds are not the responsibility of the Scottish Government but the responsibility of local authorities who must manage them in accordance with their existing statutory and non statutory duties.
2 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what average time each local authority takes to issue Blue Badge parking permits to eligible applicants.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: This is a matter for Scottish local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.
2 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to discuss with the UK Government reducing or abolishing Value Added Tax on sun screens and sun blocks
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has no current plans to discuss, with UK Government, the reduction or abolition of Value Added Tax on sun screens and sun block.
2 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any Transport Scotland staff have received development viability training.
Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland as a whole is comprised of the full range of skills necessary to consider development applications, including economists, transport planners and infrastructure engineers. A number of officials at Transport Scotland in the Development Planni…
2 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to education authorities about the teaching of the dangers of the sun and sunbeds and the increased incidence of melanoma.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not provide direct guidance to education authorities regarding the teaching of the dangers of sun and sunbeds (or on the increased incidence of melanoma). Education provision in Scotland is directed by the Curriculum for Excellen…
12 Sep 2011 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding changes to the tax regime for North Sea oil and gas.
7 Sep 2011 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with representatives of the oil and gas industry about future workforce planning.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The First Minister discussed this issue at a meeting with Oil and Gas UK on Monday 5 September 2011. Skills is one of the six strategic priorities being addressed by the Oil and Gas Industry Advisory Group, co-chaired by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise a…
25 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of patients allocated to a lung specialist nurse is, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.
25 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many lung cancer specialist nurses there are, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Published information on headcount and whole-time equivalent clinical nurse specialists, including lung cancer specialists, broken down by NHS board can be found on the workforce statistics website at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health%2DTopics/Workforce/Nur…
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.
Answer · Keith Brown: The cost of preparatory work undertaken on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, to the end of June 2011, is approximately £113 million. Similar to other trunk road projects this has included scheme development, environmental impact assessment, consultation…
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to abolish quangos in the current parliamentary session.
Answer · John Swinney: Under this government the number of national, devolved public bodies has already been reduced from 199 to 145. On present plans, this will reduce further to around 113. We are continuing to look for opportunities to simplify and streamline the public bodies l…
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in creating a more efficient and effective planning system.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced the most fundamental reforms in the planning system in over 60 years. This was followed by a programme of culture change and secondary legislation to support modernisation of the system. Whilst we continue to …
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in establishing an export support package.
Answer · John Swinney: The new Export Support Initiative, which has been supported by the Scottish Government with £2.5 million, will accelerate the international development of at least 100 companies which currently have zero, or low level exports, and have the potential to reach …
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal costs have been of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project and what proportion of these costs is associated with dealing with objections.
Answer · Keith Brown: The cost to date associated with the provision of legal services on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is approximately £1.13 million. This cost covers the provision of legal services in relation to the public local inquiry, current legal challenges agains…
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing virtual trade centres.
Answer · John Swinney: Our manifesto committed us to assisting new and current exporters by developing Virtual Trade Centres as an online support tool to provide information and advice for Scottish companies looking to expand overseas. The Scottish Government recently announced the…
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government about allocating a share of the profits from the sale of the publicly owned stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group to strengthen and regenerate Scotland's retail banking sector.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: No such discussions have taken place. There is no precise timescale in place as yet for disposal of these investments and the Scottish Government continues to monitor developments through engagement with HM Treasury and the banks to ensure that discussions on…
2 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the costs of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route public inquiry.
Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26029 on 13 August 2009. 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/parliamentarybu…
12 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the review process for the renewal of the First ScotRail franchise will make provision for the introduction of new rolling stock on longer distance routes.
Answer · Keith Brown: The process to renew the contract for rail passenger services in Scotland will consider the issue of the rolling stock used on particular routes. The passenger fleet is leased from rolling stock companies and, with the exception of the new Class 380 Units, w…
12 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether customer satisfaction is considered when awarding rail franchises.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish ministers have not yet set the appraisal criteria for the next contract for rail passenger services. However, passengers and satisfaction levels will be a crucially important consideration when determining the content and specification of the new…
12 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the number of toilet breakdowns on longer-distance train services.
Answer · Keith Brown: As part of a Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) inspection, train toilets are audited to establish whether they meet the requirements expected and detailed within the Franchise Agreement. During each four weekly rail period, approximately 80% of the S…
12 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with First ScotRail regarding the number of toilet breakdowns on its longer-distance routes.
Answer · Keith Brown: Representatives of Transport Scotland and ScotRail meet regularly to discuss all aspects of performance within the Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE). Issues arising with train toilets on ScotRail longer-distance routes have been included at these me…
12 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether rail franchises make provision for operators to provide additional rolling stock when major events are taking place in Scotland.
Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland, on behalf of Scottish ministers, manage the ScotRail franchise contract. The contract contains an obligation for ScotRail to plan for special events to ensure extra carriages are provided on services to meet the exceptional demand. ScotRai…
12 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the customer satisfaction rates of rail users are monitored.
Answer · Keith Brown: Customer satisfaction rates of rail users are obtained during the National Passenger Survey (NPS) carried out by Passenger Focus bi-annually. Transport Scotland monitors the results and works with ScotRail in addressing areas highlighted in the survey as are…
7 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it expects (a) each local authority and (b) other public bodies in Scotland to contribute annually to the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme and whether it has discussed devolving the scheme with the UK Government.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The CRC’s first reporting year ended on 31 March. The UK Government estimates that UK emissions will be reduced by at least 4Mt CO2 p/a by 2020 as a result of the CRC. But we don’t yet have participants’ footprint and annual reports, so it is not yet possible…
3 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been allocated to support district heating schemes in each year since 1999.
Answer · Alex Neil: There is no central comprehensive record of funding allocated specifically to support district heating. However, as highlighted in the answer to question S4W-01468 on 27 July 2011, district heating schemes have benefited from around £23 million funding from U…
3 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) the UK Government and (b) other bodies regarding devolving air passenger duty in each of the last three years.
Answer · Keith Brown: As part of our engagement on the Scotland Bill in 2010 and 2011, the Scottish Government has repeatedly made the case to the UK Government for early devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD). In our regular discussions over the last 3 years with the main Scott…
3 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Water has spent on capital projects in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: This information is not held centrally. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply to you.
3 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce legislation to give local authorities enhanced powers to deal with businesses that do not maintain their buildings adequately.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Powers are already available to local authorities under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to intervene where owners allow their building to become defective or dangerous.
3 Jul 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which district heating schemes have received funding and how much each has received in each year since 1999.
Answer · Alex Neil: There is no central comprehensive record of funding allocated to, or received by, district heating schemes in Scotland each year since 1999. However, district heating schemes have benefited from around £23 million funding from UK Government and Scottish Gove…