Parliamentary questions
Colin Smyth
990 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that it has delivered on its commitment made in January 2018 to "effectively and promptly ban" the use of electric shock dog collars.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The commitment made to Parliament in January 2018 was to issue guidance on electronic training aids under Section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. This commitment was fulfilled on 15th October and the guidance has been welcomed by the …
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the illegal importation of puppies into Scotland from Central and Eastern Europe.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scottish Government officials have had various discussions with counterparts in Defra regarding these issues over recent years.
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the decision by the UK Government to ban the use of electric shock collars in England via secondary legislation.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We understand that following consultation the UK Government now proposes to bring forward secondary legislation under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ban the use of hand-held remote controlled e-collar devices for dogs and cats. The UK Government does not prop…
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Dogs Trust’s latest report, Puppy Smuggling: When will this cruel trade end?, and what action it will take in response to the charity’s findings on the continued abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has noted the findings of the Dogs Trust report, Puppy Smuggling: When will this cruel trade end? and the recommendations contained therein. The Scottish Government is committed to ending illegal and irresponsible trade in puppies and…
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its new Guidance on Dog Training Aids will have the same effect as a full legal ban.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The use of electronic training aids is not prohibited; however the Guidance makes it clear that causing unnecessary suffering through their inappropriate use may be, depending upon the circumstances of the case, an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare …
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the use of electric shock collars is permitted if the user is not knowingly causing the dog unnecessary suffering.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The legality of the use of electronic training aids will depend on the circumstances in which they are used. The inappropriate use of any such training aids may give rise to prosecution for causing unnecessary suffering as an offence under the Animal Health a…
29 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the use of electric shock collars is permitted under any circumstances, following the introduction of its new Guidance on Dog Training Aids.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The use of electronic training aids is not prohibited; however the Guidance makes it clear that causing unnecessary suffering through their inappropriate use may be, depending upon the circumstances of the case, an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare …
24 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the development of better housing in Dumfries town centre.
16 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the ScotRail franchise performance benchmarks are, broken down by sector.
Answer · Michael Matheson: All performance benchmarks, broken down by sector, are contained in the ScotRail Franchise Agreement which is available on the public domain. Link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/2302/abellio-scotrail-redacted-franchise-agreement-web-version-revised-no…
15 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason reference to prong collars was removed from its final guidance on dog training aids, and whether it supports their use.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The reference to prong collars was removed from the final published Guidance on Dog Training Aids as it was felt that it's inclusion might divert attention away from the main intended focus on electronic collars. Unlike in the case of electronic collars, the …
10 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-19074 and S5W-19073 by Michael Matheson on 10 October 2018, whether it will provide the information requested and clarify its position on whether it is content with the use of internal targets, rather than franchise targets, by ScotRail in its mon…
Answer · Michael Matheson: It is common across all train companies in Britain to set internal targets and Abellio ScotRail is not any different. However the Member will be aware the ScotRail Franchise Agreement contains contractual targets which ScotRail are required to achieve and the…
2 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18914 by Michael Matheson on 2 October 2018, whether all of the trains will have controlled emission tanks fitted before they are used.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Abellio ScotRail (ASR) are currently examining whether installing Controlled Emission Tanks (CET) prior to the full refurbishment of ‘Classic’ High Speed Trains (HST) is possible and they are also looking at temporary measures to mitigate the impact of operat…
2 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with cystic fibrosis have accessed Orkambi through the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier Two Panel that has been in effect since 1 June 2018.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18944 on ? 27 September 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybus…
26 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when Transport Scotland became aware that ScotRail was using internal rather than franchise targets in its monthly publications, and what action it took in response to this.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19073 on 10 October 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
26 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the use of internal targets by ScotRail is a breach of the committed obligation on transparent reporting that is set out in its franchise, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Michael Matheson: ScotRail report to Transport Scotland the performance targets achieved every four weeks as required under the franchise contract, with officials monitoring and challenging delivery of these targets against the contractual targets at various forums.
26 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list each of the changes that have been made to the (a) breach benchmarks and (b) committed obligation on transparent reporting set out in the ScotRail franchise since April 2015; what the reason was for each change; when the changes were made; who was made aware of these…
Answer · Michael Matheson: All of the Performance Levels set out in the Franchise Agreement remain unchanged. The effect of the waiver granted means that the Scottish Government has agreed not to enforce compliance with the contractual Improvement Plan Performance Level and Breach Perf…
26 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the updated ScotRail franchise (a) target, (b) improvement plan, (c) (i) breach and (ii) default benchmarks for performance for each reporting period, also broken down by for how long each will remain in place.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19067 on 10 October 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
26 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the process is for making changes to the breach benchmarks for performance set out in the ScotRail franchise.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19067 on 10 October 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
19 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether trains without controlled emission tanks (CET) have, at any point during the current ScotRail franchise, operated routes that used CET-fitted vehicles when the franchise commenced.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The class 156 diesel fleet were the only units without controlled emission tanks (CET) at the start of the Franchise and these have remained on the same routes since then. Scottish Government funding enabled CET to be fitted across the full fleet of 48 Class …
19 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many trains in operation are not fitted with controlled emission tanks.
Answer · Michael Matheson: All of the 288 trains with toilets, that are currently leased by ScotRail, have been are fitted with controlled emission tanks (CET) since the start of 2018, as are all Caledonian Sleeper trains. Department for Transport cross border operators (LNER / Crossco…
19 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the upgraded InterCity trains in operation in Scotland are fitted with controlled emission tanks.
Answer · Michael Matheson: All 26 fully refurbished High Speed Trains will have controlled emission tanks (CET) fitted. The first one will be introduced in October and when they are all operating on Scottish inter-city routes will provide 40% more seats than operate at present.
19 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the Galloway Hoard going on display at Kirkcudbright Art Gallery.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I am pleased that National Museums Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway Council have been able to agree the terms for a 25-year Partnership Agreement which outlines their long-term plans for the display of a significant and representative portion of the Hoard a…
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18556 by Michael Matheson on 18 September 2018, whether it will confirm what the ScotRail franchise targets for (a) cancellation and (b) capacity are.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the Member to the public version of the Abellio ScotRail Franchise Agreement which contains the targets for cancellation and capacity. Link is: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/2302/abellio-scotrail-redacted-franchise-agreement-web-version-revise…
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the freight capacity is on each route operated under the Northern Isles Ferry Service contract.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: MV Hrossey and MV Hjaltland, the Aberdeen to Orkney / Shetland passenger vessels provide 370 lane metres on the main deck as well as being able to accommodate around 22 cars on the lower deck. MV Hamnavoe which services Scrabster to Stromness provides 350 la…
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Fortress Shipping will meet the cost of repairing the MV Helliar, and what discussions it has had with Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) regarding the length of time that the vessel will be out of service.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The vessel has been chartered to Serco NorthLink Ferries under a bareboat charter agreement and as a result, Fortress will not meet the cost of the repair of the MV Helliar. Under that agreement, the charterer obtains possession and full control of the vessel…
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessments Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has made of the rate of pay of seafarers on the Seatruck vessel, MV Arrow; when ministers were made aware of these assessments, and whether its Fair Work Convention was consulted before the decision to charter the craft was taken.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The hire agreement for the MV Arrow is between Serco NorthLink Ferries and Seatruck Ferries. Consequently, CMAL has made no assessment. The short term charter of the MV Arrow has been instituted to specifically cater for current freight demands on the Northe…
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional costs have been incurred by the decision to time charter the MV Arrow from Seatruck on the Northern Isles Ferry Service.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The cost of the charter of the MV Arrow is commercially confidential.
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of what changes there have been in Northern Isles Ferry Service freight demand between July and October in each year since 2006 arising from commercial activity in the (a) fishing, (b) shellfish and (c) livestock sector.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government does not hold all the information in the format requested in relation to fishing, shellfish and livestock. Serco NorthLink Ferries on the Scottish Government’s behalf record detailed breakdown of freight carried on their services. The…
18 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates in the contract year 2018-19 it discussed ferry capacity demand on Northern Isles Ferry Service routes with representatives of (a) the livestock and aquaculture industries, (b) trade unions and (c) Serco NorthLink.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government have not met with representatives of the livestock industries recently in respect of the ferry services. However, there is ongoing engagement with representatives of communities to discuss freight issues including services for the agri…
17 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the payments that Transport Scotland is making to Serco NorthLink for the operation of Northern Isles Ferry Services between April 2018 and October 2019.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The estimated subsidy costs for operation of the Northern Isles Ferry Service over the 18 month period between April 2018 and October 2019 is £74.7m. It should be stated that the annual grant for the contract extension period includes the subsidy to support t…