Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4O-00523

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has committed to its rural priorities and how much it will commit for 2012 and 2013.

Question reference: S4W-04168

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 5 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the first passenger service via Midlothian to run on the Borders railway.

Question reference: S4O-00417

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 24 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the 7.5% real-terms reduction in funding of the equalities strand of the NHS budget will have between 2011 and 2015.

Under the plans that the UK Government announced in its October 2010 Spending review, between 2010-11 and 2014-15, Scotland faces real terms resource budget reductions of 9.2 per cent and a real terms cut to our capital budget of 36.7 per cent. Despite these pressures, we have acted decisively to continue to maintain the Equality Budget at 2010-11 levels (£20.3 million per annum) until March 2015.

The Scottish Government will do all we can to minimise the impact of these pressures and continue to deliver on our equalities priorities. However, we face unprecedented challenges without the powers that other countries have at their disposal. That is why we also continue to push for the constitutional changes that would enable us to do so much more.

Question reference: S4W-03836

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 16 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will protect college courses for part-time students, disabled people, vulnerable groups and those living far from colleges who often take part in Open University-linked courses.

We have made clear to the colleges sector the value we place on non-recognised qualifications where they provide an access route to employment including for people with disabilities and that, where this is the case, we expect such provision to be protected.

We also place great value on the links between colleges in Scotland and the Open University, between which we understand there are no fewer than 21 separate articulation agreements and memoranda of understanding.

Question reference: S4W-02636

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention and directive 2003/35/EC, whether it considers that legal aid provides adequate access to justice in environmental cases.

The availability of legal aid is an important part of the Scottish Government's measures which implement the provisions of the Aarhus Convention and Directive 2003/35/EC in relation to access to justice in environmental cases. Since legal aid is not available to all potential applicants and cannot be awarded to non-governmental organisations, the availability of legal aid, by itself, is not intended to be the only mechanism by which adequate access to justice in all environmental cases is provided.

The availability of legal aid is supported by the ability of courts in Scotland to award protective expenses orders to limit an applicant's liability to pay the respondent's legal expenses should the applicant lose the application. The Scottish Government supports a codification of the rules regarding the granting of protective expenses orders and is giving consideration to this matter with a view to a consultation exercise being conducted later this year to assist in the development of new rules.

Question reference: S4W-02637

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 acts as a barrier to legal aid being awarded in most civil environmental cases.

In cases where it appears that a legal aid applicant is jointly concerned with other persons, or has the same interest in the matter in connection with which the application is made, Regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 does not allow legal aid to be granted, even when the usual statutory eligibility criteria are met, in two situations. Firstly, if the person making the application would not be seriously prejudiced in his or her own right if legal aid were not granted. Secondly, if it would be reasonable and proper for the other persons concerned with or having the same interest in the matter as the applicant to defray so much of the expenses as would be payable from the Legal Aid Fund in respect of the proceedings if legal aid was granted. The Scottish Government believes this strikes the right balance by ensuring that legal aid is targeted at individuals needing assistance, not organisations, that publicly funded legal assistance is only made available where it is appropriate to do so, and where there is no other reasonable means of funding a court case.

Question reference: S4W-02639

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to repeal regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002.

Question reference: S4W-02638

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 acts as a barrier to individuals applying for legal aid in civil environmental cases.

Question reference: S4W-02709

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 21 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its implementation of the Aarhus Convention and directive 2003/35/EC depends on the availability of legal aid.

The implementation of the Aarhus Convention and the related EU directive does not depend solely on the availability of legal aid. Legal aid is not available in Scotland to all potential applicants and cannot be awarded to non-governmental organisations.

In addition to legal aid in appropriate cases, a range of measures are in place to ensure access to justice in environmental cases. The ability of courts in Scotland to award protective expenses orders to limit an applicant's liability to pay the respondent's legal expenses where the applicant loses an application is an important protection which assists implementation. The Government intends to consult later this year on a codification of the rules regarding the granting of protective expenses orders.

Question reference: S4O-00223

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the four recent negative Scottish Environment Protection Agency beach monitoring reports in South Scotland, what financial support it will provide specifically to help farmers tackle diffuse pollution.