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: S4W-05129

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency Special Alerts Bulletins have been issued in each year since 2005, broken down by police force area.

Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) bulletins are issued on the basis of the perceived threat, risk or harm of an issue. If accurate and validated information is received (or obtained) that a particular drug or substance presents an additional significant risk to individuals then this information will be circulated. From July 2010 to January 2012 there has been four bulletins that have been released nationally. Local bulletins are not currently recorded centrally.

Question reference: S4W-05322

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what income the Scottish Ambulance Service has received from private journeys in each year since 2003, broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S4O-00670

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed single Scottish police service will result in a reduction in the number of police superintendent posts.

Question reference: S4W-05131

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to the public sector will be of providing a public holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Public Holidays are devolved in Scotland. On 19 March 2010, the First Minister announced that Scotland should have a public holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on Tuesday, 5 June 2012. As this holiday will be a privilege day any decision to allow staff in public bodies the day off work will be at the discretion of individual employers. Many employers have yet to take a decision on whether or not to observe the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and as such the Scottish Government does not currently have information on the cost of the holiday across the public sector.

Staff in the Scottish Government Main bargaining unit, SG Marine Off-Shore and the Senior Civil Service will observe a holiday on that date.

Question reference: S4W-05130

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many private journeys the Scottish Ambulance Service has made in each year since 2005, broken down by parliamentary region.

Question reference: S4F-00423

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2012

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to promote Scotch whisky overseas.

Question reference: S4W-04924

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria have to be met for the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency to issue Special Alerts Bulletins on emerging drug issues.

The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) and Scottish Government work together closely when monitoring and responding to emerging drug issues.

The SCDEA continuously monitor, collate and analyse a variety of drug and drug trend information from a range of sources, including organisations such as: forensic providers, Scottish police forces, national and international law enforcement organisations, intelligence submissions, NHS health boards, alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs), treatment and harm reduction organisations.

Any information received will be examined by the SCDEA’s National Drug Coordinator, the Forensic Science Manager and the Statement of Opinion Manager to validate or provenance the level of accuracy and credibility. At the same time this group will risk assess the information on the basis of the threat, harm or risk that a current (or emerging) trend presents to a particular group within Scotland.

An appropriate release or bulletin will then be drafted and submitted to the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) or the Scottish Police Services Authority corporate communications department prior to general circulation or general release. Consideration of joint releases with non-law enforcement organisations is also made to maximise target audiences and add additional credibility to a particular message.

Question reference: S4O-00593

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what investments it has planned for the Highland Main Line and the Inverness–Aberdeen railway.

Question reference: S4W-04141

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what money is available to (a) sustain and (b) promote geoparks.

Geoparks are community based bodies established to protect and promote geological heritage and to support the development of geological tourism. They are not designated by the Scottish Government. It is for geoparks to apply for funding to bodies that might make suitable funding available. Geoparks are encouraged to collaborate with other local organisations to help achieve their aims.

The Visit Scotland Visitor Experience Survey (2008) indicates that 90% of visitors to Scotland cite scenery and the natural environment as either “very important” or “important” to their choice of Scotland as a destination. VisitScotland is keen to work with Scotland’s geoparks to offer advice and support on how they can best promote themselves as visitor attractions and destinations.

Question reference: S4W-04023

Asked by: John Finnie, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 22 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was collected by each district court in each of the last three years and how much was (a) retained by each local authority and (b) forwarded to HM Treasury.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information relating to parts (a) and (b) of the question.

The total revenue collected by district courts for the years 2008-09 and 2009-10 is detailed in the following table. As part of Summary Justice Reform, District Courts were disestablished between March 2008 and February 2010 so there would be no relevant information for financial year 2010-11. Each District Court ceased collecting revenue according to when it was disestablished in the period 2008 to 2010. The figures for 2008-09 and 2009-10 are therefore not comparable.

After being disestablished the majority of District Courts became Justice of the Peace Courts. Under the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 these courts are managed and maintained by the Scottish Court Service. The Scottish Court Service is an independent statutory body and as such any request for details of money collected by Justice of the Peace Courts must be made to the Chief Executive, Scottish Court Service, 1A Parliament Square, Edinburgh, EH1 1RF.

District Courts Total Revenue Income

£000	2008-09	2009-10
Scotland	4,655	2,190
Aberdeen City	0	0
Aberdeenshire	98	1
Angus	328	0
Argyll and Bute	55	87
Clackmannanshire	44	0
Dumfries and Galloway	1,285	1,172
Dundee City	137	0
East Ayrshire	94	75
East Dunbartonshire	39	7
East Lothian	0	0
East Renfrewshire	39	27
Edinburgh, City of	0	0
Eilean Siar	4	0
Falkirk	97	0
Fife	146	0
Glasgow City	16	0
Highland	180	0
Inverclyde	80	57
Midlothian	0	0
Moray	17	0
North Ayrshire	131	51
North Lanarkshire	276	233
Orkney Islands	0	0
Perth and Kinross	106	0
Renfrewshire	174	201
Scottish Borders	0	0
Shetland Islands	0	0
South Ayrshire	540	0
South Lanarkshire	233	202
Stirling	459	8
West Dunbartonshire	77	69
West Lothian	0	0

Source: Local Financial Returns (LFR 09)

Includes all sources of income for District Courts reported by local authorities in LFR 09, excluding recharges (income from other accounts within the authority) and income from other authorities.