Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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-06879

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a guarantee to private sector firms providing services to Clans 2014 that they will receive payment.

Question reference: S4W-06884

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the expected annual income for each local authority will be arising from the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

For empty non-domestic premises, the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.)(Scotland) Bill itself only creates an enabling power to vary empty property relief by future regulations and has no direct financial impact. These regulations will raise an estimated additional £18 million for the Scottish Government budget in 2013-14 and 2014-15. However, there will be no net gain to the overall budget allocations individual local authorities receive as a result of the additional business rates income generated since the Scottish Government guarantees the overall level of support it will provide, which has already been confirmed, through a combination of business rates income and general revenue grant.

The Bill also creates an enabling power, by regulations, to allow local authorities to remove the existing council tax discounts for certain classes of long-term empty homes and to charge additional council tax on these properties. Over a four year period, the Scottish Government estimates that an average of up to £16 million of net additional revenue could be generated each year if all local authorities were to charge the maximum 100 per cent increase. The actual additional amount generated will be subject to variation and will be dependent on the extent to which individual local authorities use the new powers.

Question reference: S4W-06874

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what role it is taking in the organisation of Clans 2014.

Question reference: S4W-06877

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on implementing the recommendations in Audit Scotland's report, The Gathering 2009, in relation to organising Clans 2014.

Question reference: S4W-06876

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is providing in support of (a) Homecoming 2014 and (b) Clans 2014.

Question reference: S4W-06875

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Clans 2014 will be promoted as part of the Homecoming 2014 celebrations.

Question reference: S4W-06880

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it (a) has provided and (b) can provide to assist private sector creditors of the Gathering 2009 to recover any money due to them.

The Gathering 2009 Ltd was a private company that was neither established nor contracted by the government. The Scottish Government has every sympathy for the plight of the creditors affected by the liquidation of the Gathering 2009 Ltd. This was one of the principal reasons why the Scottish Government worked so hard to find a solution, once it became aware of the financial difficulties the company was facing. The Scottish Government’s Principal Accounting Officer has judged that it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to assume responsibility for the company’s debts.

Question reference: S4W-06878

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on implementing the recommendations in the Public Audit Committee's report, The Gathering 2009, in relation to the organisation of Clans 2014.

Question reference: S4O-00975

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received the report into the management culture at NHS Lothian and, if so, what lessons can be drawn from it.

Question reference: S4W-06866

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 2 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to ensure that NHS emergency power systems are operational at all times.

In accordance with current guidance, NHS boards are required to have the following safeguards in place to ensure that NHS emergency power systems are operational at all times:

All fixed theatre operating lamps, including the main unit and any satellite units, should be connected to a battery inverter unit providing three-hour autonomy.

All standby generator plant should be tested on line with the building load every month. The duration of the test should be at least one hour.

Full services tests should demonstrate that batteries can hold their charge state while the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is on bypass. Batteries and UPS should be tested on line with mains disconnected.