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-05264

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason section 206 of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007 has not been fully commenced and when the insertion of section 73D into the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 will be implemented.

Section 206 of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007 inserts section 73D into the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1985. Section 73D contains a requirement for a Debt Advice and Information Package (DAIP) to be provided to a debtor within 48 hours of an arrestment of a debtor’s goods or bank account.

The provision of the DAIP after an arrestment has taken place would not provide debtors with an opportunity to seek advice prior to enforcement. This may undermine the value of the DAIP. Stakeholders also believe that the short timescale for provision of the DAIP may present practical difficulties for sheriff officers. Therefore, section 73D was specifically excluded when section 206 of the 2007 act was commenced in April 2009.

Officials are considering whether section 73D, as drafted, requires to be amended. Such an amendment would require an opportunity for primary legislation with sufficient scope to include diligence; therefore there are no immediate plans to amend or to commence this section.

Question reference: S4O-00674

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its reasons are for placing independent custody visiting on a statutory footing as part of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S4O-00606

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent land and property transactions being used for the purpose of laundering money and other criminal activities.

Question reference: S4W-04762

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether planned or currently operating opencast coal mines impact or will impact on protected sites and, if so, what those impacts are.

Where planned or currently operating opencast coal mines could impact on protected sites, planning conditions will apply to ensure that impacts are avoided or mitigated, for example through habitat management plans. Such conditions are framed by planning authorities in consultation with SNH, SEPA and other organisations as appropriate with the aim of maintaining the integrity of the protected site.

Question reference: S4W-04763

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how the carbon impacts of peat removal for opencast coal mining are assessed.

Question reference: S4W-04761

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of (a) lowland raised and (b) upland blanket bog will be used for consented opencast coal mines.

Question reference: S4W-04766

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that (a) it and (b) other public bodies exercise their functions relating to activities such as opencast coal mining and peat extraction in accordance with the requirements of section 44 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Question reference: S4W-04760

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of (a) lowland raised and (b) upland blanket bog will be used for opencast coal mines that are in the planning system.

Question reference: S4W-04764

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects developers of (a) opencast coal mines on peatlands and (b) peat extraction sites to carry out a carbon emissions assessment and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Scottish Government does not require developers to carry out carbon emissions assessments on opencast coal or peat extraction sites. The Scottish Government has supported the development of a carbon calculator for use in establishing the carbon savings from wind farm developments on peatlands. The question of “carbon payback” does not apply in the same way to the extraction of coal and peat. Consideration is being given to what further guidance may be required on the assessment of emissions associated with development on deep peat.

Question reference: S4W-04759

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of (a) lowland raised and (b) upland blanket bog have been used for opencast coal mines in each year since 2001.