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-23566

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement that the UK Government will fund income-contingent loans of up to £10,000 for postgraduate students on taught masters courses from 2016-17, whether it��will match per capita funding for postgraduate students in Scotland.

Prior to the UK Government’s announcement in the Autumn Statement 2014, the Scottish Government announced the formation of a working group to review support for taught postgraduate education in Scotland. The group, to be chaired by Professor Bryan MacGregor, will consider the barriers to participation in taught postgraduate study by Scottish domiciled students and identify options for how these might be overcome. The group will produce a report by summer 2015.

From academic year 2012-13, all eligible Scottish domiciled and EU postgraduate students undertaking courses on a prescribed list have been able to apply for non means-tested fee loan funding of up to £3,400. From 2015-16, eligible Scottish domiciled students on an eligible taught postgraduate course can also apply for a maintenance support loan of up to £4,500.

There are no immediate plans to change this package of support for taught postgraduate students prior to the issue and consideration of the report from the working group.

Question reference: S4W-23572

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 19 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which sections of trunk roads have had their speed limits reduced in each year since 1999.

<>The introduction or varying of speed limits on the trunk road network is made through the promotion of Traffic Regulation Orders. Made trunk road orders from 2007, can be found on the Office of the Queen’s Printers for Scotland website at and those from 2008 can also be viewed on the Transport Scotland website at . Orders made prior to 2007 can be obtained from the National Archives of Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-23571

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 19 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Transport Scotland’s recent review of the speed limits on the A85.

<>Following completion of the Speed Limit Review on the trunk road network, including the A85, Scottish Ministers are satisfied that a number of recommendations are being implemented to improve road safety. These recommendations can be accessed on Transport Scotland’s website at: .

The statutory process is underway for three sections of the A85 as a result of the Speed Limit Review. These draft Road Orders can be accessed at: .

Question reference: S4O-03867

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the flooding infrastructure in Perth and Kinross.

Question reference: S4W-23468

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government��how much out-of-authority (a) foster care, (b) residential care, (c) residential school, (d) secure care placements, (e) placements for people with complex learning difficulties and (f) other specialist placements have cost each local authority in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Costs incurred by local authorities for the out of authority placements listed in the question are not held centrally by the Scottish Government but can be obtained from each individual local authority.

However the Children’s Social Work Statistics 2012-13 report :

which was published on the Scottish Government website provides information on numbers of children living in each different type of placement.

Question reference: S4W-23474

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 11 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government��how much out-of-authority care placements supported or funded by the Scottish Government have cost in each of the last five years for which information is available, broken down by type of placement.

Scottish local authorities have a duty under Section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to provide social care services within their area, as they may consider suitable and adequate. Placements by local authorities for care outside their area would be arranged and paid for by local authorities.

Information on care placements outside each local authority area is not held centrally. This would be a matter for individual local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-23264

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many leisure facilities have been closed by each local authority in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It is a matter for local authorities as they have a statutory responsibility to determine the provision of facilities based on local need.

As the national agency for sport, sportscotland takes part in strategic discussions with local authorities about local provision and generally presumes against the loss of outdoor sports facilities except in certain defined circumstances, including where the facility to be lost will be compensated for.

Question reference: S4W-23033

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) many people have been employed in and (b) much money has been generated by the film industry in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S4W-22983

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of new rail line it has opened in each year since 1999.

The following table shows the number of miles of rail line open in Scotland in each year since 1999:

��	Total miles of rail lines	Change since previous year (miles)
1999-00	1,696	-
2000-01	1,696	0
2001-02	1,696	0
2002-03	1,696	0
2003-04	1,696	0
2004-05	1,696	0
2005-06	1,700	4
2006-07	1,700	0
2007-08	1,700	0
2008-09	1,706	6
2009-10	1,714	9
2010-11	1,717	2
2011-12	1,717	0

Source: Network Rail

Note: Rounded to the nearest mile; annual changes may not sum due to rounding.

The figures are derived from table 7.14 in the publication Scottish Transport Statistics 2013 Edition which can be found at:

Question reference: S4W-22981

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 18 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been disciplined in relation to phone use in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

This information is not collated centrally.

In November 2013 the Scottish Government published Guidance on Developing Policies to promote the Safe and Responsible Use of Mobile Technology in Schools. The purpose of this guidance is to provide schools and local authorities with advice on how to develop local policies that encourage the safe and responsible use of personal mobile technology in school, and beyond. These policies should help schools to secure the potential benefits for learning and teaching whilst protecting staff and children and young people from harassment and abuse which can arise from the misuse of such technology.