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-26545

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 July 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 5 August 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether any local authorities use management rules under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to discourage the feeding of gulls on public land.

Question reference: S4W-26546

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 July 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 30 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities issue planning guidance on gullproofing, and whether the effectiveness is monitored.

Question reference: S4W-26321

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authority (a) teaching and (b) other staff are non-EU citizens and how many earn under £35,000 per year.

Question reference: S4W-26323

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many of (a) its and (b) its agencies' staff are non-EU citizens and how many earn under £35,000 per year.

Under the Civil Service Nationality Rules, only nationals from the following countries are eligible to be employed by the Scottish Government:

Republic of Ireland

Commonwealth and Dependent Territories

European Economic Area

Switzerland

Turkey - only eligible if they have been lawfully employed in the UK for four years in any job, or three years in a job within the same occupation as they post which they wish to take up within the civil service.

Pre-employment checks confirm compliance with these rules. Historically this information has not been routinely transferred to our electronic HR system. This is being addressed and at present we have the following noted on our system:

At 31 May 2015 there were 14 directly employed staff in core Scottish Government directorates with a recorded nationality of non-EU. Of those, 13 have an annual full time equivalent basic salary of under £35,000.

At 31 May 2015 there were 10 directly employed staff in Scottish Government agencies with a recorded nationality of non-EU. Of those, nine have an annual full time equivalent basic salary of under £35,000.

Question reference: S4W-26319

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS (a) nursing and (b) other staff are non-EU citizens and how many earn under £35,000 per year.

Question reference: S4W-25747

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has cost (a) Police Scotland and (b) the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to deal with the recent incidents of fire raising and vandalism that have taken place at Broadford Works, Aberdeen.

Question reference: S4W-25742

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) Police Scotland and (b) the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service can charge the owners of insecure private properties that have numerous call outs.

Question reference: S4W-25743

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action (a) it and (b) Historic Scotland can take to protect the A-listed buildings at Broadford Works in Aberdeen, which are believed to be under threat from fire-raising incidents.

Historic Scotland acts on behalf of Scottish Ministers and so represents the Scottish Government.

Historic Scotland has no formal role concerning fire prevention. These are matters for owners and local authorities to address, and this is also the case concerning Broadford Works, where we understand the owner and Aberdeen City Council are having active discussions on preventing further damage to the site.

Historic Scotland does provide online advice on fire prevention and they are always pleased to advise local authorities on the matter when asked.

Question reference: S4W-25746

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what powers local authorities have to protect A-listed buildings that owners have let fall into disrepair.

The existing legislation enables local authorities to deal with defective or dangerous buildings. This includes A-listed buildings that owners have let fall into disrepair. If a local authority considers a building to be defective or dangerous they are empowered under sections 28-30 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to serve a notice on the owner to carry out work to bring the building into a reasonable state of repair for its age, type and location. The local authority can, if necessary, carry out remedial works and pursue the building owner for the expense incurred.

Question reference: S4W-25745

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received communication from Aberdeen City Council regarding the A-listed buildings at Broadford Works in Aberdeen, which are believed to be under threat from fire-raising incidents.