Section E – Written questions lodged on 12 December 2011
Questions marked with a triangle (Δ) are initiated by the Scottish Executive in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.
Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an "R".
S4W-04512 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the potential impact on poverty in Scotland, what its position is on the UK Government’s decision not to uprate benefits in line with inflation.
S4W-04527 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive what impact there would be on businesses in Scotland if the UK Government were to introduce a so-called Tobin Tax.
S4W-04530 Liam McArthur: To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration its scoping study for offshore wind farm development in Scottish waters will give to project consenting.
S4W-04531 Liam McArthur: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that its scoping study for offshore wind farm development in Scottish waters requires a (a) habitats regulation or (b) strategic environmental assessment and for what reason.
S4W-04532 Liam McArthur: To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) statutory bodies, (b) non-statutory bodies, (c) community groups and (d) other marine stakeholder organisations will be consulted in identifying areas that might be suitable for offshore wind development by its scoping study for offshore wind farm development in Scottish waters.
S4W-04533 Liam McArthur: To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the offshore research and development programme announced by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 29 November 2011 will go toward research on the costs and risks associated with offshore renewables.
S4W-04534 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £7.5 million returned from Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd as part of the North Isles ferry contract’s clawback mechanism has been allocated to the Gourock-Dunoon ferry service.
S4W-04535 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive what inflation index was used to calculate the 6.5% price rise for North Isles ferry services from 1 April 2012.
S4W-04536 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the 6.5% price increase in North Isles ferry services from 1 April 2012 to increase the revenue received from (a) freight, (b) passenger, (c) car and (d) other services.
S4W-04537 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £7.5 million returned from Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd as part of the North Isles ferry contract’s clawback mechanism is contributing to the expansion of the road equivalent tariff.
S4W-04539 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive which newspapers were used for and what the cost was of the advertising feature that aimed to promote the First Minister’s recent visit to China.
S4W-04552Δ Paul Wheelhouse: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is the First Minister’s intention to publish a new edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code.
S4W-04553 Jamie McGrigor: To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason Mull will not be included in the extension of the road equivalent transport scheme from October 2012 and what its response is to reported concerns that this might place Mull at a competitive disadvantage.
S4W-04555 Liam McArthur: To ask the Scottish Executive how changes in the energy generation mix since the publication of the National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 will be considered in any public inquiry associated with the decision-making process for applications for new electricity generation stations that are also national developments.
S4W-04556 Lewis Macdonald: To ask the Scottish Executive which consultants provided advice to (a) it and (b) Transport Scotland on Rail 2014 – Public Consultation; what fees they were paid, and whether any conflict of interest was identified.
S4W-04557 Lewis Macdonald: To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) Scottish Government funding, (b) fare revenue and (c) private investment there has been in ScotRail services in each of the last four years.