Section E – Written questions lodged on 22 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-04759 Patrick Harvie: 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.
S4W-04760 Patrick Harvie: 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.
S4W-04761 Patrick Harvie: 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.
S4W-04762 Patrick Harvie: 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.
S4W-04763 Patrick Harvie: To ask the Scottish Executive how the carbon impacts of peat removal for opencast coal mining are assessed.
S4W-04764 Patrick Harvie: 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.
S4W-04765 Patrick Harvie: To ask the Scottish Executive whether the carbon balance of opencast coal mining, including any carbon losses associated with peatland impacts, are a material consideration when determining planning applications for opencast coal mining and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
S4W-04766 Patrick Harvie: 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.
S4W-04767 Graeme Pearson: To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated to cover the cost of abolishing prescription charges in 2011-12 and how much it will allocate for (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15 and (d) 2015-16.
S4W-04769 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ask the University of Sheffield to reapply the data to its formula for its alcohol pricing model for the periods (a) 2002 to 2005 and (b) 2005 to 2008.
S4W-04770 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commission a study on the effects of the discounting ban on alcohol consumption and, if so, whether this will compare the consumption of match-paired Scottish and English groups.
S4W-04771 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commission a study on the effects of introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol and, if so, whether this will compare the consumption of match-paired Scottish and English groups of hazardous drinkers.
S4W-04772 David Stewart: To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the rail industry about the future of the Highland Chieftain service.
S4W-04773 Nanette Milne: To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on administration in the NHS in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board.
S4W-04776 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-04421 by Michael Russell on 16 December 2011, when the Student Awards Agency for Scotland became up-to-date with the processing of applications for 2011-12.
S4W-04777 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive what average time it takes to reprocess a Student Awards Agency for Scotland award if further information is submitted and how many loans have required such reprocessing in 2011-12.
S4W-04778 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive how many student loans the Student Awards Agency for Scotland has withheld in 2011-12 as a result of a student (a) failing to enrol and (b) not providing a valid National Insurance number.
S4W-04779 Tavish Scott: To ask the Scottish Executive how long it has typically taken the Student Awards Agency for Scotland to process a top-up loan application in 2011-12 for students who did not request a loan in their initial application or requested less than their full entitlement.
S4W-04781 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how the Minister for Youth Employment will use the £30 million youth employment budget to create and sustain opportunities for young people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
S4W-04782 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how the Minister for Youth Employment will match future skills demand with the plans to spend the £30 million youth employment budget.
S4W-04783 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under the age of 24 it considers to be underemployed.
S4W-04784 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers underemployment to be a major barrier to tackling youth unemployment.
S4W-04785 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines disadvantaged backgrounds in the context of its recent announcement of £1.5 million for Skills Development Scotland to tackle youth unemployment.
S4W-04786 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be attached to its offer of £2,000 for employers who take on a young person from a disadvantaged background.
S4W-04787 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards it will put in place to ensure that the £2,000 grant to employers who take on a young person from a disadvantaged background achieves its intended goal.
S4W-04788 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its £30 million budget for youth employment will be spent creating graduate jobs.
S4W-04789 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Minister for Youth Employment has had with large-scale employers.
S4W-04790 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Minister for Youth Employment has had with (a) the STUC and (b) specific trade unions regarding the £30 million youth employment budget.
S4W-04791 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its £30 million youth employment budget will be spent creating job opportunities in small and medium-sized enterprises.
S4W-04792 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its £30 million youth employment budget will be spent creating jobs in the (a) public, (b) private and (c) third sector.
S4W-04793 Kezia Dugdale: To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its £30 million youth employment budget will be spent equipping young people with the skills to become self-employed.