Questions and answers

Question reference: S4F-00265

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2011

To ask the First Minister whether overseas companies are continuing to invest in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-03748

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 10 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much PFI/PPP debt has accrued to each college and how much remains outstanding.

There were previously three colleges with PFI contracts. Two of these, at West Lothian College and Stirling Further Education Centre (now part of Forth Valley College), have been terminated. The only remaining contract is with North Ayrshire College (now part of James Watt College). Details of the PFI payments made and an estimate of those outstanding is shown in the following table.

College	Amount paid under PFI	Estimated PFI repayments outstanding
James Watt College	£15.6 million	£33.6 million
Forth Valley College	£7.7 million	*
West Lothian College	£14.3 million	*

Note: * These contracts were terminated in January 2011 and April 2007 respectively.

Question reference: S4W-03663

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police stations have been closed in each year from 1999 to 2007, broken down by police authority.

Question reference: S4O-00320

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates the closure of any colleges or college campuses in the foreseeable future.

Question reference: S4W-03096

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) objections and (b) expressions of support had been received by 1 October 2011 regarding the application to construct and operate a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston.

Question reference: S4W-03105

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost would be of the first full year of devolving council tax benefit.

The UK Government intends to abolish council tax benefit from April 2013. It proposes that Scotland would then get a fixed addition to its budget corresponding to a 10% reduction in council tax benefit presently paid in Scotland. This could reduce the amount available to assist individuals in meeting their council tax liability by £38 million each year, potentially reducing household incomes for over half a million people on the lowest incomes in Scotland. We are working with local authorities to identify a way forward and will consult later this autumn. It is not possible to estimate the operational costs of this change at this stage.

Question reference: S4O-00190

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what annual impact it expects the savings made as a result of the merger of Scotland’s police forces to have on the Scottish budget.

Question reference: S4W-01470

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 July 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to improve the provision of lip-reading services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The Scottish Government is continuing to invest in services for deaf people and is working to improve access to services and to remove barriers to inclusion. We are fully committed to improving the quality of life for those who have a sensory impairment, and are aware that many people find lip-reading beneficial.

The Scottish Government provides support to disabled students undertaking further and higher education. Higher education students can apply for support through the Disabled Students’ Allowance scheme. Further education students can apply to their college for funding to help with additional costs incurred as a result of their additional support needs.

Colleges and universities are also expected to make reasonable adjustments to support students in line with equalities legislation.

Question reference: S4W-01034

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) objections and (b) expressions of support had been received by 1 June 2011 regarding the application to construct and operate a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston.

To date, the Energy Consents and Deployment Unit (ECDU) has received 16,706 public representations objecting to the development and 18 public representations supporting the development. The ECDU is also holding a further
6 representations which have not yet been logged.

In addition to this, the ECDU have received consultation responses from
49 organisations. These consultation responses are all available on the Scottish Government website.

Question reference: S4O-00071

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 23 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what change there has been in the levels of serious crime in Ayrshire over the last year for which figures are available.

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