Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-09447

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many civil servants and (b) what financial resources were allocated to constitution policy in (i) March 2011 and (ii) September 2011.

Question reference: S4F-00950

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 05 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 November 2012

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4F-00930

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 November 2012

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4F-00890

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 October 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 October 2012

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4W-09325

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 August 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government which publicly-funded bodies are not covered by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and what is the annual budget of each.

Question reference: S4W-09326

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 August 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what impact human rights law and the human rights obligations in section 57 of the Scotland Act 1998 have on freedom of information rights.

Section 57 of the Scotland Act 1998 requires members of the Scottish Government to act compatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights. They have no power to do otherwise.

Whilst Article 10 of the Convention requires states to secure the effective recognition and observance of the right to freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart information, it does not establish a general right of access to data or documents and does not constitute a free-standing freedom of information regime.

Question reference: S4F-00872

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 September 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2012

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4F-00839

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 September 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2012

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4F-00823

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2012

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4W-08773

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Equal Opportunities Committee's request at paragraph 635 of its 5th Report 2010 (Session 3): Inquiry into Migration and Trafficking, what discussions it has had with the UK Government and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) about extending the GLA’s statutory powers of arrest to Scotland.

Preliminary discussions have been held between the Scottish Government and the GLA.

However, the matter is not straightforward. Legal traditions in Scotland are quite different from those in England and Wales. While powers of arrest are relatively widely conferred in England and Wales, in Scotland this is very rare as prosecutions of offences is the sole preserve of the Lord Advocate and in this regard the police are in a sense the agents of the fiscal.

To extend this power of arrest to Scotland would therefore involve a significant incursion on accepted rules of Scottish criminal procedure and would require a very compelling justification.

The Scottish Government is, however, open to further discussion and to consider whether, against current evidence, the case for extending these powers is sufficient to justify seeking such exceptional provision.

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