BUSINESS BULLETIN No. 119/2013 Monday 26 August 2013 SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT Portfolio Questions 4 September 2013 and General Questions 5 September 2013 Members are advised that the deadline for submitting names for Portfolio Questions on 4 September and General Questions on 5 September is 12 noon today. Portfolio questions will be Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth. 1 Contents The sections which appear in today’s Business Bulletin are in bold Section A: Today’s Business - Meetings of Committees - Meeting of the Parliament Section B: Future Meetings of the Parliament Section C: Future Meetings of Committees Section D: Oral Questions - Questions selected for First Minister’s Questions - Questions selected for response by Ministers and junior Scottish Ministers at Question Time Section E: Written Questions – new questions for written answer Section F: Motions and Amendments Section G: Bills - New Bills introduced - New amendments to Bills - Members’ Bills proposals Section H: New Documents – new documents laid before the Parliament and committee reports published Section I: Petitions – new public petitions Section J: Progress of Legislation – progress of Bills and subordinate legislation Section K: Corrections to the Official Report 2 Business Bulletin: Monday 26 August 2013 Section B – Future Meetings of the Parliament Business Programme agreed by the Parliament on 26 June 2013 Tuesday 3 September 2013 2.00 pm Time for Reflection followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Topical Questions (if selected) followed by Scottish Government Business followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business Wednesday 4 September 2013 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.00 pm Portfolio Questions Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth followed by Scottish Government Business followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business Thursday 5 September 2013 11.40 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions 11.40 am General Questions 12.00 pm First Minister’s Questions 12.30 pm Members’ Business 2.30 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 3 2.30 pm Scottish Government Business followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time Tuesday 10 September 2013 2.00 pm Time for Reflection followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Topical Questions (if selected) followed by Scottish Government Business followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business Wednesday 11 September 2013 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.00 pm Portfolio Questions Rural Affairs and the Environment; Justice and the Law Officers followed by Scottish Government Business followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business Thursday 12 September 2013 11.40 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions 11.40 am General Questions 12.00 pm First Minister’s Questions 12.30 pm Members’ Business 2.30 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.30 pm Scottish Government Business 4 followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time 5 Business Bulletin: Monday 26 August 2013 Section E – Written questions lodged from 19 to 23 August 2013 Questions marked with a triangle (Δ) are initiated by the Scottish Government 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-16742 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Government how it will implement the two-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoids that will begin on 1 December 2013, and what advice is it giving to farmers regarding the use of pesticides for the protection of crops from that date. S4W-16743 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Government how many commercially-reared bumblebee colonies are imported annually and what steps are taken to prevent the spread of any disease from them to wild bumblebees and honeybees. S4W-16760 Nanette Milne: To ask the Scottish Government how many skin cancer specialist nurses each NHS board has (a) employed and (b) appointed in each year since 1999. S4W-16762 Nanette Milne: To ask the Scottish Government what resources it provides to help with the appointment of skin cancer specialist nurses. S4W-16763 Marco Biagi: To ask the Scottish Government what role Transport Scotland had in drawing up the 15-year financial projection for the Edinburgh tram project that was published by City of Edinburgh Council on 16 August 2013. S4W-16764 Marco Biagi: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Edinburgh tram project should continue to have a positive benefit-to-cost ratio. S4W-16765 Marco Biagi: To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being one of the conditions that it set in order to provide funding for it, how it will monitor the benefit-to-cost ratio of the Edinburgh tram project. S4W-16766 Marco Biagi: To ask the Scottish Government what role Transport Scotland will have with the operation of the proposed Transport for Edinburgh arms- length company. S4W-16767 Kenneth Gibson: To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of a recent report by the Institute of Economic Affairs suggesting that the High Speed Rail 2 network from London to Birmingham and Manchester could cost £80 billion, what benefits it expects that this investment will bring to Scotland’s (a) 7 people and (b) economy and what estimate it has made of what share of the cost will be met by Scotland’s taxpayers. S4W-16768 Jackie Baillie: To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings ministers have had with representatives of Commonwealth nations in each year since 2007 and, in light of the assertion in Scotland’s International Framework that it ―will have ongoing dialogue with states at Ministerial and official level, raising human rights where appropriate in a diplomatic and culturally sensitive fashion‖, at which meetings were the rights of LGBT people in these countries discussed, broken down by country. S4W-16770 Jackie Baillie: To ask the Scottish Government how many visits ministers have made to Commonwealth nations in each year since 2007 and, in light of the assertion in Scotland’s International Framework that ―…Scotland has a strong and enduring commitment to securing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental human rights across the world. We would expect all states to comply with international and human rights law, and condemn human rights abuses wherever they occur‖, on which visits it held meetings with groups that represent LGBT people, broken down by country. S4W-16774 Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Government what information it will issue to residents of park homes regarding the changes to their rights arising from the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Amendment of Schedule1) (Scotland) Order 2013. S4W-16775 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the use of electronic shock collars on (a) dogs and (b) other animals. S4W-16776 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the findings of the report by the universities of Bristol and Lincoln, Studies to assess the effect of pet training aids, specifically remote static pulse systems, on the welfare of domestic dogs. S4W-16778 John Finnie: To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the provision of public sector contracts to faith organisations for which job applicants are required to hold specific beliefs that are determined as an occupational requirement under the Equality Act 2010. S4W-16779 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its annual report on wildlife crime for 2012. S4W-16780 Neil Findlay: To ask the Scottish Government whether school leavers who have been offered (a) higher and (b) further education places in 2013-14 are eligible for training opportunities through the Employability Fund before commencing their studies and, if so, whether the training providers can subsequently claim progression payments when the courses start. S4W-16783 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government what the regulatory regime is for (a) offshore and (b) onshore underground coal gasification; what the licensing arrangements are; which body issues licences and how many have been issued, broken down by region. 8 S4W-16785 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Cluff Natural Resources regarding underground coal gasification. S4W-16787 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government how underground coal gasification fits into its energy strategy. S4W-16788 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been allocated for the (a) maintenance and (b) upgrade of trunk roads in each year since 2007, also broken down by road. S4W-16790 Claire Baker: To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15500 by Richard Lochhead on 14 June 2013, in light of figures from the National Fallen Stock Company suggesting that, in the last year, there has been a 50% increase in fallen stock recorded on farms in Scotland, what additional measures and resources it will deploy. S4W-16791 James Kelly: To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16718 by Fiona Hyslop on 15 August 2013, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the trip. S4W-16792 Mark McDonald: To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities regarding the provision of support for parents with learning difficulties. S4W-16793 Mark McDonald: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether local authorities should seek the views of looked-after children regarding their ongoing care. S4W-16794 Mark McDonald: To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities are required to ensure the provision of appropriate advocacy for looked- after children when discussing their ongoing care.