Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-09569

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs have been created through foreign direct investment in Scotland in each year since 2014-15, and what information it has on how this compares with the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S5W-09568

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many foreign direct investment projects there have been in Scotland in each year since 2014-15, and what information it has on how this compares with the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S5W-09570

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the number of jobs created by foreign direct investment has fallen in 2016-17 compared with 2015-16 and 2014-15.

Question reference: S5W-09480

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that the Royal Alexandria and Vale of Leven hospitals have recorded higher than average mortality statistics over the last four years.

Shona Robison: Across Scotland, HSMR have dropped by 8.4% over a 32 month period. The Scottish Patient Safety Programme is helping us significantly reduce hospital mortality and reduce avoidable harm at every stage of care.

Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios (HSMR) data is closely monitored by the Scottish Government and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to see whether any NHS Board is giving particular cause for concern.

HIS initiates a dialogue with an NHS board if one of its hospitals is identified as having a significantly high HSMR i.e. it being more than three standard deviations above the Scottish average or significantly increasing (calculated using run chart rules). These engagements are designed to ensure that the HSMR data can be interpreted meaningfully, drawing on local knowledge – while also ensuring that the data is taken seriously and acted upon as appropriate, with support and advice being provided for the NHS board.

HIS has opened such a dialogue with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHS GGC), about a high HSMR for the Royal Alexandria Hospital/Vale of Leven Hospital (combined), on three occasions (November 2010, October 2014, and July 2016). As part of these interactions, NHS GGC has reported on the actions it has carried out to understand and respond to this HSMR data, including how this has helped inform on-going work designed to improve the quality of clinical care. HIS reviewed these actions plans and, following further engagement with NHS GGC, concluded that NHS GGC has taken a positive and appropriate approach.

HSMR monitors expected mortality over time and does not work comparing one quarter with another. The latest published data for Vale of Leven/RAH Hospitals indicated that there has been a rise in the hospital HSMR from the previous quarter only and does not represent a 9% increase in mortality, this is a misunderstanding of HSMR statistics. The trends for these two hospital is a 4.5% reduction since January 2014.

HIS will continue to monitor the HSMR data for the Royal Alexandria Hospital/Vale of Leven Hospital, and consider this with national partner organisations alongside other sources of data/intelligence. In the event that this combined intelligence raises significant concerns about the quality of care, then HIS will follow up.

Question reference: S5W-09481

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish separate mortality statistics for the Royal Alexandria and Vale of Leven hospitals.

Question reference: S5W-09369

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recycling and renewable energy centres are planned, broken down by local authority area.

SEPA advises that the following recycling and renewable energy centres (energy from waste facilities) currently have planning permission:

Local Authority	Operator / Site Name	Capacity (Tonnes)	Status
East Lothian	Viridor / Oxwellmains, Dunbar:	300,000	In construction
Midlothian	FCC / Millerhill Energy Recovery Centre	195,000	In construction
Glasgow	Viridor / Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre, Polmadie	200,000	In construction
Glasgow	Peel Environmental / South Clyde Energy Centre, Bogmoor Road, Hillington	250,000	Not constructed - Planning consent over 5 years old & no recent progress
South Lanarkshire	Clean Power Ltd / Whistleberry Road, Hamilton	120,000	Not constructed
South Lanarkshire	No operator identified by landowner/ Dovesdale	150,000	Not constructed - Planning consent over 5 years old & no recent progress
South Lanarkshire	Levenseat Ltd / Levenseat Waste Management Site, Lanark	100,000	In construction
East Ayrshire	Barr Killoch Energy Recovery Park	85,000	Not constructed
Falkirk	Calachem / Grangemouth	200,000	Not constructed
Aberdeen	Aberdeen Recycling & Energy (partnership between Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils)	150,000	Not constructed
North Lanarkshire	Covanta / Airdrie North Limited/Drumshangie	300,000	Not constructed - Planning consent over 5 years old & no recent progress
North Lanarkshire	Shore Energy / Carnbroe	80,000	Not constructed - Planning consent over 5 years old & no recent progress
Highlands	Combined Power and Heat (Highlands) Ltd / Cromarty Firth Industrial Estate, Invergordon	100,000	Not constructed - Planning consent over 5 years old & no recent progress
North Ayrshire	Energo, Irvine	96,000	Not constructed - Planning consent over 5 years old & no recent progress

Question reference: S5W-09370

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the terms of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry apply to all recycling and renewable energy centres.

The Scottish Government shares the vision of the Fair Work Convention that by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society. We would undoubtedly be better able to realise this vision if employment law was a devolved matter.

In the absence of the power to legislate on employment we will continue to use all the levers at our disposal to promote the benefits of fair work. For example, Scotland’s public procurement regulations and statutory guidelines establish rules to require that, where appropriate, fair work practices are considered as part of the procurement process. Individual public bodies are, of course, responsible for compliance with those rules and the contracts that they award.

Question reference: S5W-09371

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the contractors that are employed (a) directly and (b) indirectly in the construction of the Millerhill Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre conform to the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry.

The Scottish Government’s public procurement regulations govern the fair and equal treatment of those bidding for public contracts. Individual public bodies, including local authorities are responsible for their own procurement activity. The Millerhill Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre is a joint procurement by Midlothian Council and City of Edinburgh Council. The details of the contract are therefore a matter for these local authorities to determine and advise on.

Question reference: S5W-09373

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 5 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the (a) Fair Work Convention and (b) Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 applies to all public construction projects.

In answer to part (a) of the question, Scottish Ministers published statutory guidance in October 2015 on Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage in Procurement which require that, where appropriate, fair work practices are considered as part of the procurement process. This statutory guidance applies to all regulated procurements, including public works contracts worth at least £2 million.

In answer to part (b) of the question, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 applies as a matter of law to all public works contracts worth at least £2 million advertised since 18 April 2016.

Question reference: S5O-01082

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has confidence in the chairperson of the Scottish Police Authority.