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: S4W-26363

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 August 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the potential for increasing the number of modern apprenticeships in the energy sector through training people to install smart meters.

A properly conceived scheme, that enables the most up to date technology to be used and takes steps to address the considerable criticisms that have been made, could provide a significant number of employment and training opportunities in Scotland.

The relevant trade association, British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers’ Association, expects that the number of jobs currently involved in the assembly of meters will double, creating an additional 750 to 1,000 jobs including highly skilled jobs in assembly, testing, research, logistics and product development and the Department of Energy and Climate Change has stated that up to 10,000 jobs could be supported during peak installation¹.

This potential to create jobs is at risk and the criticisms of the programme raised by the Scottish Government and others must be taken seriously and properly addressed to ensure that these considerable benefits are realised.

1. delivering energy investment report

Question reference: S4W-26365

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 August 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential for smart meters to help reduce energy overgeneration.

The Scottish Government has not made an assessment of the potential for smart meters to help reduce energy generation. However we recognise that the introduction of smart meters could mean energy networks will have better information upon which to manage and plan activities (e.g. during power cuts) and investment. Smart meters could also assist the move towards smart grids which support sustainable energy supply and help reduce the total energy needed in the system.

Criticisms raised by us, by the Energy and Climate Change Committee and in the National Audit Office report of June 2014 must be addressed to ensure that these benefits are realised.

Question reference: S4O-04455

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Marco Biagi on 11 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met South Lanarkshire Council.

Question reference: S4O-04486

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it has introduced to increase the supply of social housing.

Question reference: S4O-04387

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights last met the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Question reference: S4O-04301

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when its review of out-of-hours primary care services will be published.

Question reference: S4W-25141

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 27 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement it has had in formulating the UK Government's Consultation on Reforming the Electronic Communications Code.

In 2011, the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) arranged for the Electronic Communications Code to be reviewed by the Law Commission for England and Wales. The report by the commission

(http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/publications/2172.htm) was published in February 2013.

The Scottish Government advised DCMS at the time that we would be happy to help with the implementation of a revised code to ensure that Scottish interests were represented.

Initially, engagement by DCMS with the Scottish Government was very limited, but in November 2014, DCMS told the Scottish Government that they intended to table a revised code as an amendment to the then Infrastructure Bill (now the Infrastructure Act 2015) at Westminster. Provisions were added to the Infrastructure Bill, but were then removed, following representations to DCMS by stakeholders. DCMS then decided to carry out a consultation on the proposed revised code.

The Scottish Government worked with DCMS to try and ensure that Scottish interests were reflected in the consultation paper. The consultation was launched on 26 February 2015 and closes on 30 April 2015. It can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-reforming-the-electronic-communications-code

A stakeholder engagement event on the consultation was held in Edinburgh on 16 March 2015. Scottish Government officials worked with DCMS to help set this up and attended the event.

The Scottish Government will continue to work to try and ensure that Scottish interests are represented and reflected in any revised Electronic Communications Code.

Question reference: S4O-04240

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met South Lanarkshire Council.

Question reference: S4W-24964

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 8 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland personnel have been involved in the transfer of asylum-seeking families with children to or from the Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre since 1 April 2013 and, if so, on how many occasions and on what dates.

Police Scotland have advised that there are no Police Scotland personnel involved at Dungavel, they were able to advise that the Home Office have brought in private contractors to carry out this work.

I would like to reiterate that the Scottish Government remains opposed to detaining any children of asylum seekers; detention of children in an asylum context is unnecessary and disproportionate. It is a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and should not be happening in the UK.

The Scottish Government will continue to reaffirm this position at every available opportunity.

Question reference: S4W-24963

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10978 by Aileen Campbell on 25 January 2013, whether it has established the position regarding the involvement of NHS personnel in work with families and children who have been held at the Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre since 1 May 2010, and, if so, whether personnel have been involved; on how many occasions, and on what dates.

This is a reserved matter by the UK Government and therefore the Scottish Government does not hold this information. Officials have been in contact with NHS Lanarkshire who have been unable to provide any advice on their involvement.

The Scottish Government remains opposed to detaining any children of asylum seekers; detention of children in an asylum context is unnecessary and disproportionate. It is a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and should not be happening in the UK.

The Scottish Government will continue to reaffirm this position at every available opportunity.