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-21703

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many licensed puppy farms there are in Scotland and how many breeding dogs they are licensed to hold.

Question reference: S4W-21705

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions have taken place in the last five years for breach of the conditions of a licence to operate a puppy farm.

In the last five financial years for which information is available from the Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database (2008-09 to 2012-13), one person was prosecuted in 2010-11 where the main charge was under the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973.

It should be noted that court proceedings statistics are based on the year in which the person's case is disposed of. People are counted once for each occasion on which they are proceeded against. If a person is proceeded against more than once on the same day, each proceeding will be counted separately. Where a person is proceeded against for more than one crime or offence in a single proceeding, only the main charge is counted.

Question reference: S4W-21706

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the legislation relating to the operation of puppy farms.

Question reference: S4O-03247

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what role early intervention has in tackling the long-term unemployment of women.

Question reference: S4O-03159

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how progress by NHS Lanarkshire in implementing Healthcare Improvement Scotland's recommendations on patient safety and quality of care is being monitored.

The Chief Executive of NHSScotland has chaired a specially convened Oversight Group throughout this process, which also comprises senior Government officials, which will continue to monitor progress at key intervals this year.

Further meetings with NHS Lanarkshire, the Scottish Government and the Governance and Improvement Support Team are scheduled to take place at the end of June and the end of September to review progress. The Governance and Improvement Support Team will be available as an on-going resource and support, meeting with board staff, as required.

NHS Lanarkshire, like all boards, will also be subject to the normal annual accountability and review process, overseen by Ministers and Scottish Government officials.

Question reference: S4W-20456

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18425 by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 December 2013, whether it will provide the information broken down by people who have sought protection using the criminal courts.

The number of people who have sought protection under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 using the criminal courts is not held by the Scottish Government.

The available information held by the Scottish Court Service is given in the following table:

Financial Year	Number of Non-Harassment Orders Issued in Scotland during criminal proceedings
2008-09	33
2009-10	47
2010-11	49
2011-12	101
2012-13	183

Figures relate to JP Courts, Sheriff Courts and High Courts.

The Scottish Court Service uses a live operational case management system for the processing of court business. The information held on the system is structured for these operational needs, rather than for statistical reporting or research purposes. The information provided is based on the best information available from the case management system as at 3 April 2014.

Non-harassment orders in criminal instances are at the request of the Procurator Fiscal Depute in court and at the presiding Sheriff's discretion. They may not be a final disposal and may only be on an interim basis.

This data relates to the total number of orders issued in Criminal Courts. The numbers are not directly comparable with those provided in the previous parliamentary question, which was based on the number of orders granted where this was the main crave within the writ.

The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 amended provision relating to non-harassment orders granted following a conviction for a criminal offence involving harassment, to enable the court to take account of previous convictions, and to remove the requirement for there to have been a ‘course of conduct’ of harassment in such circumstances.

Question reference: S4O-03116

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how complaints made by serving police personnel against their police forces prior to the formation of Police Scotland are being dealt with.

Question reference: S4W-20198

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when the document, Management of Patients on NHS Waiting Lists, will next be revised and whether it will ensure that the revised document makes specific reference to the management of cancer.

The Scottish Government has recently amended the regulations in relation to the treatment time guarantee contained in the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011. To take account of these changes we will be revising the current waiting time guidance which will cover the 12 weeks legal treatment time guarantee, the 18 weeks referral to treatment and the 12 weeks outpatient waiting times standards. This will be available by the end of June 2014.

In relation to the management of cancer waiting times, the existing guidance is also currently being updated.

Question reference: S4O-03035

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether South Lanarkshire Council has asked it for assistance in dealing with vacant commercial and industrial sites in East Kilbride.

Ministers and officials regularly meet local authorities across Scotland to discuss a range of issues, including local economic development, as do our enterprise agencies.

Officials from Scottish Enterprise and South Lanarkshire Council have held a number of meetings over recent months with site owners, agents and potential developers of key sites within East Kilbride to identify site specific opportunities to attract potential new developments and tenants.

Question reference: S4F-01940

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2014

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to encourage more women to start their own businesses.