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: S4F-01034

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2012

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take following the recent Supreme Court ruling relating to the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Question reference: S4W-11340

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10885 by Michael Matheson on 14 November 2012, whether all drug and alcohol treatment services include mental health diagnosis and support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-06820 on 8 May 2012.

Since May, the Scottish Government published the Mental Health Strategy for Scotland 2012-15 in August 2012. In this strategy we recognise that there are strong links between depression and drinking above recommended guidelines, and make a commitment to work with NHS boards and partners to more effectively link the work on alcohol and depression and other common mental health problems to improve identification and treatment, with a particular focus on primary care.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-11190

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken in response to the Civil Service People Survey 2011, which stated that 1% of its staff strongly agreed and 18% agreed that when changes in the Scottish Government are made, they are usually for the better, with 81% of staff having no opinion or disagreeing.

Question reference: S4W-11122

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 23 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of bringing the Land Register in line with the terms of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

The Land Register is maintained by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. The Keeper does not have a figure for the specific costs of implementing the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act 2000. This is because the 2000 Act was commenced at the same time as the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 and both impacted on existing Land Register title sheets. The strong inter-relationship between both Acts meant that they were implemented in tandem.

The costs of implementing both Acts was as follows:

Staff costs

2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	Total
£22,560	£267,663	£599,008	£722,199	£343,742	£148,707	£2,103,879

Notes:

ICT costs - £183,141.

Total overall cost - £2,287,020.

Question reference: S4W-11120

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in response to the Civil Service People Survey 2011, which stated that 2% of its staff strongly agreed and 22% agreed that change was managed well in the Scottish Government, with 76% of staff either disagreeing or not commenting on how well change is managed.

The Civil Service People Survey provides valuable annual feedback from employees on the experience of working across the UK Civil Service. The Scottish Government report helps identify where, as an employer, we are doing well and where we can improve.

The results of the 2011 survey showed that 81% of our people were clear about their role, with 80% confirming that they understood how they contribute towards the achievement of the Scottish Government’s objectives. These results came at a time when we are reducing our administration costs by around 20% and taking forward subsequent changes.

To address the issues raised in the 2011 Survey, the Executive Team led action to set out a clear vision and plan for organisational change in the Scottish civil service. The Business Strategy sets out the organisational vision and this is delivered through three corporate priorities: the People Strategy, Workforce 2015 and the Improvement Framework.

To embed this throughout the organisation, senior managers have led roadshows and Q&A sessions with staff to explain the direction and vision for the organisation. Support for local team leaders helped them to lead discussions clarifying the role staff can play in changing the way they work and contributing their ideas for service improvement. Individual employees and their line manager are required to have monthly conversations to provide a regular opportunity to support business planning and to ensure resources are focused on priorities.

The results of the 2012 Civil Service People Survey will be published externally in January 2013. This will provide feedback on the impact of actions taken to date.

Question reference: S4W-11184

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken in response to the Civil Service People Survey 2011, which stated that 14% of Registers of Scotland staff agreed that the organisation was managed well.

Question reference: S4W-11124

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether the abolition of feudal tenure reforms arising from the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act 2000 have been completed.

Information on the 2000 Act can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/law/17975/Abolition. As the website indicates, the feudal system of land tenure was brought to an end on 28 November 2004 when the 2000 Act was substantively brought into force. The right of feudal superiors to enforce conditions ended, subject to certain saving provisions.

Section 46(1) of the 2000 Act provides that it will not be competent to request or order the Keeper of the Registers to remove real burdens extinguished by section 17(1)(a) (extinction of superior’s rights) within a period of years prescribed by the Scottish Ministers. Article 3 of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act (Prescribed Periods) Order 2004 (SSI 2004/478) prescribed a period of 10 years, which runs from 28 November 2004 until 27 November 2014.

Question reference: S4W-11125

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government when the Crofting Register will be (a) operational and (b) considered fit for purpose.

Question reference: S4W-11123

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what timescale the Registers of Scotland has been given to ensure that the Land Register is cleansed of all appropriate historical burdens.

Question reference: S4W-10867

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the implementation date is for the recommendations in A New Look at Hall 4: The Early Years: Good Health for Every Child.

No date was set for implementation of the recommendations in A New Look at Hall 4: The Early Years: Good Health for Every Child.

All NHS Boards are currently in the process of implementing the role of the Named Person.

NHS Boards have introduced, or are working towards introducing, 2 categories of HPI as set out in A New Look at Hall 4: The Early Years: Good Health for Every Child.

A short-life working group was set up to determine the core issues to be addressed and recorded at the 24-30 month review, and recommended the review be carried out between 27 and 30 months. Guidance on the 27-30 month review will be issued shortly, requiring NHS Boards to introduce the review from 1 April 2013.