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-04641

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how its forthcoming white paper on planning will take account of the housing needs of older people.

Question reference: S5F-00552

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2016

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Autumn Statement.

Question reference: S5W-04642

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the (a) housing needs of older people and (b) demand for retirement housing.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a responsibility on Local Authorities to prepare a Local Housing Strategy (LHS) supported by an assessment of housing need and demand and the provision of related services. Housing Need and Demand Assessments (HNDA) include an assessment of the housing needs of older people. The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with guidance on this.

The housing needs that are covered in HNDAs and which are most relevant to older people include: accessible and adapted housing, wheelchair housing, supported provision and care & support services for independent living at home. The Scottish Government appraise HNDAs to ensure they are robust and credible. HNDAs are undertaken every five years and authorities are encouraged to monitor and update HNDAs annually. The Scottish Government also asks authorities to publish completed HNDAs on their websites.

Question reference: S5W-04644

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) personal, (b) social and (c) economic impact of helping older people to move into accommodation that is better suited to their needs.

Having an appropriately adapted home in the right place, with the right support enables older people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible. We will publish a refresh of Age, Home and Community our older people’s housing strategy in Spring 2017, which will consider the impact of housing on wider health and wellbeing issues. We are also considering options for a Help to Buy-style product suited to the needs of older people. Evidence including potential impact of any new scheme will be considered as part of this work.

Question reference: S5W-04643

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage the provision of more (a) private and (b) public sector housing for older people.

The Scottish Government is working with the many organisations involved in the provision of housing for older people. These include local authorities who have strategic responsibility for identifying local housing need and demand, housing associations, as well as private sector providers. We are undertaking a mid-point review of Age, Home and Community, the national strategy for housing for Scotland’s older people and intend to publish the review in Spring 2017. We will continue to work closely with public and private sector housing providers to ensure the needs and choices of older people are met enabling them to live safely and independently at home for as long as possible.

Question reference: S5W-03829

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what revenue expenditure was allocated to the (a) NHS and (b) Scottish Ambulance Service in (i) this and (ii) each of the previous four financial years.

Question reference: S5O-00338

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how important tourism is to the economy.

Question reference: S5W-03916

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a draft Referendum Bill for consultation, as set out in the Programme for Government.

The current Scottish Government was elected with a clear mandate that the Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold an independence referendum if there was clear and sustained evidence that independence had become the preferred option of a majority of the Scottish people – or if there was a significant and material change in the circumstances that prevailed in 2014, such as Scotland being taken out of the EU against our will.

Given Scotland’s strong and unequivocal vote to remain in the EU, Scotland is now faced with one of the specific scenarios in which this government pledged that the Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold an independence referendum.

In A Plan For Scotland: The Scottish Government's Programme For Scotland 2016-17, presented to Parliament in September, we said that we would publish for consultation a draft Referendum Bill so that it will be ready for introduction should we conclude that seeking the view of the Scottish people on independence is the best or only way to protect Scotland’s interests in the wake of the EU referendum.

In line with that announcement, we have today published a consultation paper and a draft Referendum Bill. The consultation paper invites views on the proposals for how the referendum will be run. These proposals are based on the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013, which was used very successfully for the 2014 referendum. A draft bill is provided as an appendix to the consultation paper.

The Scottish Government remains willing to work with the UK Government to negotiate a future relationship with Europe that is in line with the views of the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people and which works for the United Kingdom as a whole. However, if it becomes clear that it is only through independence that Scotland’s interests can be protected, then the people of Scotland must have the ability to reconsider that question, and to do so before the UK leaves the EU.

We are consulting now so that, should it become clear this is the only or best way to protect Scotland’s vital national interests, we can introduce the Bill for consideration by the Scottish Parliament.

A copy of the consultation paper and draft Bill are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib Number 58283) or can be found at https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/elections-and-constitutional-development-division/draft-referendum-bill/

The deadline for responses to the consultation is 11 January 2017 and we would welcome any comments or suggestions which members may have on the proposed Bill.

Question reference: S5W-00573

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff NHS Forth Valley employs and how this compares with September 2006.

Question reference: S5W-00618

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-29246 by Fergus Ewing on 27 January 2016, in light of the information not being provided by the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) methods and (b) categories used by Scottish Enterprise to record data with regard to the businesses that it provides grant support to.

Scottish Ambulance Service	203.8	207.6	210.0	212.1	223.5
All health boards	8,802.1	9,077.5	9,335.0	9,623.0	10,137.3