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-08411

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what economic impact it expects the recent joint economic declaration signed with Bavaria to have on (a) the Lothian region and (b) Scotland.

The impact of the declaration, whether at national or regional level, will depend on the commitment shown by both sides to realise its aims. These are:

To support and encourage business-led relations, including those facilitated through our respective Chambers of Commerce;

To explore and encourage exchanges and co-development between our respective enterprise and innovation support partners;

To seek to support collaboration between Scottish and Bavarian research institutions; and

To explore opportunities to further trade links, including through industry missions and mutual investment opportunities.

The Scottish Government for its part is determined to further strengthen our relationship with Bavaria, which is based on common economic interests, historic and cultural ties and a shared desire for sustainable and inclusive growth. This will be the subject of discussions with the Bavarian Ministry in the months ahead.

Question reference: S5W-08409

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the absence rate in schools in (a) Lothian and (b) Scotland has been in each year since 2010-11.

The percentage absence for Scotland and the four local authorities in Lothian is provided in the following table. There is no data available for 2011-12 or 2013-14 as attendance and absence data is now collected biannually.

Percentage absence (authorised and unauthorised)	2010-11	2012-13	2014-15
Scotland	6.8%	6.4%	6.3%
East Lothian	6.1%	5.8%	6.0%
Edinburgh, City of	7.0%	6.1%	5.9%
Midlothian	6.9%	6.7%	6.9%
West Lothian	6.2%	6.0%	6.1%

Question reference: S5W-07958

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06885 by Michael Matheson on 1 March 2017, how much was spent on drink-drive awareness campaigns in (a) 2016-17 and (b) the festive period only in each of the last five years to January 2017.

The Scottish Government has spent £29,000 on drink-drive awareness campaign work during 2016-17, all of which was in connection with the 2016-17 festive campaign.

Scottish Government spending on drink-drive awareness campaign work in previous years related to the festive period is as follows

2015-16 - No spend - this was a Police Scotland-led enforcement campaign supported through social media only.

2014-15 - £143,149.47

2013-14 - £429,077.77

Information on spend on specific campaigns in the years prior to 2013-14 is not held by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S5W-07960

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has committed to the £16.8 million project to overhaul the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S5W-07957

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much financial support it has given to support organisations working to tackle domestic violence and abuse in each of the last five years.

Funding for support organisations working to tackle domestic violence and abuse over the last five years has been published on the the Scottish Government Web Pages. These can be found at:

2012-2015 http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Equality/violence-women/VAWFund2012-15

2015-2016 http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Equality/Funding/funding/ViolenceAgainstWomenFunding

2016-2017 https://beta.gov.scot/publications/equality-funding-2016-17-violence-women-and-girls-fund/

Question reference: S5W-07765

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will spend in the next twelve months to help young people live healthier lifestyles.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that healthier lifestyles are adopted by all age groups including young people through a wide range of actions. These actions start from the earliest years to help establish good behaviours with children that extend into adolescence and beyond. The range of activities include improving diet, increasing physical activity and improving mental health.

Because these activities and actions target a broad age-range and span a variety of portfolios, disciplines and professions, all contributing towards the health and wellbeing of our children and young people, it difficult to isolate spend in the way the question seeks.

Question reference: S5W-07961

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it foresees further investing, if required, in the Scottish National Gallery project, following reports that it is to be delayed due to budget concerns.

Question reference: S5W-07316

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address that 30% of the construction workforce in Scotland is reported to be aged 50 or over.

In its Construction Skills Network Report published last month, the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has forecast that industry will need 12,000 new construction workers in Scotland over the next five years to meet demand.

To meet this predicted demand, Skills Development Scotland are funding high numbers of quality Modern Apprenticeships in construction. These are available across all of the construction sector, and at all levels including technical and professional roles.

In 2015-16 Skills Development Scotland funded 4,895 Modern Apprenticeship starts in construction and related occupations – approximately 19% of the total of all Modern Apprenticeship starts. Skills Development Scotland have also consulted with the industry on expanding the Modern Apprenticeship programme to support the Scottish Government ambition of 30,000 Modern Apprenticeships by 2020.

In addition, the industry, working with Skills Development Scotland, is working to promote construction as a career of choice through a range of activities resulting from the Construction Skills Investment Plan aimed at attracting talent, building career pathways and modernising training. There is a clear commitment by the industry to continue to train apprentices where possible and support the successful Modern Apprenticeship programme. New Foundation and Graduate Level apprenticeships are now also available in the sector.

Clearly, the UK Government’s plans to drag Scotland out of the EU and the single market will potentially restrict the free movement of workers within Europe and may exacerbate skills shortage. This is one reason why Scottish Government has put forward credible proposals to UK Ministers to maintain Scotland’s concerns to the single market for trade as well as in ability to fill skills shortages.

Question reference: S5O-00803

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on improvements to the planning system, in light of the Review of the Scottish Planning System.

Question reference: S5W-07317

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that there is currently a lack of skilled tradespeople in the traditional building sector.

The Scottish Government is aware that there are skills gaps within the construction workforce within Scotland regarding traditional buildings.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) works with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and industry partners to identify trends in skills gaps within the traditional skills sector in Scotland. HES is developing a growing awareness of local skills needs through its support for the Traditional Building Forums currently operating in Tayside, Forth Valley, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen.

HES also continues to work with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and CITB and industry to ensure that construction industry training reflects the needs of Scotland’s historic built environment. To that end HES has recently reviewed and revised the Professional Development Award in Repair and Maintenance of Traditional Masonry Structures and will be piloting its delivery next month at its Elgin training centre.

In the next few months HES will open the Engine Shed in Stirling, a national resource and world class facility to raise standards in conservation, promote traditional skills and materials and excite a new generation of young people about traditional buildings. HES will look to spread the messages and learning outcomes from the Engine Shed through its Building Conservation Network, to support traditional skills training across the country.

Under the auspices of Our Place in Time: The Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland a Skills and Expertise Group is to be set up to work collaboratively with public, private and voluntary sector partners to identify the existing and future skills needs of the sector and develop initiatives that address those needs.