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: S5O-01641

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the performance of ScotRail in delivering services on the North Berwick to Edinburgh line.

As the member will be aware, last September I required Abellio ScotRail to implement a Performance Improvement Plan to address unacceptable performance across the rail network. After implementation of this plan, performance improved continually to the extent that, over the summer, ScotRail became the best-performing large operator in the UK. In fact performance on the North Berwick line has improved by 1.8% Moving Annual Average (MAA) over the last year and this demonstrates the real efforts made by ScotRail staff who are working hard to deliver improved performance in the face of unrelenting, often unwarranted, criticism.

Question reference: S5W-13468

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 10 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the 95% superfast broadband connectivity target will be judged, and whether premises connected to an enabled cabinet, but too far from that cabinet to receive superfast connectivity, count as enabled within the 95%.

The Scottish Government does not have a 95% superfast broadband target. Our commitment is for 100% superfast broadband coverage by the end of 2021, with an interim target of 95% fibre broadband coverage by the end of 2017.

Any property connected to a fibre-enabled cabinet by the end of December 2017 - either commercially or through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme - contributed towards achievement of the 95% target.

Question reference: S5W-13601

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is for encouraging survivors of child abuse to identify themselves to the Child Abuse Inquiry.

The Inquiry has been set up independent of government. This includes the complete independence to consider how best to engage with survivors of child abuse, in terms either of awareness raising or on-going communication. However, the Scottish Government and its funded services do alert survivors to the existence of the Inquiry and offer advice how to contact it, whenever appropriate. We are aware that some survivors may choose not to come forward to the Inquiry and we respect their right to choose.

Future Pathways, Scotland’s In Care Survivor Support Fund, works with adults who experienced abuse or neglect in care in Scotland as a child. The fund co-ordinates access to, and the delivery of, resources, integrated care and support so that survivors can achieve their goals. The Scottish Government also funds survivor support organisations who provide support to all adult survivors of childhood abuse.

Question reference: S5W-13540

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of probationary-year teachers in 2017-18 have left the profession (i) voluntarily and (ii) following a professional assessment.

Question reference: S5W-13541

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 506 teachers employed through attainment challenge funding and identified in the 2017 teacher census are employed on (a) permanent and (b) fixed-term contracts.

Question reference: S5W-13070

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that Prestonpans railway station is to be moved to Blindwells.

There are currently no plans to move Prestonpans Station to Blindwells. The option of a railway station at Blindwells has been proposed by the promoter, East Lothian Council. All proposals submitted to Transport Scotland will be considered subject to the Scottish Government’s investment priorities for the strategic transport network, a robust business case, affordability and other competing proposals.

Question reference: S5W-12719

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the housing allocation guidelines.

On 4 November 2016, the Scottish Government published on its website a final draft of the statutory guidance on the social housing allocations provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. This can be found at: https://beta.gov.scot/policies/social-housing/ and forms part of a package of guidance on the social housing provisions in the 2014 Act published between November 2016 and November 2017. The statutory guidance on the social housing allocations provisions will be published formally once the commencement order for the provisions that it covers comes into force. This is expected to be in spring 2018.

Question reference: S5F-01740

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2017

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government plans to take to support students, in light of the call in the report, A New Social Contract for Students, for them to be given a minimum income entitlement of £8,100 per year.

Question reference: S5O-01494

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Parent Teacher Council survey of parents, which found that 92% believed that not enough money is being spent on schools.

Question reference: S5W-12284

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated for the Year Of Young People 2018.