Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-00606

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Glasgow City Council and what was discussed.

Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including Glasgow City Council, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.

The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland's Place in Europe, Mike Russell, met the Leader of the Council, Councillor Frank McAveety, on 12 January to discuss a report prepared by the Council on the implications of Brexit for the Glasgow economy.

Question reference: S5W-05673

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Istanbul Convention on gender-based violence and what (a) action it is taking to implement the obligations and (b) discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding ratifying it.

The Scottish Government strongly supports the principles of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women. We have called upon the UK Government to set out a clear timetable for ratifying the Convention, and to engage with the devolved administrations on this. We welcome the UK Government's support for Eilidh Whiteford MP's private members Bill on ratifying the Convention, and are pleased that this has progressed to a second reading following the first reading on 16 December 2016. Officials have had contact with counterparts in recent weeks on the implications of ratification for Scotland and we expect the UK Government to write to Ministers about this soon. We will continue to engage with the UK Government on this matter.

Question reference: S5W-04807

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the information provided on its website in relation to car journeys by ministers, how many times the First Minister has travelled in that capacity on ScotRail services since taking office.

Question reference: S5W-04809

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the information provided on its website in relation to car journeys by ministers, how many times the First Minister has travelled in that capacity by train betwen the Glasgow Southside constituency and Edinburgh since taking office.

Question reference: S5W-04806

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the information provided on its website in relation to car journeys by ministers, how many times the Minister for Transport and the Islands has used a ministerial car since his appointment.

Question reference: S5W-04808

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the information provided on its website in relation to car journeys by ministers, how many times the Minister for Transport and the Islands has travelled in that capacity by train between the Glasgow Pollok constituency and Edinburgh since his appointment.

Question reference: S5W-04756

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04408 by Annabelle Ewing on 16 November 2016, whether it will provide a breakdown of how these offences were dealt with by the Procurator Fiscal.

12 of the 16 people arrested were subsequently reported to the procurator fiscal for consideration of prosecution.

Court proceedings have been raised by the procurator fiscal in respect of 5 of the cases submitted and in each case the accused pled not guilty and a trial diet is now scheduled. The other 7 cases are still being considered for prosecution.

Reports for the four remaining cases have been prepared for submission by Police Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-00417

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to improve the performance of ScotRail.

Question reference: S5O-00384

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local councils in promoting education in schools.

Closing the attainment gap is the Scottish Government's priority and we are taking a range of actions to ensure that local authorities, schools and others have the guidance and the support that they need to meet the needs of our children and young people. On 28 June 2016 I launched 'Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education - A Delivery Plan for Scotland', which sets our plan for achieving that aim.

As part of that plan, the Government has committed £750 million over the next five years through the Attainment Scotland Fund to tackle the attainment gap, targeting resources at the children, schools and communities which most need them. Through the Governance Review that I launched in 13 September, we are also inviting views from all of those with a stake in our education system, including from local authorities, teachers, parents and pupils, on the role that every part of that system plays in supporting the learner journey and improving outcomes for our children and young people.

Question reference: S5F-00534

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2016

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to tackle the problem of nuisance calls.

Chamber and committees