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-04334

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether mutual recognition of medical qualifications across the EU will continue post-Brexit.

Parity of professional qualifications underpins the system of mutual recognition that currently facilitates professional mobility between EU Member States. The European Qualifications (Health and Social Care Professions) Regulations 2016 were laid by the Department of Health with my agreement on 28 October and will come into force on 18 November. This will transpose into UK law the updated health and social care provisions of the EU Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications, maintaining minimum standards for professional qualifications eligible for automatic recognition.

We are facing many uncertainties but, given the recent UK legislation, it is my understanding that the current mutual recognition arrangements will remain unchanged until the EU Directive is amended significantly or its provisions are specifically removed from the UK statute books. However, I recognise fully the understandable anxiety among doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, as well as other health and social care staff who have come to work here from other parts of the European Economic Area. To this end, I wrote on 13 September to Philip Dunne, Minister of State for Health, urging him to examine every possible option for maintaining an effective system for mutual recognition of professional qualifications going forward, whatever the outcome of negotiations.

Question reference: S5W-04380

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what payments it has made to operators of maritime freight services on the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route since December 2014.

Question reference: S5W-04382

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what total maritime freight volumes were handled at Rosyth Port in each year since 2009-10.

Question reference: S5W-04378

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many qualified seafarers and maritime officers were employed on MV Helliar and MV Hildasay in each year since the start of the current time charter for these vessels.

Question reference: S5W-04377

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost would be of terminating the time charter with Seatruck for MV Helliar and MV Hildasay before April 2018.

Question reference: S5W-04379

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the number of qualified seafarers and maritime officers that there have been in each financial year since 2011-12.

Question reference: S5W-04336

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scotland would continue to adhere to EU-wide medicines regulation post-Brexit.

Question reference: S5W-04381

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list all of the (a) waterborne freight and (b) freight facilities grants that have been given to Forth Ports for the development of freight services at Rosyth Port in each year since 2009-10.

There have been no Scottish Government waterborne freight or freight facilities grants given to Forth Ports for the development of freight services at Rosyth Port since 2009-10. Norfolkline Shipping BV were awarded 2 million in 2009 for the movement of containers or road freight units between Rosyth and Zeebrugge. Tables of all freight grants are published on the Freight Grants webpage which can be viewed using the following link http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/freight/freight-grants

Question reference: S5W-04384

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) port staff and (b) seafarers were employed by companies operating from Rosyth Port in each year since 2009-10.

Question reference: S5W-04335

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scotland would continue to participate in EU-wide health initiatives post-Brexit.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-03158 on 7 October 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

To continue to participate in the EU health initiatives post-Brexit, which extend to European Economic Area countries, Scotland must remain a member of the single market. The Scottish Government will do everything in its power to retain its membership of the single market and the considerable benefits this brings.