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-04375

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 when its time charter of the Seatruck vessels MV Hildasay and MV Helliar for services on publicly subsidised Northern Isles ferry routes is due to expire.

Question reference: S5W-04333

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 the impact of Brexit will be on the recruitment and retention of NHS staff in Scotland.

The impact of Brexit on the NHSScotland workforce will depend on the precise form of withdrawal from the EU. The free movement of people from the EU/EEA allows skilled and experienced health professionals to work in our NHS.

The Scottish Government is committed and fully supports the free movement of workers within the EU.

We greatly value our non-UK EU citizens and their wider contribution to our society, we will be working to see that their rights and place in our nation are protected.

Question reference: S5W-04383

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 its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DFDS and Forth Ports for maritime freight services between Rosyth and Zeebrugge remains binding on all parties, and whether it will publish the MoU.

Question reference: S5W-04293

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 11 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what estimates it has made regarding whether (a) businesses and (b) residential premises in Scotland will lose out on the EU pledge to introduce free wifi into major EU cities by 2020.

The Scottish Government is working to avoid a situation where Scottish projects lose out on support from the WiFi4EU initiative. As the associated funding will be available from 2017, there is likely to be a window of opportunity for Scottish projects to benefit.

The EC initiative mirrors our Public Wireless Programme, which seeks to ensure publicly accessible buildings and spaces provide freely accessible wireless broadband. The Programme aims to ensure any wireless broadband solutions are sustainable and are designed to meet local needs.

Question reference: S5W-04257

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 11 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether funding for the fishing sector through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund will be maintained.

Question reference: S5W-04285

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many investment in Scotland proposals it is aware of that have not gone ahead since the Brexit vote.

Question reference: S5W-04262

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide for farming after 2020, in light of the UK's decision to leave the EU.

Our vision for the future is an agriculture industry in Scotland that is innovative, profitable, sustainable and supporting economic growth. We will work closely with industry to develop the next steps to help realise that vision, and this will help inform our deliberations on what future support measures may be appropriate for the industry. The Scottish Government will negotiate with the UK Government to ensure that future support for agriculture and rural development is allocated on a fair and equitable basis across the UK.

Question reference: S5W-04294

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether Scottish businesses will be able to roll out 5G by 2025 post-Brexit.

5G is the next generation of mobile technology which is currently being developed by the mobile industry - on a global basis - and which is expected to be rolled out commercially by the mobile operators in the UK from around 2020. A key aim of our World Class digital infrastructure policy development is to ensure that Scotland has the underlying connectivity infrastructure that can support the future evolution of digital technologies such as 5G. The implications of Brexit on the mobile operators' investment plans for Scotland are not yet known.

Question reference: S5W-04267

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will guarantee the £20 million of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for digital connectivity in the Highlands and Islands if contracts cannot be secured by the date of the Autumn Statement.

Derek Mackay, Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary has announced that he will be passing on the UK Government’s guarantee on European funding in full. Following the Chancellor’s statement on 3 October, that guarantee now extends to all projects formally approved prior to the UK leaving the EU. The £20 million of ERDF for digital connectivity in the Highlands and Islands is being assessed for approval by the end of this year, and is therefore expected to be covered in full by the guarantee.

Question reference: S5W-04332

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of NHS employees in Scotland are (a) UK citizens, (b) EU citizens and (c) from other countries.

The Scottish Government assures EU and non-EU citizens working in Scotland that we want them here, we value their contribution, and we will be doing everything we can to make sure they can continue with us without detriment.

Information on how many NHS staff are Scottish, non-EU and EU citizens is not held centrally. We have previously estimated on the basis of information from ONS that around 5% of the NHS Scotland workforce are from the rest of the EU. However a SPICE Briefing paper published (via ONS) on 3rd November 2016 ‘EU Nationals living in Scotland’, available at the link below http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/101937.aspx records that the health and social work sector in Scotland employs 12,000 EU nationals, accounting for 3% of total employment in this sector.