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-06033

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-05485

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the implementation of the living wage for private sector care workers delivering services for local authorities can be sustained beyond 2017-18.

As part of the 2017-18 draft budget, we have shown our commitment to the social care sector by announcing a further £100 million to be made available to Integration Authorities to support sustainability in the sector and continued delivery of the Living Wage to adult care workers. Within this settlement we have included a number of assumptions such as employer costs and assumed no provider contribution in 2017-18, this will support partnerships and private and voluntary sector providers to be able to implement this commitment sustainably. This was based on a one year Spending Review. Further support for delivering the Living Wage will be discussed as part of next years budget.

Question reference: S5W-05486

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the leaders of Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils to discuss the City Deal bid.

Question reference: S5W-04843

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports have been made to the Food Standards Scotland Scottish Food Crime Hotline, also broken down by how many referred to the suspected mislabelling of beef products.

The Scottish Food Crime Hotline, launched by Food Standards Scotland in partnership with Crimestoppers, is a free telephone number where members of the public or those working within the food and drink sector can contact Food Standards Scotland’s Scottish Food Crime and Incident Unit (SFCIU) anonymously if they have any information or suspicions about potential food-related crime. Information can also be submitted using a non-traceable online form. Food Standards Scotland and the SFCIU also receive information from a range of other sources.

The Scottish Food Crime Hotline is intended give members of the public and industry a trusted point of contact to report any concerns or suspicions of food crime in complete anonymity. Callers have an expectation that everything possible will be done to protect their identity, and releasing figures and details of reports could potentially compromise that protection. Therefore, in order to maintain trust in the confidentiality of the system, Food Standards Scotland does not publish a breakdown or detail of reports received from specific sources.

Since April 2016 to-date there have been 119 intelligence logs recorded on the SFCIU intelligence system from all sources.

Question reference: S5W-04845

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of the suspected mislabelling of beef products have been made to the Scottish Food Crimes and Incidents Unit, and how many have led to official investigations.

The Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit is the investigations and intelligence gathering arm of Food Standards Scotland (FSS). The Unit has a dedicated intelligence office which analyses, develops and deals with information received from members of the public, food business operators and industry whistle-blowers. In order to maintain trust in the integrity of the intelligence gathering function, FSS does not publish a breakdown or detail of reports received.

Question reference: S5O-00510

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to argue the case that Scotland's concerns are taken into account in relation to the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement.

Question reference: S5W-05292

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03348 by Keith Brown on 16 November 2016, what measures it will take, in addition to writing to the Secretary of State for International Trade, to ensure that NHS Scotland is listed as exempt from the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

As indicated in response to S5W-00972 on 12 July 2016 and S5W-03348 on 16 November 2016, the Scottish Government carried out an initial assessment of the Section D provisions of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and considered it unlikely that these would, to any appreciable extent, restrict the legislation which the Scottish Parliament can pass in the interest of the public and the environment. Section D covers the Investment Protection and does not specifically cover the impact on jobs creation.

As indicated in response to S5W-003348, I wrote to the Secretary of State for International Trade re-emphasising that our ability to regulate, and our ability to determine, how the NHS in Scotland should operate should in no way be compromised by trade agreements. I have not yet received any response to this letter.

Regulation of international trade is currently a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998 and trade negotiations are led by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union's 28 Member States. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament do not therefore have a direct say in, or direct influence on, negotiations or the ratification of any agreement

Information on the ongoing work between the EU Commission and Canada regarding the parameters of the Investor Court System in CETA can be found on the European Commission website http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ceta/

The UK Government response of 28 October 2015 regarding why it has not put forward any Protected Food Names for inclusion in CETA has been placed in SPICe (Bib number 58399).

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

Question reference: S5W-05288

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that new fish farms do not undermine the conservation objectives of the marine protected area network.

There is a duty on all public authorities to comply with section 83 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 when making decisions on whether to permit activities that could affect a nature conservation Marine Protected Area within Scottish territorial Waters. The provisions are designed to ensure that there is no significant risk of the activity hindering the achievement of the conservation objectives of the protected features before consent is given.

Question reference: S5W-05294

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03348 by Keith Brown on 16 November 2016, whether it will publish the response from the UK Government regarding why it has not put forward any Protected Food Names for inclusion in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to give Scottish producers protection in Canada.

Question reference: S5W-05173

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04978 by Roseanna Cunningham on 24 November 2016, by what date it will complete the (a) Strategic Environmental and (b) Habitats Regulations Assessment, and how it will protect the welfare of the beavers while this is being carried out.

The Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) of our proposed plan to allow beavers to remain in Scotland is expected to be completed in January 2017. We are also required to consider whether a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is required. The approach to the SEA and its timing depends on what issues are highlighted by the HRA.

It is not illegal to shoot a beaver at present, provided it is done humanely and in accordance with the laws on use of firearms. However, we continue to strongly discourage this as an option other than as a last resort. Land managers should work with Scottish Natural Heritage on practical long-term management solutions that will continue to work if it is confirmed that beavers become a protected species in Scotland. We have previously said that if evidence emerges that beavers are being culled in unacceptable circumstances we will consider the use of Nature Conservation Orders to prohibit their killing on specified areas of land.