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-12797

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent checks are carried out to ensure that individuals applying for insolvency are genuinely insolvent.

Question reference: S5O-01562

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what response it received to representations it made to the UK Government regarding the location of PIP assessment centres and the impact that this has had on claimants in Moray.

Question reference: S5W-11702

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has asked it to be a formal consultation body regarding ship-to-ship licensing applications in Scotland's waters.

Question reference: S5W-11703

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that ship-to-ship oil transfers do not proceed in areas where communities have raised ecological concerns.

Powers relating to ship to ship transfers of crude oil are wholly reserved to the UK Government. Given our devolved responsibilities for the environment, including protection of Scotland’s world-renowned marine environment, the Scottish Government takes great interest in any matter which may pose an unacceptable risk to marine biodiversity or ecosystems. Despite having no formal role in the process, despite requests to UK Ministers to be added as a formal ‘consultation body’, or to have the role of consenting authority devolved to Scottish Ministers no progress has been made. The Scottish Government will make the UK Government aware of its own assessment of the risks associated with ship-to-ship transfers in this specific context and will relay any environmental concerns raised by communities for any future ship to ship applications in Scottish waters should a new licence application be submitted.

Question reference: S5O-01538

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to attract and retain staff at Dr Gray’s Hospital.

All NHSScotland Boards are required to undertake workforce planning to ensure we have the correct staff in place to meet the needs of the service. The Scottish Government works closely with Boards and has invested record levels of funding, underpinned by a significant increase in staffing levels of nearly 12, 000 in the last decade.

I met with staff on Monday at Dr Gray’s, where I had the opportunity to hear first-hand about the challenges and opportunities moving forward. I am aware that a number of local initiatives are being tested across the hospital, such as the reinstatement of a 24/7 paediatric service and the introduction of financial incentives offering of full bursaries to General Practitioner Speciality Training Posts. We have also ensured that the annual International Medical Training Fellowship (IMTF) scheme encompasses paediatric posts. Dr Gray’s participates in the scheme as part of the North of Scotland region and has access to IMTF applicants. These initiatives not only address issues of recruitment and retention, but also to promote the longer-term sustainability of services at Dr Gray’s, including a new model of delivering Ophthalmology services.

Question reference: S5W-12781

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent the Mobile Action Plan will address the reported lack of 4G coverage on the A96 and A9, and when it expects there to be full coverage.

An integral part of the Scottish Government’s Mobile Action Plan is our collaborative work with the UK Government to facilitate wider coverage benefits for Scotland arising from the Emergency Services Network (ESN) rollout which will provide a GB-wide 4G service for the ‘blue light” services.

In delivering ESN, EE is building new sites and upgrading its entire existing network, including more than 300 sites across Scotland. Subject to a site’s location being suitable for a transmission technology capable of supporting acceptable levels of traffic, EE will provide its commercial service on these new sites, which will also be shareable by other mobile network operators.

Both the A96 and A9 are within EE’s ESN coverage footprint and Ofcom has stated that its data indicates that there is now continuous outdoor coverage from EE along these routes. Whilst there are gaps in other operators’ coverage, their 4G deployments are still ongoing and their final coverage footprints along these routes will become apparent in 2018.

Question reference: S5W-12611

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it can take to encourage people to arrange a will.

The Scottish Government provides information on line and in hard copy in ‘What to do after a death in Scotland’ http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/11/6948/0 on how an individual’s estate will be a distributed if they do not make a will. Those rules on distribution may in fact reflect what an individual wishes to happen to their estate and so they may take the view that they have no need to make a will.

It should be noted that wills are not the only vehicle for transferring a property on death, for example, a title to property can be drafted in such a way that an individual’s share will pass to another on death. Insurance policies and death in service pension nominations are also ways of making provision for family or friends.

Question reference: S5W-12610

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the estimated percentage of people who have had a will in place in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the estimated percentage of people who have had a will in place in each of the last five years.

In terms of available data, Scottish Consumer Council, Wills and Awareness of Inheritance Rights in Scotland (Scottish Consumer Council, 2006), - http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090724135150/http:/scotcons.demonweb.co.uk/publications/reports/reports06/rp10wrep.pdf. – identified that 67% of Scots had not made a will and that those over 65 who owned their home and had substantial means were most likely to have done so.

There is no requirement to register a will in Scotland although it is possible to do so in the Books of Council and Session which is held by Registers of Scotland. Wills offer flexibility and can be changed or revoked at any point that the writer wishes.

Question reference: S5W-12612

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether cost is an obstacle to encouraging people to arrange a will.

The Scottish Government does not have a view on whether cost is an obstacle to encouraging people to arrange a will. The fee charged is a matter for the legal profession or other organisations offering a will making service.

It should be noted that a number of trade unions offer free or heavily discounted will writing services to their members and some home or car insurance legal cover includes a will service.

Will Aid is a UK wide scheme which runs every November in which participating solicitors provide basic wills in exchange for a donation to charity - https://www.willaid.org.uk/. It is a matter for legal professionals whether or not they participate in the scheme.

Will Relief Scotland operates every September - https://www.willreliefscotland.co.uk/. Participating solicitors in Scotland waive their fee for writing a basic will. Instead, they invite the client to make a donation to the Will Relief Scotland charities. Again it is a matter for legal professionals whether or not they participate in the scheme.

In addition, a number of charities operate free will drafting services in the hope of receiving a bequest.

Question reference: S5W-12607

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to placing an obligation on medical school graduates to work in the NHS in Scotland for a period of time.

The Scottish Government is taking a number of actions that will contribute towards a more sustainable medical workforce. One of these, Scotland’s first Graduate Entry Medicine programme (ScotGEM) will commence in autumn 2018 and includes a ‘return of service’ bursary of £4,000 per year. The optional grant, worth £16,000 over the 4 year course, will be payable to students in exchange for a year of service in the NHS in Scotland for each £4,000 claimed.

ScotGEM will have a focus on careers in primary care and remote and rural working, offering students the opportunity to experience how rewarding working in these settings is.