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: S4W-08594

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the evidence of the merits of the inclusion of the mumps vaccine element of Merck’s MMR 11 vaccine.

The Scottish Government does not plan to review the composition of the MMR 11 vaccine. As with all vaccination programmes, the Scottish Government relies on independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The mumps component of the MMR vaccine has been used in MMR vaccines in Scotland and the UK more generally since 1988. The efficacy of the component is well understood. Expert advice to healthcare professionals (within the Immunisation Against Infectious Disease publication) states that a single dose of mumps containing vaccine confers between 61% and 91% protection against mumps. A single dose of MMR vaccine is around 64% effective against mumps, with two doses required to produce satisfactory protection against measles, mumps and rubella.

Question reference: S4W-08593

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the case in the USA under the whistleblower statute in which two scientists previously employed by Merck allege that the company engaged in fraud to hide the fact that the mumps element of the MMR vaccine is not as effective as the company claims.

Question reference: S4W-08465

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive which broadband exchanges in Perth and Kinross are planned for an upgrade in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Upgrading of BT exchanges, such as those in Perth and Kinross, is a matter for BT.

BT’s press release of 13 September 2011 confirms that the Perth exchange is scheduled to be upgraded to provide Superfast (fibre-based) broadband services during 2012. BT has not yet made any Superfast broadband announcements in the Perth and Kinross region for 2013.

http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/ShowArticle.cfm?ArticleID=11C1C9A8-997C-4A1F-9876-D36365E64F33

BT’s press releases of 21 July 2011, 22 December 2011 and 22 May 2012 confirm that the Pitlochry, Scone and Stanley exchanges are scheduled to be upgraded to provide Wholesale Broadband Connect services (up to 20 Mbps over the existing copper network) by spring 2013.

http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/Showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=13F4100B-2DC0-470E-80F0-CD6047CE3F71,

http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/Showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=D06889A3-786C-444A-A558-18973F883497, and

http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/Showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=D600C102-CFE6-479F-A58C-D647D371D508.

Question reference: S4W-08601

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what benefits the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Project will bring to (a) Stirling, (b) Dunblane and (c) Alloa.

Question reference: S4W-08466

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Perth and Kinross Council regarding broadband upgrades since the publication of Scotland’s Digital Future - Infrastructure Action Plan.

Since publication of Scotland’s Digital Future – Infrastructure Action Plan on 31 January 2012, the Scottish Government has been in dialogue with Perth and Kinross Council on its broadband plan for the region; this has included one meeting at official level on 30 March.

As we progress with implementation of the Step Change 2015 Programme, over the summer, we will continue our dialogue with the council to identify local priorities for the Perth and Kinross region. We will be holding a series of workshops and one-to-one meetings with local government to progress this work and will engage with Perth and Kinross Council as part of this process.

Question reference: S4W-08225

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 10 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what work will take place to improve the A9 between 1 July 2012 and 1 January 2017.

The timetable for the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness was announced by Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, on 26 June 2012. It identifies packages of design and development work with the objective of being ready to start construction by 2015-16.

The timetable can be viewed at:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/files/documents/projects/A9_Dualling_Perth_to_Inverness_-_Programme_-_June_2012.pdf

In addition, Transport Scotland has programmed over £26 million of routine safety, improvement and maintenance works between 2012 and 2015.

Question reference: S4W-08224

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to (a) promote and (b) preserve the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park.

The Memorial Park’s management agreement, which was drawn up in 1996, is being reviewed and updated with the assistance of Forestry Commission Scotland, National Trust for Scotland and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority. The area will, however, remain dedicated as a living landscape for quiet recreation and contemplation in memory of those who have fallen in conflict. The partners to the new management agreement will look at appropriate ways to promote the memorial both locally and through websites and leaflets.

Question reference: S4W-08226

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with representatives of the haulage industry regarding increasing HGV speed limits on trunk roads.

Question reference: S4W-08227

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider increasing HGV speed limits from 40 mph to 50 mph on trunk roads.

Question reference: S4W-08222

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the judgement in Italy in the case of Valentino Bocca relating to MMR inoculations and autism.

The judgement in Italy reflects the opinion of a judge on the specific facts of this single case and should not be seen as a precedent for any other case. The judgement does not alter the scientific position that there is no credible scientific evidence to show that MMR vaccine is a cause of autism. A wide range of large epidemiological studies, performed over more than a decade in a variety of countries, have consistently found no link between MMR and autism.