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-14034

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to dental practices in the Aberdeen area that offer vocational training placements for graduates from Aberdeen Dental School in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S4W-14035

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how vocational training placements for graduates from Aberdeen Dental School are monitored (a) in the Aberdeen area and (b) across Scotland.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is responsible for arranging and monitoring vocational training placements across Scotland, and does so in co-operation with Scottish health boards. Vocational training placements and the development of graduates is monitored by a national protocol which is used throughout the country. Vocational training practices are monitored by NES appointed vocational training advisers, who also support the trainer in the development of the vocational trainee.

Question reference: S4W-14030

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates from Aberdeen Dental School have gained a vocational training placement in each of the last five years and how many (a) gained full time employment and (b) remained in the Aberdeen area on completion.

Question reference: S4W-14033

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many dental practices in the Aberdeen area have been registered to offer vocational training placements for graduates from Aberdeen Dental School in each of the last five years.

Under European Economic Area (EEA) and UK employment law provisions in relation to open competition any UK or EEA dental graduate who meets the eligibility criteria can apply for vocational training placements. On that basis it would be illegal to arrange recruitment into vocational training places based on the location of the graduates school, it follows that there are no dental practices in the Aberdeen area with such an arrangement.

It is NHS Education for Scotland which co-ordinates the selection of dental practices that will offer vocational training places to dental graduates, and monitors how these arrangements operate. Currently, there are eight dental practices in the Aberdeen area that offer vocational training places.

Question reference: S4T-00319

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Federation of Master Builders' latest State of Trade Survey.

Question reference: S4O-02021

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in taking forward the business rates incentivisation scheme.

Question reference: S4W-12918

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are working on constitutional reform workstreams.

As part of their normal duties, civil servants provide support on relevant aspects of the Scottish Government’s work. Staff contribute to constitutional policy development from within their own subject areas as and when required.

The amount of time staff spend contributing to the workstreams varies widely from week to week, and we do not routinely record this information, as we have no business need for it. The most recent published information on this subject is in the form of a response to an FOI request available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/constitution/About/Workstreams.

Question reference: S4O-02007

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities in the north east to deal with the aftermath of recent flooding.

Question reference: S4W-13712

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on seconding civil servants to work on a bid for any proposal for a mutualised company to run the ScotRail franchise.

Question reference: S4W-13711

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the award of the new rail franchise for sleeper services.