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-07336

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that young people have a say in formulating the personal and social health education teaching framework.

Question reference: S5W-07334

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities for the teaching of personal and social health education, also known as personal and social education, and when the guidance was last updated.

PSE is a taught subject which covers aspects of planning for choices and changes, substance misuse, relationships, sexual health and parenthood, in addition to aspects of physical activity, sport and health. There are six areas which provide a holistic view of health and wellbeing.

Mental, Emotional, Social and Physical Wellbeing;

Planning for Choices and Changes;

Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport;

Food and Health;

Substance Misuse; and,

Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP).

Through Curriculum for Excellence, health and wellbeing is spread right across the curriculum and it is one of the three core areas that are the responsibility of all staff in the school, the other two areas being literacy and numeracy. Schools are encouraged to develop the curriculum to suit their local context and meet the needs of children and young people. It is good practice for schools to consult with children and young people and respond to their views appropriately, to ensure this meets the needs of all children and young people in the school or educational setting. The RSHP guidance highlights this good practice.

There is no specific guidance for local authorities for teaching of personal and social education (PSE), guidance is however made available on individual areas explained below and is updated regularly.

Question reference: S5W-07155

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to local authorities regarding legislation on the Named Person Service, and whether this guidance was updated following the judgement in the case, The Christian Institute and others v The Lord Advocate, on 28 July 2016.

The Scottish Government, in close collaboration with stakeholders, produced draft Statutory Guidance for Parts 4, 5 and 18 (Section 96) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act) and published this in December 2015. Through the policy document, which was issued to stakeholders on 26 October 2016, the Scottish Government gave advice on the draft Statutory Guidance following the Supreme Court judgment. The policy document is available on the Scottish Government website via the following link http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00508709.pdf. The relevant sections are included below for ease of reference.

The substance of the draft statutory guidance on Parts 4, 5 and 18 (section 96) of the Act issued in December 2015 is still reflective of the Scottish Government’s expectations in terms of the delivery of GIRFEC, with the notable exception of how information sharing is to operate.

The draft statutory guidance describes how the requirement to share information with and by Named Persons was planned to operate when Part 4 of the Act was commenced. The guidance on Part 4 includes guidance on sections 23, 26 and 27 (Communication in relation to movement of children and young people; Information sharing; and Disclosure of information, respectively). These three sections specifically refer to the sharing of information. The Supreme Court judgment requires the information sharing provisions of Part 4 of the Act to be amended in order for them to be compatible with Article 8 of the ECHR. Therefore, the current draft statutory guidance on sections 23, 26 and 27 is not applicable for the time being until it is revised following amendment of the provisions. Any information sharing by and with those identified as Named Persons under GIRFEC policy can and should continue to operate in accordance with the existing legal framework and guidance on data sharing, human rights and children’s rights, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

The draft statutory guidance on Part 5 of the Act (Child’s Plan) includes guidance on section 40 of the Act (Assistance in relation to child’s plan). This guidance states that the duty to provide assistance may include a duty to provide information, however, as Part 5 of the Act has not been commenced there is no statutory requirement to provide information in relation to Child’s Plans. The current draft statutory guidance on section 40 of the Act should, therefore, also be disregarded for the time being until the draft statutory guidance has been reviewed in light of any further legislative amendments. Any information sharing in relation to child planning can and should continue to operate in accordance with the existing legal framework and guidance on data sharing, human rights and children’s rights, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Question reference: S5O-00704

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to acknowledge and commemorate the role of the founding Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Rudolf Bing, in this its 70th anniversary year.

Question reference: S5O-00658

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 8 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Prestwick airport is to receive loans of £40 million three years earlier than initially forecast, as reported by Audit Scotland.

The estimate of loan funding of £39.6m up to 2021-22 was made in a business plan produced in May 2014. Following that forecast, Ryanair decided to operate more services from competitor airports and reduced its presence at Glasgow Prestwick. Our current forecast is that total loan funding of £39.5m may be required up to March 2018.

We have been clear since we bought the airport just over 3 years ago that turning the business around will require a sustained effort over a number of years. I am pleased that the company is actively pursuing new commercial opportunities – for example a deal was recently struck with Chevron which provides a new blue chip tenant for the airport and brings new jobs to the area. The future success of Prestwick is not based only on passenger services and the management team are pursuing a range of opportunities across all parts of the business. We are happy to support these efforts so the company can have a positive long term future.

Question reference: S5O-00591

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Question reference: S5W-05829

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent decision by the UK Government to do so, whether it will adopt the definition of anti-Semitism that has been designated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Question reference: S5W-05265

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Medicines Consortium will publish guidance regarding the use of botulinum toxin for the treatment of chronic migraine.

Question reference: S5O-00383

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that, where schools offer a cashless catering service, P1-P3 pupils who do not take the free meal option are unable to substitute this with sweets and other general tuck.

The Scottish Government does not require schools to operate a cashless catering system to deliver free school meals to P1-P3 pupils, which is a universal provision for all children in those year groups and has been fully funded by this Government. The P1-P3 policy is designed to ensure that our youngest pupils are offered a balanced and nutritious lunch each school day. This is what was agreed with local government and we expect all education authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that this happens. The opportunity to substitute a lunch for an alternative offering was not part of that agreement.

All food and drink served in schools must meet strict nutritional standards set out in the school food Regulations. In particular these standards prevent confectionary being offered at any time of the day and do not allow savoury snacks such as crisps to be provided at lunchtime. Compliance with the Regulations is monitored by Education Health and Nutrition Inspectors.

Question reference: S5W-04590

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place for situations when a person from Scotland phones the NHS24 helpline from another part of the UK or abroad to seek urgent medical advice from NHS Scotland.

It is not routinely possible for a Scottish resident outwith Scotland to contact NHS 24 as the caller protocols are set to only accept calls from within Scotland. If the Scottish patient requires urgent care in England or Wales, they would call 111 and be triaged by the local NHS trust.

If it is a life-threatening emergency, the call would be transferred from the 111 service to the appropriate ambulance service.

If the Scottish patient is abroad or in Northern Ireland and in need or urgent care, they would need to contact the local health service. If the patient is only looking for advice, they can visit NHS Inform at www.nhsinform.scot.