Chamber and committees

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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-24173

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of recorded religious hate crimes in 2013-14 expressed as the number of incidents per 1,000 members of each religious affiliation, also broken down by incidents recorded under section (a) 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 and (b) 1 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.

The reports titled Religiously Aggravated Offending in Scotland 2013-14 and Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 in 2013-14 were published on 13 June 2014 and presented information on the number of charges that were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) by the police in 2013-14 under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 and section 1 and section 6 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.

The following table shows religious aggravation charges that were reported to COPFS in 2013-14 for conduct which was derogatory to each religion under the two pieces of legislation. The final column presents the number of charges per 1,000 members of each, as recorded in the 2011 census.

It is important to note that reported charges only contain information about the nature of the offensive conduct and not about the religious affiliation of the victims of incidents. In 48% of charges, the victim of the conduct was a police officer (an increase from 40% in 2012-13), and in 11% of charges the victim was a worker (decreased from 12% in 2012-13). The occasions when religious abuse targeted people within the ‘general community’, and not a particular individual, represented 26% of all charges (a decrease from 34% in 2012-13).

This suggests that for many of the charges it is unlikely the accused knew the religious affiliation/belief of the victim at the time of incident, and that the attacks were more arbitrary in nature.

Table: Religious aggravation and offensive behaviour at football charges derogatory to religions in Scotland in 2013-14 per 1,000 members

Religious aggravation charges in 2013-14¹

Offensive behaviour at football charges in 2013-14

The religion that the conduct was derogatory towards⁵	Number of charges²	Number of members³	Charges per 1,000 members	Number of charges²	Number of members³	Charges per 1,000 members
Christianity⁴,⁵	540	2,850,199	0.19	57	2,850,199	0.02
of which: Roman Catholicism	367	841,053	0.44	46	841,053	0.05
of which: Protestantism	169	1,717,871	0.10	11	1,717,871	0.01
Judaism	9	5,887	1.53	3	5,887	0.51
Islam	48	76,737	0.62	2	76,737	0.03
Unknown	5	N/A	N/A	0	N/A	N/A
Other	2	N/A	N/A	0	N/A	N/A

Table notes:

1. Information on religious aggravations is taken from Religiously Aggravated Offending in Scotland 2013-14 and information on offensive behaviour at football charges is taken from Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012, published on the Scottish Government website on 13 June 2014.

2. The number of charges refers to the religion that the conduct was derogatory towards and not the number of charges where victims had the relevant affiliation. Information about victims’ religious affiliations is not recorded by the police.

3. Religious group membership information data are taken from the 2011 census. These were published in census release 2A, on 26 September 2013. Previous calculations of the number of incidents per 1,000 members for 2011-12 and 2012-13, presented in response to previous parliamentary questions (S4W-15809 and S4W-11536), were based on membership data as presented in the 2001 census:

http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/StatsBulletin2A.pdf

4. There are four charges in the Christianity total for religious aggravations charges that referred to conduct which was offensive to Christianity in general and were not directed towards Protestantism or Roman Catholicism.

5. Religious group membership data is based on self-reported affiliation in the 2011 census. Christian denominations are presented in the census under three categories: ‘Roman Catholic’, ‘Church of Scotland’ and ‘other Christian.’ For the purpose of this table only ‘Church of Scotland’ membership has been attributed as ‘Protestant’ because ‘other Christian’ may include a mixture of Protestant and non-Protestant denominations. As a consequence this may lead to an under-reporting of the ‘charges per 1,000 members’ in the Protestant category.

Question reference: S4W-22399

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to people with fibromyalgia.

The Scottish Government recognises fibromyalgia can be a distressing and difficult condition to manage. As with all long term conditions we want people living with fibromyalgia to be able to access the best possible care and support wherever possible.

Significant investment in the national improvement of chronic pain services in Scotland represents an important part of our ambition to improve the lives of people living with pain daily. In addition to this programme of work, NHS Scotland provides a number of web based educational and awareness resources providing reliable information and advice, not only to people living with fibromyalgia but to carers, health professionals and the general public to help with the management of chronic pain.

Work is progressing to establish the new Scottish National Residential Pain Management Programme which will see its first patients in January 2015.

Question reference: S4W-21992

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many orchestras are part of BBC Scotland; how many members they have; how many times they have performed in the last year, and how this compares with orchestras that are part of RTÉ in Ireland.

The BBC supports one orchestra in Scotland, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, which is part of BBC Scotland. Data on the BBC website indicate that the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra employs 76 players and is scheduled to play at 26 engagements during 2014. RTÉ supports two orchestras: the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Data on the RTÉ website indicate that the two RTÉ orchestras employ 134 players and are scheduled to play at 52 engagements during 2014.

Question reference: S4O-03431

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what legacy is anticipated from the Commonwealth Games.

Question reference: S4O-03221

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Professor Paul Boyle’s view that Research Councils UK ”strongly support” an independent Scotland remaining part of the network.

Question reference: S4W-20253

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the Scottish broadcasting service of an independent Scotland.

Page 318 of Scotland's Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland sets out how a Scottish broadcasting service would be established as a public service broadcaster in an independent Scotland, building initially on the staff and assets of BBC Scotland. It would begin when the BBC Charter expires at midnight on 31 December 2016. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is part of BBC Scotland under the BBC’s management structure and will become part of the Scottish Broadcasting Service and continue in operation after independence. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and its players are an important part of the critical mass that makes Glasgow such a leading venue for music, and indeed one of the first UNESCO Cities of Music.

Question reference: S4O-03026

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports orchestral music and what it considers the cultural and artistic benefits are of this.

The Scottish Government believes that orchestral music can bring real cultural and artistic benefits to communities across Scotland and we are ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to deliver cultural opportunities whilst promoting cultural excellence.

The Scottish Government directly funds the national companies, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. We also fund Sistema Scotland and Creative Scotland funds a wide range of projects and organisations, including the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-02919

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Question reference: S4O-02768

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the House of Lords amendment to the Energy Bill that removes the Scottish Parliament’s powers in respect of the renewables obligation.

Question reference: S4W-18683

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many overseas students are studying at university in Scotland; how many there were in 2010; whether it considers that the changes in the rules governing international student visas since 2010 have impacted on this and, if so, how.

Data on the number of overseas (i.e. Non-EU) students at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Scotland is produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The latest data is for academic year 2011-12. The total number of overseas students studying at Scottish HEIs increased by 2% from 27,840 in 2010-11 to 28,470 in 2011-12; with overseas entrants increasing by 2% over the same period. These figures demonstrate the appeal of Scotland’s world-class universities in the face of the UK Government’s tightening of student visa criteria. However, it must be noted that although overall entrant numbers have increased, entrants from some countries have declined considerably during this period.

The UK Government has closed the post-study work visa to new students. This change came into effect in April 2012; however it was announced in March 2011. This may therefore have influenced the decision of some overseas students to study in Scotland in 2011-12. In 2011-12, the number of new entrants to Scottish HEIs from India decreased from 1,985 in 2010-11 to 1,330 in 2011-12, a reduction of 33%; and the number of new entrants from Pakistan decreased from 400 in 2010-11 to 270 in 2011-12, a reduction of 32%. These were mostly post-graduate students. It is Scottish Government policy that a post-study work visa would be re-introduced in an independent Scotland to encourage more talented people from around the world to further their education in Scotland, providing income for Scotland's educational institutions and contributing to the local economy and community diversity.