Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-02686

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the health secretary last met the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Question reference: S5W-20531

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 12 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it will confirm arrangements for the future provision of the publicly-funded Gourock-Dunoon ferry service, which is currently operating on the town centre-harbour route.

The Gourock Dunoon Ferry Service tender was cancelled today. This decision follows careful consideration of Audit Scotland’s Report on Transport Scotland’s Ferry Services, published on 19 October 2017, which recommended that Transport Scotland should consider the value for money of providing financial support for the route. The decision also reflects recent policy developments aimed at the increased use of public transport, the promotion of active travel and a reduction in vehicle emissions.

Responsibility for the future provision of the ferry service will now transfer to CalMac Ferries Limited with effect from 21 January 2019, when the current contract with Argyll Ferries Limited comes to an end. Thereafter, CalMac will provide a passenger-only service under the terms of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract. This will not include the transport of vehicles, in line with the State aid rules and the European Commission’s Decision of 28 October 2009 on Subsidies to CalMac and NorthLink for maritime transport services in Scotland.

Following the transfer of responsibility to CalMac, further consideration will be given to future vessel and service requirements. Consideration will also be given to improved harbour-side facilities for passengers in future. We will also work with Argyll and Bute Council and Inverclyde Council to identify opportunities to develop the ferry service for active travel purposes, to encourage more foot and cycle traffic to the benefit of the local areas. Discussions will also be held with key stakeholders on the introduction of electric vehicle hubs at both ferry terminals. All this will ensure that the ferry service is best placed to deliver a safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable passenger service into the future.

I will write to key stakeholders later today explaining the reasons for this decision and our plans for the future provision of a passenger-only ferry service on the town-centre harbour route.

Question reference: S5O-02658

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the education secretary has had with the minister for public health regarding CPR training in schools.

The health and education of our young people is a top priority for the Scottish Government. We work very closely across Government departments, and with our partners in education and health delivery to ensure that learning meets the needs of children and young people.

Under Curriculum for Excellence, education authorities and individual schools have the flexibility to decide whether they wish to provide defibrillators and cardiopulmonary resuscitation learning opportunities. I am aware that a number of local authorities have already committed to championing and promoting the learning of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in their schools.

Question reference: S5O-02626

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement the Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations has undertaken with port authorities regarding the implications of Brexit.

Question reference: S5W-18855

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 27 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect the printing industry.

In relation to the Print Industry, Scottish Government has two Frameworks in place. The new Scottish Government Publishing, Print, Design and Associated Services will utilise an extensive supply chain across Scotland, including Printers, to help deliver its services. This currently includes 114 SMEs, 89 of which are Scottish companies. We have also recently issued a Prior Information Notice for our Print and Associated Services Framework relet. This is currently a multi-supplier Framework, of which 10 of the 12 Suppliers are Scottish Printing SMEs. We expect to issue an Invitation To Tender in Autumn 2018, with an anticipated award early 2019.

To support the skills needs within the Print Industry, Proskills has developed a Modern Apprenticeship at two different levels to help companies develop their workforce and contribute to business and economic growth.

The Scottish Government through its enterprise agencies also continue to support industry by offering a broad range of services to help businesses in Scotland develop and grow. This includes support towards innovation and services to help businesses maintain competitive capability and productivity.

Question reference: S5F-02649

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2018

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to help improve recycling rates and the quality of recycling.

Question reference: S5W-17322

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09647 by Shona Robison on 30 June 2017, when it will complete its work on the recommendations made by the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group in its report on the regulation of independent healthcare at Phase 2, and when it will implement these.

Evidence to suggest that treatments that cause harm are being provided by non-medical professionals is so far anecdotal. The Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group (SCIEG) is continuing to work with a health researcher and has met with concerned medical professionals who have agreed to provide information on where these services are being offered.

It is only when this scoping work has been completed that the Scottish Government will be able to give a view on the most appropriate and effective means to take forward The Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group’s phase 2 recommendations.

Question reference: S5W-17654

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have been (a) built and (b) refurbished in each local authority area in each year since 2007.

Prior to 2009-10 local authorities were not asked to specify whether a school was built or refurbished and information for 2007-08 and 2008-09 is outlined in table 1. In 2009-10 this information was collected for the first time, however, not all schools were categorised as being built or refurbished and information for 2009-10 is therefore presented in a separate table, table 2. Table 3 and 4 outline the number of schools that were built and substantially refurbished in each local authority between 2010-11 and 2016-17, respectively.

Table 1: Number of schools which have been built or substantially refurbished 1 in the financial years 2007-08 & 2008-09 by local authority
	Built or substantially refurbished 2
	2007-08	2008-09
Aberdeen City	0	1
Aberdeenshire	4	1
Angus	7	4
Argyll & Bute	9	1
Clackmannanshire	1	2
Dumfries & Galloway	0	4
Dundee City	0	6
East Ayrshire	3	6
East Dunbartonshire	0	1
East Lothian	0	5
East Renfrewshire	0	0
Edinburgh, City of	4	6
Eilean Siar	0	0
Falkirk	0	5
Fife	6	0
Glasgow City	2	9
Highland	4	6
Inverclyde	1	3
Midlothian	8	0
Moray	0	0
North Ayrshire	7	1
North Lanarkshire	9	5
Orkney Islands	0	1
Perth & Kinross	0	2
Renfrewshire	5	5
Scottish Borders	2	3
Shetland Islands	0	0
South Ayrshire	1	8
South Lanarkshire	14	12
Stirling	6	7
West Dunbartonshire	0	0
West Lothian	0	2
Total	93	106
1. Only builds or refurbishments with a cost of £500,000 or more for primary and ‎ £1 million or more for secondary and special schools are included
2. Information specifying whether a school was built or refurbished is not available until 2009-10

Table 2: Number of schools which have been built or substantially refurbished 1 in the financial year 2009-10 by local authority
	Built	Substantially refurbished	Not specified 2
Aberdeen City	6	0	0
Aberdeenshire	0	0	0
Angus	2	0	0
Argyll & Bute	0	0	0
Clackmannanshire	1	0	0
Dumfries & Galloway	10	1	0
Dundee City	2	0	0
East Ayrshire	0	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	6	1	0
East Lothian	0	1	0
East Renfrewshire	0	1	0
Edinburgh, City of	6	0	1
Eilean Siar	0	0	0
Falkirk	2	2	0
Fife	0	2	0
Glasgow City	4	2	1
Highland	1	6	1
Inverclyde	2	0	0
Midlothian	3	0	0
Moray	0	0	0
North Ayrshire	0	0	0
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0
Orkney Islands	0	1	0
Perth & Kinross	6	2	1
Renfrewshire	0	3	0
Scottish Borders	2	1	0
Shetland Islands	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	0	0	0
South Lanarkshire	9	4	0
Stirling	0	1	0
West Dunbartonshire	1	0	2
West Lothian	2	3	1
Total	65	31	7
1. Only builds or refurbishments with a cost of £500,000 or more for primary and ‎ £1 million or more for secondary and special schools are included
2. The data collected did not distinguish whether it was a new build or a refurbishment

Table 3: Number of schools which have been built 1 in the financial years 2010-11 to 2016-17 by local authority
	Built
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Aberdeen City	2	1	0	0	0	1	2
Aberdeenshire	0	0	0	0	1	3	0
Angus	1	0	0	0	0	1	3
Argyll & Bute	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Dumfries & Galloway	3	0	1	1	1	0	0
Dundee City	1	1	1	2	0	0	2
East Ayrshire	0	0	5	1	0	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
East Lothian	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Edinburgh, City of	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Eilean Siar	0	3	4	0	0	0	0
Falkirk	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fife	0	1	1	1	1	0	3
Glasgow City	2	2	2	0	1	0	3
Highland	0	0	3	0	0	5	2
Inverclyde	0	2	0	3	0	0	1
Midlothian	0	0	1	1	0	0	2
Moray	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
North Ayrshire	0	0	1	0	1	0	2
North Lanarkshire	0	5	4	0	0	1	1
Orkney Islands	0	0	1	1	0	0	1
Perth & Kinross	2	1	0	0	1	2	1
Renfrewshire	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
Scottish Borders	0	0	1	1	0	0	1
Shetland Islands	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	1	0	0	1	0	0	2
South Lanarkshire	14	11	11	16	14	4	5
Stirling	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
West Dunbartonshire	3	2	0	1	0	0	3
West Lothian	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Total	31	33	39	31	22	19	39
1. Only builds with a cost of £500,000 or more for primary and £1 million or more for secondary and special schools are included

Table 4: Number of schools which have been substantially refurbished 1 in the financial years 2010-11 to 2016-17 by local authority
	Substantially refurbished
	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Aberdeen City	1	0	0	1	0	0	1
Aberdeenshire	1	0	0	0	4	3	2
Angus	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Argyll & Bute	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dumfries & Galloway	2	0	3	5	1	2	1
Dundee City	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
East Ayrshire	0	0	3	0	1	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Lothian	2	0	0	2	0	1	2
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Edinburgh, City of	0	0	0	6	4	8	6
Eilean Siar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Falkirk	0	0	1	0	0	2	1
Fife	5	1	2	1	0	1	4
Glasgow City	1	1	0	2	43	0	27
Highland	0	0	1	2	2	0	3
Inverclyde	0	1	3	2	0	2	1
Midlothian	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Moray	0	0	0	0	1	1	4
North Ayrshire	3	2	0	2	0	1	0
North Lanarkshire	0	0	4	0	0	1	1
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Perth & Kinross	0	0	1	3	1	0	1
Renfrewshire	0	1	2	0	0	0	0
Scottish Borders	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
South Ayrshire	1	1	0	3	2	0	0
South Lanarkshire	1	0	1	0	0	1	2
Stirling	1	1	0	1	0	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
West Lothian	3	3	0	0	0	0	2
Total	24	13	21	32	59	25	61
1. Only refurbishments with a cost of £500,000 or more for primary and £1 million or more for secondary and special schools are included

Question reference: S5W-17536

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to exam boards regarding whether national entitlement cards are an acceptable form of photographic identification when sitting exams.

The Scottish Government does not provide guidance to Scottish examination boards on what photographic identification is required when sitting exams. This is an operational matter for those organisations.

The National Entitlement Card is Scotland's National Smartcard. It makes it easier for citizens to access various public services and facilities, discounts and is an accredited proof-of-age card. However, please note that it is not a form of photographic identification.

Question reference: S5W-17546

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff in each NHS board have outstanding employment issues relating to Agenda for Change contracts.

Chamber and committees