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-02090

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 30 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS boards about the way in which funding is allocated for the provision, maintenance and use of hyperbaric chambers.

Question reference: S4W-02163

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 12 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the difference between the figures provided in the Drug and Alcohol Delivery Bulletin of March (£70.6 million) and July 2011 (£65.6 million) in respect of allocations for supporting recovery-focussed frontline drug services and tackling the wider health and social issues associated with alcohol misuse.

The figure for alcohol quoted in the march bulletin represents the total budget for tackling alcohol misuse in 2011-12 (£42 million).

The figure quoted in the july bulletin for alcohol represents the funding allocated to NHS boards in 2011-12 to deliver local services in line with the priorities determined by their local Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (£37 million).

The figure for drugs quoted in both bulletins reflect the allocation to NHS boards in 2011-12 (£28.6 million). The total funding for tackling drugs in 2011-12 is £31.9 million.

Question reference: S4W-01423

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Orkney residents are registered with a NHS dentist and, of them, attend for regular dental check-ups.

The following table shows the numbers and rate of NHS registered Orkney residents as at 31 March 2011, and those participating in the General Dental Service over a two year period up to 31st March 2011.

Number of Orkney residents registered	Registration rate (%)	Number of Orkney residents participating	Participation rate (%)
11,597	58.1	8,157	70.3

Source: ISD Scotland

Note:

Participation is defined as a measure of attendance at an NHS dental practice for treatment, registration or other forms of contact within a 2 year period.

Question reference: S4W-01421

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for registration is with a NHS dentist in (a) Scotland and (b) Orkney.

Question reference: S4W-01422

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Orkney are entitled to free dental care and, of them, are registered with a NHS dentist.

Question reference: S4W-01221

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 22 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its timetable is for introducing the warm homes fund.

Question reference: S4W-01223

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 22 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how the warm homes fund will be targeted to benefit the people most affected by fuel poverty.

Question reference: S4W-01222

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 22 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how the warm homes fund will operate.

Question reference: S4W-00539

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 22 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students applied to the Students Awards Agency for Scotland for payment of their tuition fees in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11.

(a) 142,365 students applied to Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for support in 2009-10.

(b) 145,520 students have so far applied to SAAS for support in 2010-11.

These numbers cover all those who applied for SAAS support and therefore will include a relatively small number of undergraduate students who applied for loan or supplementary grants but not tuition fee support. However, the figures do exclude applications from nursing and midwifery students as SAAS is not responsible for nursing tuition fee payments.

The application session for 2010-11 is not yet complete with students on courses which commenced between April and July 2011 still able to apply for their fees.

Question reference: S4W-00538

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 22 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what reminders were sent to students by the Students Awards Agency for Scotland regarding the deadline for applications for payment of tuition fees in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11 and what the reason is for any difference between these.

(a) In 2009-10 the deadlines for applications were published on the Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) website.

(b) In 2010-11 the deadlines for applications were published on the SAAS website. In addition all continuing students were emailed twice in autumn 2010, to highlight the guarantee date for processing of applications before course commencement and twice in February 2011 to remind them of the deadline for applications. The deadline for applications was also heavily promoted in SAAS literature, by universities and colleges and on the SAAS Facebook and Twitter sites.

The increase in reminders was part of a concerted communications programme designed to encourage students to apply early and to inform them of any changes to the student support package.