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-17968

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many trainee child psychotherapists each NHS board has recruited in 2013, also broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S4W-17959

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours of therapy on average patients who are referred to talking therapies receive.

Question reference: S4O-02554

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what factors it takes into consideration when deciding which stretches of trunk road are appropriate for dualling.

Question reference: S4O-02492

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional accident and emergency consultants and nurses have been recruited under the unscheduled care action plan.

Question reference: S4W-17278

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 2 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publicise its personal footcare guidance and ensure that it is adopted by NHS boards and implemented in full.

The recently published National Footcare Guidance has been issued to all NHS boards in Scotland as well as to the partner organisations involved in its development. In addition, the Allied Health Professionals national lead for footcare will be meeting with podiatry managers from each NHS board over the next few months to provide support with local implementation.

Development of the guidance was an action of the Allied Health Professionals national delivery plan, and as such, monitoring of implementation will form part of NHS board reporting arrangements to Scottish Government.

Question reference: S4W-17226

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16411 by John Swinney on 24 August 2013, how many employees there are in the estate’s 79 buildings.

At 31 August 2013 there were a total of 5,827 people working for the Scottish Government based across the 79 buildings which form the Scottish Government estate. This figure includes permanent, temporary, fixed term, agency workers, consultants, contractors and inward secondees assigned to the Scottish Government Core Directorates. It does not include any people occupying the buildings who are assigned to an agency or other body.

Question reference: S4W-17279

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16411 by John Swinney on 24 August 2013, what the make and model numbers of the defibrillators are and how much each cost.

Question reference: S4W-16686

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 09 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 12 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when its next trade mission to (a) Japan, (b) Brazil and (c) Russia is planned.

Trade missions for the Scottish Government are planned and managed by Scottish Development International (SDI). SDI is a partnership between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. SDI’s next trade mission to Japan is planned for September 2013. SDI’s next trade mission to Brazil is planned for March 2014. SDI currently has no trade missions to Russia planned. Please note that these are subject to change or cancellation and SDI may also plan additional missions.

Question reference: S4W-16446

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered reintroduction projects to support capercaillie populations and, if so, with what result.

A project is currently being led by Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, on behalf of the National Species Reintroduction Forum, which involves a preliminary assessment of the feasibility and desirability of reintroducing a range of species, including capercaillie. The results will be published in early 2014.

Previously, reintroduction or translocation approaches to capercaillie conservation have been considered but not adopted because the Badenoch and Strathspey’s regional subpopulation size exceeds the minimum viable population size of 500 individuals and thus, with continued habitat management, should be self-sustaining. Regrettably none of the populations outwith the core Badenoch and Strathspey population exceed the minimum viable population. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations state that the “threat(s) that caused any previous extinction should be identified and removed or sufficiently reduced”. The precise reasons for capercaillie population declines are not fully understood and so reintroductions outwith the core population have not yet taken place.

Question reference: S4W-16447

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it will consider reintroduction of capercaillie and whether a protocol exists for implementing such reintroductions.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission Re-Introduction Specialist Group has recently published revised guidelines for reintroductions and other types of conservation translocations.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, on behalf of the National Species Reintroduction Forum, is also producing a “Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations” and associated best practice guidance based around the IUCN guidelines. The Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations will be published in early 2014 and will set out the issues that need to be addressed when considering, planning or implementing any sort of conservation translocation, including biological issues (e.g. identifying why a species became extinct in the first place) and socio-economic issues (e.g. addressing the potential opportunities, for, or concerns of, local communities).

The IUCN Species Survival Commission Re-Introduction Specialist Group worked with the World Pheasant Association to produce, in 2009, “Guidelines for the Re-introduction of Galliformes for Conservation Purposes”. SNH expects that any practitioner considering capercaillie reintroduction would use these guidelines, in conjunction with the Scottish Code, to help plan their proposal. Anyone considering reintroducing capercaillie or reinforcing existing capercaillie populations should contact SNH as a licence may be required.