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-17962

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 what steps it has taken since the publication of the Mental Health Strategy for Scotland: 2012-2015 to deliver faster access to psychological therapies.

On 27 August we made the first publication reporting on progress towards the target: Psychological Therapies Waiting Times in Scotland, available on the ISD website. Data will now be published quarterly.

The Scottish Government’s Quality and Efficiency Support Team (QuEST) are carrying out ongoing work to ensure that the right measures are in place to deliver, by providing health boards with a range of support across a number of areas, including quantifying demand and capacity, data analysis and service redesign. They recently held a two day event jointly with NHS Education Scotland (NES) on Improving Efficiency Without Compromising Quality, for staff involved in delivering the target.

Through NES, we continue to work to assess and develop workforce capacity to ensure that a range of staff are equipped to deliver therapies.

Question reference: S4W-17965

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 what recent meetings it has had with See Me regarding its strategic direction.

In meeting Commitment 4 of the Mental Health Strategy to develop the strategic direction of See Me from 2013 onwards, the Scottish Government in collaboration with Comic Relief and with the support of the See Me management group, commissioned an external strategic review of See Me published in February 2013 which recommended the delivery of a re-founded See Me programme.

The task of re-founding See Me was awarded to the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and the Mental Health Foundation (MHF).

The Scottish Government currently provide £1 million per year for this work and Comic Relief will provide additional funds of up to £500,000 per year, making the total budget for a re-founded programme in the region of £1.5 million per year.

In the course of this work, five meetings were held with the See Me management group from February to August 2013. In addition, there is regular communication between Scottish Government, SAMH, the MHF and Comic Relief on this agenda. The next See Me management meeting is scheduled for 29 November 2013 and quarterly thereafter.

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-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.

Question reference: S4W-16445

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 what measures it is undertaking to preserve the number of capercaillie across the country.

Capercaillie conservation has been undertaken for many years through the following initiatives -

The 2001-2002 Capercaillie Challenge Fund,

The 2002–2007 LIFE Nature project “Urgent Conservation Management for Scottish Capercaillie”, and

the 2007-2012 Capercaillie Species Action Framework.

These initiatives included removing and re-routing substantial amounts of deer fencing to reduce collision risks, creating and enhancing the brood habitat, improvements in wider habitat management through thinning forestry plantations, increasing blaeberry, and providing additional ground cover. These initiatives also promoted predator control of foxes and crows and offered advisory work to estates and land managers and produced a guide for forest managers.

Financial support is also available to land managers wishing to conserve capercaillie through the capercaillie package in the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

For their Saving the Scottish Capercaillie project, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has employed two capercaillie project officers who provide advisory support to land managers wishing to conserve capercaillie. These posts are supported by the Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.

In addition to these capercaillie-focussed national conservation projects, there have also been a number of local projects.

Capercaillie are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and there are a suite of Special Protection Areas, designated under the EC Wild Birds Directive, for capercaillie. Due regard is also given to potential impacts on the species through development control processes.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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