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-03314

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement ministers will have in the consultation process with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on the future of ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

Should the clinical review result in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde making formal proposals to change current services, the health board will need to appropriately engage local stakeholders in line with national guidance (Informing, Engaging and Consulting People in Developing Health and Community Care Services - February, 2010). The guidance can be accessed at the following link:

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2010_04.pdf

In line with this guidance, should any NHS board proposals be considered to constitute major service change, they must be subject to full, formal public consultation and, ultimately, ministerial approval.

Question reference: S4W-03313

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been advised on the weighting to be given to clinical factors in considering the future of ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are currently in the early stages of a clinical review of the inpatient paediatric services delivered from Ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. All NHS boards keep their services under review to ensure that they are consistent with national policy and guidelines and, most importantly, that they continue to provide high quality services for the benefit of local patients.

Question reference: S4W-03315

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the future of general services at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

Question reference: S4O-00262

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on the delivery of a family nurse partnership.

Question reference: S4O-00174

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport regarding Fastlink.

Question reference: S4O-00166

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it encourages further education establishments to collaborate on course choices across the country.

Question reference: S4W-00729

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it can provide to Regenersis, based in Inchinnan, in light of reports that staff might be made redundant as a result of its repair contract with Hutchison 3G UK not being renewed.

Officials from Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise (SE) have been working closely with local management at the Regenersis plant at Inchinnan for many years providing a broad range of support. Since this announcement, officials have been in almost daily contact with the company and a meeting was held on 8 June involving local management and senior officials from both SE and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to explore the potential for further public sector support to assist the company access and compete successfully for additional business within the mobile communications sector. A number of areas were identified by officials where support could be provided:

(i) Business efficiency: a meeting with local management will be held within the next week to consider a wider review expanding on current Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service activity at Inchinnan;

(ii) Sales and marketing: a meeting is being arranged with the Regenersis Group Sales Director to look at options to provide specialist assistance and research;

(iii) Training: a meeting is being arranged to assess requirements including areas for making the company more competitive in order to secure new contracts, and

(iv) Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE): SDS officials stand ready to work closely with Regenersis as the situation develops and initiate PACE activity if and when required.

A dedicated team of officials will work with Regenersis on these areas to assist the company in seeking new work and developing its business in Inchinnan.

Question reference: S4W-01391

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Bruce Crawford on 29 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to revise the memorandum of understanding between the UK Government, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On 8 June 2011, the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth and I attended a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee (Plenary), which included representatives from the UK Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. This was the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee since the formation of the new administrations after the elections to the devolved legislatures on 5 May 2011.

The meeting agreed amendments to the memorandum of understanding providing for additions to the dispute-avoidance and resolution protocol. The amendments would allow the Joint Ministerial Committee to commission from an agreed, independent third party analysis of issues relating to unresolved disagreements and disputes.

I am placing a copy of the revised memorandum of understanding in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 53001).

Question reference: S4F-00091

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 June 2011

To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government on the issue of borrowing powers.

Question reference: S4O-00097

Asked by: Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether procedures are in place to ensure that NHS medical staff seek a full employment history for all new mesothelioma cases.