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: S5W-24888

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 23 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority of the figures set out in the Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Delivery Progress Report dated June 2019.

Question reference: S5W-24892

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 23 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23962 by Maree Todd on 18 July 2019, what will be (a) included and (b) excluded in the initial results of the revised ELC census in 2021.

We are planning an individual child level ELC census in May 2021 with the data to be published later in the year. Data will be collected on child characteristics (such as ethnicity, age, disability and sex), and the pattern of provision for children enrolled in funded ELC. More information on the data to be collected is available on the Scottish Government website . What is included or excluded from the published information will depend on data completeness and confidence in the quality of the data received given that this will be the first year that the census will have been conducted in this manner. Any issues identified will be addressed for subsequent releases.

Question reference: S5W-24898

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 23 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which local authority was unable to provide data for the reporting period detailed in the Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Delivery Progress Report dated June 2019; what the reason for this was, and whether it will provide data for inclusion in the next progress report.

Question reference: S5F-03545

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2019

Question to be taken in the Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-03519

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-24794

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 16 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Expert Panel on Environmental Charging and Other Measures.

Question reference: S5W-23979

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 19 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23526 by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 June 2019, what the evidence basis is for the three-month tolerance.

Question reference: S5W-23977

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 19 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23526 by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 June 2019, when the three-month tolerance was introduced, and how long it expects it to be in place for.

Breast screening is delivered in line with expert advice from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have set performance thresholds for breast screening invitation, and uptake and recall rates to reduce breast cancer mortality and ensure breast screening takes place in a timely manner. NHS boards are responsible for implementing the breast screening standards within their board area and should ensure that at least 90% of all eligible women are invited for screening at 36-month intervals following their first invitation, in line with the NHS Breast Screening Programme consolidated standards.

National Services Division, who commission and performance manage the Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) advise that the 12 week tolerance is a mechanism they have developed within the SBSP since the 1990’s in recognition for the need to allow women flexibility in attending screening appointments and account for any unanticipated events e.g extreme weather conditions.

Existing breast screening clinical standards for the provision of 3 yearly screening invitations, appointments and results at all points on the pathway must be adhered to. Delay is monitored locally and reported monthly to National Services Division who commission and manage the programme. Where delays are significant, screening centres are required to submit a robust action plan detailing the initiatives and timescales to reduce delays.

Question reference: S5W-23976

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23526 by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 June 2019, what assurances it can provide that, when NHS boards are running behind the three-month tolerance period, women who will have gone above the screening age during this time will continue to be invited for screening.

As recommended by the UK National Screening Committee, the Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) invites women who are aged between 50 and 70 years, for breast screening in a 3 year cycle. The SBSP uses a national IT system to manage the call and recall of women for breast screening. The IT system includes a safeguard report which identifies any woman reaching her 71st birthday that has not been invited for their final screening and automatically generates an invitation letter to the woman.

Question reference: S5W-23890

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23630 by Derek Mackay on 18 June 2019, whether it will publish a comparison of the year-by-year increase since 2016 in the UK personal allowance and the equivalent increase that would be needed to take the personal allowance to £12,750 by 2021, in line with Scottish Government policy.

Table 1 sets out the path for the UK- wide Personal Allowance since 2016. As this is now £12,500, the Personal Allowance would need to increase by a further £250 to be at £12,750 by 2021.

Table 1 : UK Personal Allowance 2016-17 to 2019-20

	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
Personal Allowance	£11,000	£11,500	£11,850	£12,500
Annual change		4.5%	3.0%	5.5%

Historic income tax rates and allowances (including the Personal Allowance) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-income-tax/income-tax-rates-and-allowances-current-and-past .