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: S4O-05565

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed camping management by-laws for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Question reference: S4O-05544

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy considers that the draft budget for 2016-17 provides adequate resources for general practice.

Question reference: S4W-29496

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing plans on delivering indoor smoke-free prison facilities.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

“A ‘National Tobacco Strategy Workstream’ has been convened to provide strategic leadership in the development of a joint action plan detailing how indoor smoke-free prisons facilities will be delivered. The workstream has developed a comprehensive evidence-informed options paper, which considers available national and international research and policy evaluation. The outcome of the options paper will inform the proposed action plan (including timescales) to deliver indoor smoke-free prison facilities. Following final consultation, this paper will shortly be submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice for his consideration.

There are designated no smoking units within HMP Castle Huntly, HMYOI Polmont (accommodation for 16 and 17 year old is smoke-free because it is illegal to sell tobacco to persons under 18 years old), and HMP and YOI Cornton Vale. Additionally, the mother and baby unit and mother and baby independent living unit within HMP and YOI Cornton Vale are designated no smoking.”

Question reference: S4W-29303

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting time is in each NHS board for people with dementia to receive the one year of post-diagnostic support outlined in the national dementia strategy.

Question reference: S4W-29302

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for people with dementia to receive the one year of post-diagnostic support outlined in the national dementia strategy.

Question reference: S4W-29300

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many link workers are in post in each NHS board to deliver the commitment in the national dementia strategy for one year’s post-diagnostic support for people with dementia.

Question reference: S4W-29301

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with dementia are on a waiting list to receive the one year of post-diagnostic support outlined in the national dementia strategy.

Question reference: S4O-05270

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Water report into the contamination incident in North Lanarkshire in June 2015 that affected 6,000 households will be published.

Question reference: S4W-29037

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 11 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how often each of the three working groups examining the Strategic Review of Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs (the Doran Review) have met; when they will next meet; whether they work independently of each other, and how their work is evaluated.

Workstream 1, which provides support to those current national grant recipients, have met with the seven grant-aided special schools (GASS) collectively one to two times a year on request (this is an open invitation so GASS can request additional meetings if required). The last meeting was in March 2015. In addition, a senior Scottish Government official has attended GASS board meetings to provide progress updates and answer questions regarding the process.

Workstream 2, the national needs analysis group, met a total of four times, the last meeting was held on 13 March 2014. Following this last meeting the group put forward a proposal to the Doran project board for the national needs analysis research to be commissioned from an external contractor. This proposal was agreed by the Doran project board and the report of the needs analysis research has been published and is available on the Scottish Government website through the Doran Review webpages. Following the completion of this work, it was agreed by the Doran project board to close this workstream on 14 May 2015.

Workstream 3 have met a total of 10 times, prior to the setting up of the new National Commissioning Group for Education Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs. This new national commissioning group will take forward the work of setting up a new national strategic commissioning model/process, and it was therefore agreed by the Doran project board (in October 2015), to close workstream 3. The next meeting of the new national commissioning group is due to take place on 20 January 2016.

Workstream 4 is the group responsible for supporting local authorities and their partners to develop a local strategic commissioning approach to services for children and young people with complex additional support needs. They have met six times and are next due to meet in January/February 2016.

All of these groups are responsible to the Doran project board and provide update reports (called workstream highlight reports) which inform the discussion at Doran project board meetings. The evaluation of the groups work consists of self-evaluation through the workstream project highlight reports and progress against the project key milestones. Then there is the evaluation and agreement of the Doran project board, as well as each member of the project board reporting back to the wider stakeholder communities they represent.

The Doran project board has met 13 times since being set up on 24 June 2013 and is next due to meet on 3 February 2016.

Finally, Peter Doran's review, the Scottish Government response to the report and all the papers from the Doran project board and Doran project workstream groups are published on the Scottish Government website through the Doran Review webpage.

Question reference: S4W-29042

Asked by: Siobhan McMahon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 11 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its funding plans are beyond 2017 for grant-aided schools for children with additional support needs.

We do not yet know the outcome of the strategic commissioning process and therefore, at this point in time, cannot confirm what funding arrangements will be for the current grant-aided special schools (GASS). However, there is a commitment that no child currently benefiting from funding should be adversely affected and that this will need to form part of the new national commissioning group’s recommendations.

The Scottish Government and the Doran project board are working closely with all of the seven GASS to ensure they receive the support to help them with the transition to the new strategic commissioning model. The Doran project board set up workstream 1 to provide support to those current recipients of the national grant funding.

Part of that support has been for the Scottish Government, at the request of the seven GASS, to fund a GASS researcher post. This post has been funded for 2014-15 and 2015-16.

The introduction of a strategic commissioning funding model to fund national education services for children and young people with complex additional support needs does not change the legislation or arrangements for the placing of pupils in schools, either in local authority schools or into independent schools or GASS, and therefore decisions about placements will continue to be made by education authorities, as is appropriate, given that they have responsibility for delivering the duty to provide education for children and young people in their area.

Peter Doran’s review, the Scottish Government response to the report and all the papers from the Doran project board and Doran project workstreams are published on the Scottish Government website through the Doran Review webpages.