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-02760

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of public sector social care staff are trade union members, and what information it has regarding social care staff in the voluntary and private sectors.

Question reference: S5W-02606

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many times planning permission has been given for the drilling of boreholes solely for the purpose of core sampling for shale and coal bed methane (a) prior to and (b) since the moratorium on fracking for shale gas.

Question reference: S5W-02753

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector social care staff have received palliative care training, and what information it has regarding social care staff in the voluntary and private sectors.

Question reference: S5W-02755

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to improve palliative training for (a) public sector social care staff, (b) GPs and (c) other NHS staff.

In December 2015 Scottish Government published the Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care (SFA) which sets out a range of commitments to help achieve our vision that by 2021 everyone who needs palliative and end of life care will have access to it.

One of the commitments set out in the SFA is to support the workforce by commissioning NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council to develop a new palliative and end of life care Educational Framework.

The scope of the framework will include all workers in health and social care across public, third and independent sectors, including GPs, who may be involved or come in contact with people with palliative care needs, their families and carers.

Question reference: S5W-02605

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the drilling of boreholes solely for the purpose of core sampling to assess shale and coal bed methane resource requires planning permission at all times.

In line with the Scottish Government’s evidence-led approach to unconventional oil and gas, only boreholes to extract core samples are not included in the moratorium. Boreholes for test fracking or hydrocarbon flow testing are prohibited under the terms of the moratorium. Core sampling allows analysis of data including stratigraphy and rock properties.

Any proposal for a borehole would also need to demonstrate that it will be undertaken in collaboration with an independent research body (such as the British Geological Survey) or academic institution.

A company seeking to drill a borehole to acquire a core sample would also need to obtain all the necessary regulatory consents. These would include planning permission from the relevant planning authority and an environmental permit from SEPA. It would then be for regulators to determine whether or not the site is acceptable and whether drilling should be allowed.

Question reference: S5W-02617

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to include all (a) private and (b) public contractors that have been contracted by public bodies.

Question reference: S5W-02614

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) number and (b) types of exemption it has used in each year under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to justify not providing the information that was requested.

Breakdowns of the number and types of exemption applied by the Scottish Government before 2013 is available from the FOI Annual Reports which are published on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About/Information/FOI/Reporting. For 2013 onwards, this information is available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/ScottishPublicAuthorities/StatisticsCollection.aspx

Question reference: S5W-02608

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has commissioned to assess its performance in adhering to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Question reference: S5W-02609

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 have been received each year by (a) it and (b) all public authorities, also broken down by how many were answered within 20 days.

Information about the number of requests made to the Scottish Government, and how many were answered within 20 working days, is available from the FOI Annual Reports which are published on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About/Information/FOI/Reporting.

Similar information about requests made to other public authorities is published on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/ScottishPublicAuthorities/StatisticsCollection.aspx

Question reference: S5W-02612

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests it has received each year under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 have been subject to a review.