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: S5O-00072

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact reductions in local government budgets are having on communities.

Question reference: S5W-00603

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the UK Government or Sir Christopher Pitchford to provide the list of over 100 Police officers who are alleged to have worked for the Special Demonstration Squad, given that Police Scotland officers and secondees may have been employed and, if so, whether it will publish the names listed.

Question reference: S5W-00604

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the UK Government or Sir Christopher Pitchford how many undercover officers were working for the Special Demonstration Squad and National Public Order Intelligence Unit, given that Police Scotland officers and secondees may have been employed and, if so, whether it will publish the details.

Question reference: S5W-00336

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the Home Secretary (a) how many and (b) which Scottish social justice and environmental campaigns were targeted by the Special Demonstration Squad and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit.

Question reference: S5W-00499

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the rights and views of the child at child contact centres are listened to prior to them seeing their parents.

Many of those who use contact centres will have been referred there by the courts. 78% of all referrals to Relationships Scotland’s child contact centres come from the Scottish courts or solicitors. The relevant legislation when a court is considering a contact case is section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. This provides that when considering whether or not to make an order, the court shall regard the welfare of the child concerned as its paramount consideration. It also provides that the court, taking account of the child’s age and maturity, shall, so far as practicable, give the child an opportunity to express views and shall have regard to any views the child expresses. There is a presumption that a child aged 12 or above is of sufficient age and maturity to form a view.

Question reference: S5W-00496

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what regulatory controls there are there for child contact centres.

Child contact centres are not a regulated service. However, all of Relationships Scotland’s child contact centres operate within agreed national standards and are subject to quality assurance inspections.

The Relationships Scotland Child Contact Centre Committee oversees the workings of its child contact centres. Its Practitioners’ Forum considers issues from centres and learns from those experiences in order to shape and update policies and procedures. Full risk assessments, in line with Relationships Scotland national policies and procedures, are carried out in all cases prior to any contact taking place, and continual monitoring of risk is carried out at all times in each case.

Relationships Scotland also undertakes regular quality assurance inspections of all of its member services, which fully incorporates its child contact centres. All member services have to pass quality assurance assessment visits to remain in membership.

Question reference: S5W-00497

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what minimum training is expected for people who work in child contact centres.

Question reference: S5W-00495

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the last time a cabinet secretary or minister visited a child contact centre.

Question reference: S5W-00491

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many times the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a medical device alert to healthcare professionals regarding polypropylene mesh devices.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed that it has not issued a medical device alert regarding polypropylene mesh implants. MHRA has stated that it continues to monitor and evaluate the safety and performance of these devices; they have not identified a robust body of evidence indicating any polypropylene mesh implants are unsafe requiring them to initiate any enforcement action against manufacturers in the UK under the European medical device regulations, and to the best of their knowledge neither has any other EU country or worldwide regulator.

Question reference: S5W-00492

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many times it has met the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency since October 2015.