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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2295 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-00112

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS Lothian does not end waiting times guarantees.

Question reference: S5W-00076

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of how many Scottish police officers were members of the (a) Special Demonstrations Squad and (b) National Public Order Intelligence Unit.

Question reference: S5W-00082

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is of public bodies and agencies not minuting meetings because on political sensitivities.

Question reference: S5W-00080

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP surgeries have a shortage of GPs.

Numbers of vacancies for GP posts are not held centrally as this is a matter for individual independent GP contractors as employers. However, as part of the move towards better quality more regular and more consistent information, a workforce survey has been undertaken and the results will be published on 14 June 2016.

In addition, in Scotland we are transforming primary care, supported by £85 million of extra investment to put in place long-term, sustainable change within GP services that can better meet changing needs and demands.

We have also pledged to increase GP training places for medical students from 300 to 400 a year and are expanding schemes to encourage trained GPs to return to practice in the NHS. We are working closely with the British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs to reduce workload, including our pioneering agreement to abolish the bureaucratic system of GP payments, and work towards a brand new Scottish GP contract from 2017 that will make primary care services fit for the future. A £20 million package to support GPs will also help ease pressures on workload in the short term, and contribute to putting general practice on a more long-term sustainable footing.

Question reference: S5W-00075

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there should be a Scottish inquiry into undercover policing.

Question reference: S5W-00083

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authority jobs have been lost over the last 10 years, not including NHS staff transferred to joint boards.

Information on local government job losses is not held centrally.

Information on local government employment over the last 10 years is published in tables as part of the National Statistics Publication Public Sector Employment in Scotland. The most recent information is for Q4 2015. The tables can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment/PSEwebtables

The information for local government employment can be found in Table 8: Local Government Employment by Staffing Group.

Question reference: S5W-00074

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had a response from the Home Secretary regarding its request for the Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing to be extended to cover Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-00078

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it has learned from the outcome of the Hillsborough inquests.

Question reference: S5W-00079

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in light of the outcome of the Hillsborough inquests, it will reconsider the call for a review of the policing and convictions of miners arrested in Scotland during the 1984-85 miners' strike.

I refer the member to my answer to the question S4O-04044 on 25 February 2015.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has no plans to hold an inquiry, either into the conduct of the police or individual criminal convictions. That does not prevent an individual from contacting the Chief Constable of Police Scotland or contacting the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission to ask them to consider complaints.

Question reference: S5W-00077

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of how many Scottish citizens were monitored by the (a) Special Demonstrations Squad and (b) National Public Order Intelligence Unit.