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: S4W-04390

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to fund improvements to the reception area at HMP Barlinnie.

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

This was one of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons recommendations in his generally very favourable Inspection Report following his inspection of Barlinnie in May 2011.

The Chief Inspector recommended that a new reception facility for prisoners should be created given as he said the poor physical conditions and the large number of prisoner movements at Barlinnie. Whilst SPS accepts that the position in the reception area is far from ideal, the opening of Low Moss in 2012 will help to alleviate some of issues identified and our view is that there are other higher priority areas for investment within Barlinnie to which resources should be directed.

The Chief inspector also recommended that in the light of the opening of HMP Low Moss, SPS should review the long-term future of HMP Barlinnie and then plan and implement the re-development of the prison as soon as possible. We have committed to taking forward work to plan the replacement of HMP Barlinnie facilities beyond the current spending review period.

Question reference: S4O-00474

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have used the Independent Learning Account in the last financial year.

Question reference: S4W-04071

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 25 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 330 school building projects completed during the last parliamentary session were planned or started before May 2007.

On election, the responsibility for the provision of funding for school building projects fell to the new Government. As a result the Government from 2007 was responsible for the 330 school building projects.

Under this Government, the annual revenue support grant paid to local authorities for schools PFI or NPD projects rose from £17.6 million in 2006-07 to over £153 million by 2010-11. In addition, the average annual capital expenditure on school buildings rose from £270.4 million in the four years prior to May 2007 to £432.4 million in the following three years, an increase of 60%.

Question reference: S4W-03637

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to standardise the training of foster carers under the remit of Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-00393

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons.

Question reference: S4W-03722

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Bruce Crawford on 9 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the title of the First Minister would be in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-03658

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is from diagnosis of lupus to treatment and what specialist lupus services there are.

Information regarding the time from diagnosis to treatment is not held centrally. Organising appointments and scheduling admissions to hospitals are very much local and operational matters for NHS boards. The Scottish Government has, however, set out the wider policy within which it expects NHS Scotland to deliver services. Part of that is ensuring that all patients have swift access to the full range of services they need from the NHS. Within the framework of national priorities and guidance it is for NHS boards to determine local service needs and provide or obtain rheumatology services to meet those needs.

Effective management of lupus relies on the expertise of many specialists, including rheumatologists, nephrologists, dermatologists, neurologists, gastroenterologists, respiratory physicians and cardiologists, and their respective supporting investigative and administrative teams. Clinicians from across Scotland have therefore formed the Scottish Lupus Exchange (SLEx). It brings together the clinicians in the various disciplines to ensure that, through working collaboratively, people living with lupus receive the care and support they need as close to home as possible.

We have provided pump priming funding to support the development of a rheumatology Managed Clinical Network in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. While its initial focus will be on Rheumatoid Arthritis, we expect that, over time, its work will extend to other conditions, including lupus.

Question reference: S4W-03634

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much is spent on training foster carers by each local authority.

Question reference: S4W-03635

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many foster carers are in place and how many new foster carers have been recruited in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-03657

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland have lupus.