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-15751

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 27 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it collects regarding foodbanks.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect information on food banks. However, we are aware that the Trussell Trust, a key provider of food aid in the UK, is operating 17 food banks in Scotland with a further 18 in development. In the last 12 months, the Trussell Trust reports that they had more than 14,000 referrals to their food banks in Scotland. It is important to note, however, that the Trussell Trust is only one of many different providers of food aid. Currently, the Scottish Government is exploring the feasibility of routinely monitoring food-aid provision and demand in Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-02296

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on college mergers in Glasgow.

Question reference: S4W-15553

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency proposal to regulate electronic cigarettes as medicines and what discussions it has had with the (a) agency with regard to this matter and (b) UK Government on whether the proposals are compliant with the EU directive on medicinal products for human use.

The regulation of medicines is a reserved matter. As set out in our Tobacco Control Strategy, Creating a Tobacco Free Generation, following the announcement of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency on 12 June to regulate Electronic Cigarettes as medicines, we will now consider what further advice may be required for the benefit of public health in Scotland.

The UK Government has sought the views of the Scottish Government and the other Devolved Administrations in preparing a response to the proposals for a new European Commission Tobacco Products Directive. The Minister for Public Health last wrote to the UK Public Health Minister, Anna Soubry MP, about the proposal’s recommendation on Nicotine Containing Products on 23 May.

Question reference: S4W-15393

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it or its agencies provided to O2 when it established the Skypark call centre facility in Glasgow and what conditions were attached.

O2 was offered a regional selective assistance grant of £7,000,000 in 2005 to help attract the project to Glasgow rather than competing locations in Ireland. This was for a project that would create 1,522 jobs and involve investment by the company of £13,271,000.

By the end of the project, O2 had invested £13,762,000 and created 1,330 new jobs. £6,100,000 of the grant was paid.

The terms and conditions of the grant required the company to retain the assets and jobs associated with the grant until April 2011.

Question reference: S4W-15208

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 7 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have increased their funding for discretionary housing payments to the maximum level of 2.5 times the contribution from the UK Government.

Question reference: S4W-15209

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 7 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it is helping local authorities to maximise the budgets available for discretionary housing payments.

Question reference: S4W-15207

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 7 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what support is available via local authority discretionary housing payments for social tenants affected by the under-occupancy charge.

The UK Government has allocated £10 million to Scottish local authorities for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) for 2013-14, constituting 6.5% of the total GB allocation. This is intended to cover reforms to housing benefit in the private and social rented sectors.

Our analysis indicates that this will be insufficient to deal with what DWP terms “hard cases” arising from housing benefit reform. For example, 79% of households affected by the under occupancy charge contain an adult with a recognised disability. Our analysis is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/supply-demand/chma/Benefitchanges.

In addition the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Association of Local Authority Housing Officers have jointly developed a questionnaire for local authorities to help assess the on-going stress impact of housing benefit changes on local authorities and Registered Social Landlords. This incorporates questions on DHPs and was issued on 24 May 2013.

Question reference: S4W-15031

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of GPs in (a) each NHS board area and (b) Scotland is contracted for NHS work under (i) the General Medical Services contract, (ii) a variation of the General Medical Services contract or (iii) an arrangement other than the General Medical Services contract.

Figures showing the number of GPs contracted to work in Scottish General Medical Practices, broken down by NHS board and practice contract type, can be found in Table 1.

Table 1 – The number of GPs contracted to work in Scottish General Practices, broken down by NHS board and practice contract type at 1 April 2013

NHS Board Area	17J (Old GMS)	17C (Old PMS)	2c and Admin
Ayrshire and Arran	269	46	-
Borders	103	11	-
Dumfries and Galloway	144	7	-
Fife	229	30	6
Forth Valley	228	22	5
Grampian	426	80	38
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	1,012	45	11
Highland	370	4	23
Lanarkshire	375	27	4
Lothian	644	154	22
Orkney	18	3	6
Shetland		16	13
Tayside	378	2	4
Western Isles	11	25	-
Scotland	4,173	470	121

Question reference: S4W-15030

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the Welsh Assembly Government, (b) the Northern Ireland Executive and (c) COSLA in relation to the General Medical Services contract and welfare reform.

Question reference: S4W-15027

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the General Medical Services contract to be fit for purpose in respect of the interaction between GPs and the benefits system.

GPs, through the UK negotiated General Medical Services (GMS) contract are statutorily required to provide certain medical certificates which include certificates such as the Med 3 and the statements contained in the Personal Independence payment and Attendance Allowance claim pack.

Provision by GPs of medical information via factual reports to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in support of benefit applications are usually paid for by a private arrangement with DWP under legislation reserved to the UK Government.