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-18388

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on awarding grants or funding to organisations that have been found by an employment tribunal to have discriminated against, harassed, or victimised an employee due to the employee’s gender.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual provides guidance on accountability arrangements for the use of public resources, such as grant payments. It requires that certain conditions should be satisfied before grant funding is awarded, including the standing and relevant experience / expertise of the prospective recipient and any delivery partners.

The Manual sets out that; ‘Grant funding provided by the SG must be subject to the lead business area being satisfied as to the standing and relevant experience / expertise of the recipient and any delivery partners.’

Workers have the right to attend their work without fear of harassment, bullying or physical harm, and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect at all times. Therefore, we would also expect any recipients of Scottish Government funding or grants to have in place robust governance processes that protect individuals’ health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace.

We are fully committed to Fair Work and endorse the vision set by the Fair Work Convention for fair work to be embedded in all workplaces by 2025. To that end, we have committed to publishing a Fair Work Action Plan before the end of this year. Legislative powers of the labour market are reserved but the action plan will set out how we plan to use the levers we do have to deliver Fair Work in workplaces across Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-02377

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the reported proposed disposal of 24 Police Scotland buildings, and whether there are plans to close any more.

As responsibility for the police estate sits with the Scottish Police Authority, the Authority considered and agreed to the disposal of 49 unused Police Scotland properties at a public Board meeting on 2 May 2018.

The Scottish Government understands that 31 unused Police Scotland properties are currently being marketed for sale. Consideration of future plans for the Police Scotland estate are for the Scottish Police Authority.

Question reference: S5W-18509

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12099 by Maureen Watt on 26 October 2017, what its response is to the recent report by the Children's Society, which states that a fifth of girls in the UK have self-harmed.

Although this is a UK-wide report, we are aware that levels of self-harm are higher in girls than boys in Scotland and it is unacceptable that anyone should feel this way. We want anyone who may be at risk of self-harm to be able to get the help they need quickly – ask once, get help fast.

We are taking forward fundamental improvements to the whole system to achieve this, including establishing a Task Force chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coia, and the Youth Commission on Mental Health. The Youth Commissioners have also been invited to be co-chairs of the Task Force, ensuring young people’s voices are at the heart of these reforms.

All of this work together will help make a real and tangible difference to the support available to our young people, including those at risk of self-harm.

Question reference: S5W-18515

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the last three years were on NHS waiting lists for mental health treatment where the waiting time target was exceeded and, of these, what information it holds how many paid for private mental health counselling during the period.

The Scottish Government has figures on people waiting for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and Psychological Therapies, but not on people who have paid for private mental health counselling.

For CAMHS in the last 3 years:

Year	Number of patients seen who had waited over 18 weeks
2016	3,407
2017	3,577
2018 (up to end June)	2,659

For Psychological Therapies the statistics are in development and only the last 3 quarters are considered comparable:

Quarter	Number of patients seen who had waited over 18 weeks
October-December 2017	3,581
January-March 2018	3,389
April-June 2018	4,089

Question reference: S5W-18575

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much each rape crisis centre will be given in each of the next three years from the additional £1.5 million that was announced in the Programme for Government; what criteria it will use to determine how this will be allocated, and whether it will set out how each allocation has been determined.

Question reference: S5W-18574

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the remaining £500,000 of additional funding for survivors of rape and sexual abuse, which was announced in the Programme for Government, will be distributed.

Question reference: S5W-18532

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of people who have paid for private mental health counselling in the last three years.

Question reference: S5W-18392

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S5W-17888 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 17 August 2018, what date the third specialist endometriosis centre is expected to open.

Question reference: S5W-18394

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S5W-17888 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 17 August 2018, whether the existing specialist endometriosis centres in Aberdeen and Edinburgh include experts in pain management and fertility.

Question reference: S5W-18205

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 10 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendation in the report, Addressing Race Equality: The Way Forward, by its Independent Race Equality Adviser, what consideration it has given to instructing Directors of Service to review previous initiatives that are relevant to delivering race equality with a view to identifying blockages to implementation and learning lessons from them.

The Race Equality Action Plan Programme Board was established to oversee the implementation of the Race Equality Action Plan. The first meeting of the Programme Board was held on 22 August 2018, attended by the Independent Race Equality Advisor. At the first meeting Paul Johnston, Director-General Education, Communities and Justice, and Chair of the Programme Board, instructed Directors to share learning from successful and unsuccessful initiatives and apply this learning to work in their own areas. It was also advised that initiatives should focus on understanding and measuring impact not just outcomes for determining success.