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 302 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5O-00406

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the roll-out of automated external defibrillators.

Our Out-of-Hospital Cardiac (OHCA) Arrest Strategy, launched in March 2015 recognises the importance of increasing the accessibility of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) or public access defibrillators (PADs) to reduce the number of OHCA deaths in Scotland. Our OHCA Strategy Review 2015 - 2016 report, published on 23 November; http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/11/7733 provides information on work our key partners are engaged in to get a defibrillator as rapidly as possible to a person experiencing an OHCA.

Question reference: S5O-00347

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of women being given custodial sentences and how it supports those who have been involved in offending.

Question reference: S5O-00299

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 3 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place for families of missing persons.

The Scottish Government is currently working with partners and stakeholders to develop a National Missing Persons framework to prevent and reduce the harm related to people going missing. Partnership working, improving current systems and information sharing will all be central elements of the framework. We work closely with Police Scotland who ensure they have a single point of contact for families of missing persons, they also consider whether a Family Liaison Officer would be appropriate to support and work with a family during a missing incident investigation.

Question reference: S5W-04105

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 28 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme, which has been in operation for five years.

As Ministers at the time promised Parliament, during the debates on the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill, a review of the operation and delivery of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme during the last five years will now be undertaken. We are engaging those who have used the Scheme and who have an ongoing interest in its future operation to determine the scope and terms of the review. That engagement will include a conference in Glasgow on 21 November this year, where we will formally launch the review.

Question reference: S5F-00396

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2016

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will seek to improve systems supporting children in care.

Question reference: S5W-02762

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Maureen Watt on 15 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the development of the next mental health strategy.

On 29 July 2016, the Scottish Government published an engagement paper, ‘Mental Health in Scotland – a 10 year vision’. The paper provides an overview of the priorities that we think will deliver significant improvements to the mental health of the population of Scotland. Our proposed priorities are structured around the life stages of ‘start well’, ‘live well’ and ‘age well’.

We are currently seeking views on our priorities for transforming mental health in Scotland, the early actions we propose to take to deliver this transformation, and how we should measure success over the ten year period which the new strategy will cover. The deadline for written responses is 16 September 2016, and we are holding a series of public events across Scotland to help us gather views.

We want the next mental health strategy to focus on the things that will make a real difference to mental health and wellbeing in Scotland. The progress made over summer recess will help ensure that we have a clear understanding of people’s views on how we can best do that.

Following our careful consideration of the views we have received, the new Mental Health Strategy will be published in late 2016.

Question reference: S5W-02252

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 1 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how the priorities and objectives for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will be set over the next few years.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Framework) Order 2016 will be laid in Parliament on 5 September 2016. This Order will bring the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016, which was published on the Scottish Government’s website today, into effect from 4 October 2016.

The Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016 sets out the priorities and objectives for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) going forward. The Framework is structured around protecting communities in terms of risk, prevention and response; the evolving role of the SFRS; and the governance, accountability and performance arrangements for the Service.

It is now for the SFRS to set out in its second Strategic Plan how it will deliver the priorities identified in the Framework.

Question reference: S5W-01779

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the National Litter Strategy has had on reducing littering in (a) North Lanarkshire and (b) Scotland.

Our litter strategy is a five year plan that sets out how Scotland can significantly reduce litter and flytipping and support cleaner, safer communities. It is vital that organisations with roles in helping to tackle litter and flytipping play their part.

As a result of the strategy, we have supported community clean ups, boosted communication to highlight that people should dispose of waste responsibly and since 2011 we have funded the installation of over 4,200 Recycling on the Go bins across Scotland. We have also strengthened the deterrent effect of enforcement by raising the litter and flytipping fixed penalties, from £50 to £80 and £200 and introduced a charge on single use carrier bags, a highly visible form of litter.

Over the next year, we will explore new ways to encourage people to properly dispose of and recycle waste and publish revised guidance for our delivery partners that will expand the focus of tackling litter from expensive clean-up operations to support for more preventative measures. These actions will continue to support reducing littering behaviour in North Lanarkshire and throughout Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-01625

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated unitary charge costs are for the 25-year private contract period for HM Prison Addiewell.

Question reference: S5W-01407

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the renewable energy sector and how this support benefits the economy.

The Scottish Government strongly supports the development of the renewable energy sector and decarbonisation of our electrical generation and wider energy sector. In order to facilitate its development, the Scottish Government provides a range of support for the renewable energy sector, including funding to support renewable energy projects and technology development; a planning policy which strikes a careful balance between utilising Scotland's significant renewable energy resources whilst protecting our finest scenic landscapes, natural heritage and residential amenity; and a well-developed structure of partnership with the Scottish agencies, the private sector and academia, which has helped shape our renewable energy policies.Scottish Government makes available a range of impartial advice and financial support for communities, rural businesses, and non-profit distributing organisations across Scotland who wish to generate their own renewable energy and benefit from commercial operations. This information is available through the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). Further information is available on the Local Energy Scotland website at http://www.localenergyscotland.org/We also fund the Energy Saving Trust to provide energy advice and support to businesses and consumers. For example, working with partners including Resource Efficient Scotland, support for businesses is available to allow them to participate effectively in the supply chain for energy efficiency measures and installations and to help businesses attain accreditation with registered bodies to allow them to access funds available via Scottish and UK Government support schemes.The Energy Saving Trust’s network of local area advice centres across Scotland offers free, impartial advice relevant to consumers in their geographical areas. Specialist advisors can visit consumers at home, and provide advice on relevant renewable technologies which are available and appropriate and in most cases can provide details of several potential installers, with a focus on local businesses. Further information on support available from the Energy Saving Trust is available at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/ScotlandOur delivery partners for these programmes have a key role to play in promoting renewable and low carbon energy opportunities at both national and local level, including through their websites, local events, and annual conferences.The renewable energy sector makes a significant contribution to the Scottish economy.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in 2014, more than 21,000 people were employed directly in the low carbon and renewable energy economy in Scotland and this, through multiplier effects will have supported thousands FTE jobs In the form of indicant and induced employment throughout Scotland. Further information is available on the ONS website at

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/environmental/uk-environmental-accounts/low-carbon-and-renewable-energy-economy-survey--2014/rpt-low-carbon.html

Figures published by the UK Government in April 2014 show that since 2010 the renewable energy industry has announced around £14.2 billion of investment in Scotland and this has supported many jobs in the supply chain and wider economy. Further information is available on the UK Government website at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-investment-report-april-2014