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: S5O-02598

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the use of bogus self-employment to avoid employment protections.

We strongly oppose the use of exploitative business practices. While employment law is reserved to the UK Government, we are using all powers at our disposal to promote fair work.

On 9th October the First Minister announced our Fair Work First approach, harnessing the financial power of the Scottish Government. This will extend fair work criteria to as many funding streams, business support grants and public contracts as we can by the end of this parliament.

This builds on our Programme for Government commitment to introduce fair work criteria to Scottish Enterprise job-related grants in 2019-20 and our existing procurement guidance.

Question reference: S5W-19849

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19625 by John Swinney on 6 November 2018, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding how much funding it is providing to each local authority to provide mental health first aid training (a) in schools and (b) to teachers in each year since 2014.

In 2014-15 the Scottish Government provided £12,000 for 5 local authorities - West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Clackmannanshire and North Lanarkshire to target support and training to school communities in most need.

In 2015-16 the Scottish Government provided £12,000 for 5 local authorities – Shetland, Highland, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to target support and training to school communities in most need.

In 2016-17 the Scottish Government provided £6,000 for 3 local authorities – Dundee City Council, South Lanarkshire Council, Inverclyde Council to target support and training to school communities in most need.

In 2017-18 the Scottish Government provided £10,000 for 5 local authorities – East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Fife, Glasgow, Inverclyde and Stirling to target support and training to school communities in most need.

In 2018-19 the Scottish Government will provide £14,000 for 7 local authorities – East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian, Falkirk and South Ayrshire to target support and training to school communities in most need.

In 2019-20 the Scottish Government will provide £14,000 for 7 local authorities – Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Western Isles, Moray, Orkney, Angus, Perth & Kinross to target support and training to school communities in most need.

Question reference: S5W-19850

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19625 by John Swinney on 6 November 2018, whether the grant funding offered to local authorities for mental health first aid training is (a) ring-fenced for that purpose and (b) for the delivery of such training to teachers only.

Question reference: S5O-02607

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what measures it takes to protect the Parliament from cyberattacks.

Question reference: S5W-19766

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18505 by Ivan McKee on 28 September 2018, whether its definition of munitions covers laser guidance components.

Question reference: S5W-19678

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19092 by Ivan McKee on 27 September 2018, what proportion of (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise funding to business the human rights due diligence requirements apply to.

Question reference: S5W-19679

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19100 by Jamie Hepburn on 25 October 2018, what proportion of (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise funding to business it expects its fair work practices criteria to apply to.

In the 2018-19 Programme for Government, we committed to introduce fair work criteria to business support grants through Regional Selective Assistance and other large Scottish Enterprise job-related grants, starting with grants offered in 2019-20.

Building on this, on 9 October 2018, the First Minister announced our new default position - Fair Work First – which will harness the financial power of the Scottish Government. By the end of this parliament we will extend fair work criteria to as many funding streams, business support grants and public contracts as we can.

Question reference: S5W-19677

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to answer to question S5W-18712 by Ivan McKee on 27 September 2018, whether any human rights checks were required to be carried out by Scottish public bodies before entering into an investment relationship or agreement with a third party prior to 14 June 2018 and, if so, whether it will provide a copy of the guidance that governed this.

Question reference: S5W-19682

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many victims of crime in each year since 2013 were (a) homeless and (b) had no fixed address.

Question reference: S5W-19625

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it is providing to each local authority to provide mental health first aid training (a) in schools and (b) to teachers.

We take child and adolescent mental health very seriously. Since 2014, the Scottish Government has supported delivery of mental health first aid training by offering a grant to local authorities to undertake the Scottish mental health first aid training programme. The training was initially offered to local authorities who were identified as being in the most need of immediate support, based on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and on figures provided by NHS on the number of professionals trained within the authority. Following the first year, suicide rates were also included as an additional indicator to identify local authorities in need thereafter.

We are continuing to offer the grant to local authorities in need as part of our commitment within the Suicide Prevention Action Plan, published earlier this year, to offer every local authority this training by the end of academic year 2019-20.

This will be enhanced by our commitment to deliver school counsellors in every secondary school in Scotland, which was announced in the Programme for Government, along with the significant additional investment in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.