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-06625

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what opportunities there are for a greater alignment of the support offered to people through devolved employability services, further education and skills training, and what action it is taking realise these opportunities.

Devolution of employment services is a clear opportunity to build on the strengths of existing national and local services and set out our longer-term vision for achieving greater alignment and integration. My officials have engaged with a broad spectrum of organisations including Skills Development Scotland to help develop our approach to integration and alignment of employment services.

On 21 December 2016, the Scottish Government announced a £1 million funding allocation secured as part of the draft budget that will help develop innovative approaches to integration and alignment of employment services. Further details on that funding will be announced in due course.

Question reference: S5W-06385

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 31 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland about supporting staff from the 40 Clydesdale Bank branches that are set to close.

We have contacted the Clydesdale Bank to offer support for any employees who may be facing redundancy through our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative. The Bank has advised there will be no requirement for PACE support as the Bank will offer full outplacement support through its contracted provider to all employees who are confirmed as being made redundant.

The decision to close these branches, while a commercial decision, is obviously very disappointing as it will have an effect on bank customers, local communities and the bank’s staff across a substantial area of the country, and, therefore, the Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with Clydesdale Bank, and indeed other banks, where appropriate, as they implement changes, in response to changes in the banking services market, and to understand any impact on any affected bank employees and the wider economy.

Question reference: S5O-00634

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve levels of innovative activity in the economy.

Question reference: S5O-00575

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the air weapons licensing scheme.

Air weapons continue to account for almost half of all firearms offences recorded in Scotland – 158 offences in 2015-16. The new licensing regime came into effect on 31 December 2016 and will allow the police to better protect Scottish communities by removing air weapons from those who would misuse them.

Ahead of the new law taking effect, Police Scotland received 6,948 applications for an air weapon certificate by 31 October. Certificates, or refusals, have been issued in all but a limited number of cases, for example where further investigation is required or where payment has not yet been received from the applicant.

A further 5,436 applications were received between 1 November and 31 December 2016. Police Scotland are processing these as quickly as possible, but those who are awaiting a decision must make arrangements to have their air weapons stored in a safe and appropriate place - either with someone who has an air weapon, firearm or shot gun certificate, or a registered firearms dealer - to avoid committing an offence.

In addition, by 31 December 2016, 18,935 unwanted air weapons had been surrendered to Police Scotland for secure destruction since the summer.

Question reference: S5O-00521

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-05445

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Cancer Research UK's call for school children to have their weight checked regularly as a means of addressing problems with obesity.

Question reference: S5W-05201

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures published by the National Records of Scotland, which show that life expectancy in Scotland is two years lower for males and 1.7 years lower for females than the UK average.

Question reference: S5W-05202

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures published by the National Records of Scotland, which show that life expectancy at birth in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board area is 75.3 years for males and 80.1 years for females, which for both sexes is the lowest of any NHS board in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-05299

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what contribution it will make to the UK Government's Race Disparity Audit and to what extent information on devolved issues that are the responsibility of the Scottish Government will be included in this audit.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the rise in inequality and racism across the UK and we welcome the focus the UK Government is placing on race at this time.

We would want to establish how the audit might relate to Scottish Government strategy and policy development, in particular the Equality Evidence website and the actions in the Race Equality Framework outlining data and research work.

We have therefore entered into dialogue at both Ministerial and official level to assess if the Race Disparity Audit is the right approach for Scotland, alongside engagement with our key race equality stakeholders.

Question reference: S5W-05025

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that A&E waiting times at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital are the worst in the country.

There are a number of reasons why performance against the four hour A&E target at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) has been challenging, including the level of attendances. Attendances across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have increased by almost 5% over the last four weeks (up to 20 November), compared to the equivalent period last year, with the QEUH seeing the biggest increase of over 7%.

The site has and continues to implement a number of measures to support improvements across the emergency department and assessment units, with a focus on escalation and discharge particularly in the evening and weekend period. The one key change that has made a significant difference is the electronic monitoring system in the IAU; this has supported a number of improvements for patient care, for example, all patents are triaged within a very short period of time of arrival and assessed within the hour, enhancing patient experience.

However, the Scottish Government recognises that more needs to be done and through the national team we are supporting the local team to implement various key measures, including a telephone triage processes for GP referred patients; enhanced escalation model and Ambulatory Emergency Care pathways in order to minimise delays and improve performance on a sustainable basis.

Additionally, I recently visited the site to meet staff in the emergency department and assessment units and learn more about the various actions underway.

For more information on the published A&E waiting times at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in comparison to other sites across Scotland please visit Information Services Division Scotland website: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Emergency-Care/Publications/index.asp.