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-10840

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle the challenges presented to schools in the Scottish Borders in light of the report, Household Projections for Scotland, 2014-based, published by the National Records of Scotland, which predicts that the number of households in the region will rise by 8% between 2014 and 2039.

I welcome the projected growth in the Scottish Borders and Scottish Borders Council is best placed to plan for this increase. With regards to new schools required because of housing growth, we would always expect this to be funded by local authorities and the housing developers.

However, through the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, Scottish Borders Council has been awarded significant funding of over £43m towards the construction or refurbishment of the following five school projects: Kelso High School, Duns Primary School, Broomlands Primary School, Langlee Primary School and Jedburgh Campus.

Question reference: S5W-10839

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking in the Scottish Borders to provide sufficient housing in light of the report, Household Projections for Scotland, 2014-based, published by the National Records of Scotland, which predicts that the number of households in the region will rise by 8% between 2014 and 2039.

Over the lifetime of the current parliament (2016-17 - 2020-21) the Scottish Government will investment a minimum of £62.857m to support affordable housing in the Scottish Borders, an increase of £25m from our previous investment over the period 2008-09 – 2015-16.

The Scottish Government provides a framework of housing and planning policy, including Scottish Planning Policy, Housing Needs and Demand Assessments and guidance on Local Housing Strategies, to support local authorities, who have strategic responsibility for housing within their areas, to determine the appropriate mix of new housing. It is therefore for Scottish Borders Council to decide the type, tenure, size and location of new housing for its area though the Local Development Plan and Local Housing Strategies in accordance with national guidance.

Question reference: S5W-10842

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle the challenges presented to social care by the ageing population of the Borders in light of the report, Household Projections for Scotland, 2014-based, published by the National Records of Scotland which predicts that the number of households in the region headed by someone aged over 75 will increase by 83% between 2014 and 2039.

The Scottish Government published the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan in December 2016. This plan set out our vision for enhancing our health and social care services so the people of Scotland can live longer, healthier lives at home or in a homely setting.

The integration of health and social care plays a key part in realising this vision by placing a greater emphasis on community-based and more joined-up, anticipatory and preventative care, which will equip our services for future challenges. Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership's strategic commissioning plan sets out how they plan to work collaboratively to redesign services to improve the wellbeing of communities taking account of the impact of population changes both now and in future.

Question reference: S5W-10820

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what compensation, other than a loan, is available to farmers who have yet to receive the residue that they are owed from the Basic Payments Scheme in 2016.

Over 99% of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2016 claims have now been paid. BPS 2016 loans were offered to all who were eligible and loans valued at £271.8 million were provided. There is no direct compensation available to farmers who have yet to receive the residue that they are due in respect of BPS 2016, but case by case consideration can be given to possible support for businesses that can demonstrate hardship.

Question reference: S5W-10686

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to accommodate (a) pregnant women, (b) older people and (c) disabled people on the Borders Railway.

Abellio is obliged to meet all the regulations and legal requirements relating to accessibility as the operator of the ScotRail Franchise.

The Borders Railway opened in September 2016 with every new station on the route made step free enabling disabled customers and people with reduced mobility to access the station.

The existing ScotRail fleet is currently undergoing a significant upgrade programme to meet both the requirements of the Franchise Agreement with Scottish Ministers and the (PRM-TSI) regulations for rolling stock which has a deadline of 1 January 2020. When this work is completed all trains in the fleet will have universal accessible toilets (UATs) installed, ahead of the 2020 deadline, as well as spaces for two wheelchairs adjacent to companion seating, call for aid buttons, boarding/ alighting ramps, around 10% of train seating clearly marked for priority users, tactile door opening buttons with tonal contrasts, on-train announcements and passenger information screens.

In addition, ScotRail provides a Passenger Assist Service which currently requires to be booked at least four hours in advance and will be reducing to three hours later this year. This will be further reduced to two hours by 2019 and by 2021 the notice period will be one hour.

Question reference: S5W-10687

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many weather-related (a) cancellations and (b) delays there have been to trains (i) in each of the last 10 years and (ii) on the Borders Railway line each year.

Transport Scotland does not hold this information. The operator is required under the terms of the franchise to provide data on the public-performance-measure (which measures the numbers of trains which run to time), the amount of seat capacity provided and the numbers of cancellations. All of these data are reported down to the level of service group, against specific benchmarks which are laid out in the franchise.

In terms of ScotRail’s overall performance, officials from Transport Scotland regularly meet with Scotrail to ensure that the effects of seasonal weather fluctuations (summer, autumn, winter) are acknowledged in how the operator organises its services.

Question reference: S5W-10685

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to deal with the effect of hot weather on passengers travelling on the Borders Railway.

Borders services are primarily operated by class 158 diesel, two carriage trains which are undergoing a major enhancement programme worth around £14M to deliver improvements to passenger facilities. Further work is planned over the coming months which will also improve the air conditioning equipment on the fleet to help regulate the on-train environment.

In addition Abellio ScotRail and the train owners Porterbrook agreed to replace all radiators across the class 158 fleet. This work has now been completed and since then no failures have been noted with the new radiators caused by overheating during hot weather.

This has helped to contribute to improved reliability of the fleet and service performance on the Borders route across the last 12 months.

Question reference: S5W-10835

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether, and to what extent, it has reconsidered its position that it is "unreasonable and impractical to attempt to impose a ban on mobile devices in schools", in light of research by the Centre for Economic Performance (Paper No. 1350, May 2015), which demonstrated that a ban on mobile devices in schools can improve exam performance and close the attainment gap, especially with respect to pupils entitled to free school meals or with special educational needs.

Mobile phones are widely owned by school aged learners and, as the cited research also acknowledges, their structured use can enhance learning and teaching. To impose an outright ban and deprive learners of educational opportunities therefore remains unreasonable and impractical. Instead, the Scottish Government urges schools to think carefully about how they can best utilise mobile phones to enhance education, while also educating learners about the appropriate personal use of mobile devices.

Question reference: S5O-01114

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that pupils can study a range of subjects at National 4 and 5 levels.

All children should have the best possible educational opportunities and we are doing everything we can - working with our national and local partners - to ensure this.

We are encouraging secondary schools to work collaboratively with other secondary schools and the local college in their area, to widen the range of options available to young people throughout their senior phase curriculum.

In every secondary school inspection, Education Scotland is looking at the learning pathways on offer and encouraging schools to provide a range of options to meet the needs of all their young people.