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 457 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5O-02496

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to protect vulnerable older people from bogus callers and rogue traders.

Question reference: S5W-19228

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the language used in the One Scotland campaign posters regarding religious hate crime risks undermining the campaign and alienating all faiths and could lead to people of any faith feeling hated.

Any form of hate crime or prejudice is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The campaign aims to encourage witnesses to report hate crime using a series of letters addressed to perpetrators describing the experience of victims, stating that ‘your hate has no home here’. It is not targeting those of faith.

The campaign has been developed in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including faith organisations.

Hate crime has hugely damaging effects on victims, their families and communities and we all must play our part to challenge it.

Question reference: S5W-19331

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the data-sharing requirements that it lodged with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 14 September 2018, and what timescale it has set to implement a data-sharing agreement between the DWP and the Scottish Fiscal Commission to allow the commission to produce the fiscal forecasts required for all devolved benefits.

There is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Scottish Government and the Department for Work and Pensions, which covers joint working arrangements for the implementation of devolved provisions in the Scotland Act 2016 relating to Social Security and Employment Support Services in Scotland. This was published in October 2016, and sets out the data-sharing protocols between both parties. The Scottish Government continues to support the Scottish Fiscal Commission, acting as facilitator between it and the Department for Work and Pensions in regards to their data-sharing needs.

However, as the Scottish Fiscal Commission is an independent body, it is not appropriate for Scottish Ministers to comment on behalf of the Scottish Fiscal Commission with regard to their data-sharing requirements.

Question reference: S5W-18936

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 2 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to include the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust's childhood cancer signs and symptoms awareness card as part of the Personal Child Health Record.

Question reference: S5O-02347

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 12 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to pay out in full all claims for CAP Pillar 2 support for 2017-18.

Question reference: S5O-02208

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to school leavers regarding the transition to further education, training and work.

Question reference: S5W-16882

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what regulations are in place that relate to requirements for changing places lavatories.

There is currently no regulatory requirement for the provision of Changing Places Toilets (CPTs) in new buildings.

I have, however, met with PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society) and I intend to introduce CPTs into certain types of new large buildings through the Scottish building regulations.

Building types being considered are:

Large enclosed shopping centres greater than 30,000sq.m;

Hospitals;

Leisure centres – particularly swimming pools;

Large stadia and arenas; and

Schools – creating a space for future proofing purposes.

Development of this policy will take around 2 to 2.5 years.

Question reference: S5O-02164

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce plastic pollution in the Firth of Forth.

Question reference: S5W-16543

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding is directed to men’s groups that are working on domestic abuse issues, and which groups these are.

The Scottish Government recognises that domestic abuse is an abuse of human rights, and is committed to preventing and eradicating it in Scotland. All survivors of domestic abuse deserve access to support.

In terms of funding for supporting survivors, we provide nearly £85,000 ‎(over 2017-2020) to run the Respect Helpline, which signposts male survivors of domestic abuse to support services, over £3 million to ASSIST (over 2017-2020) to provide advocacy support to male survivors of domestic abuse in the Lothians, and £360,000 (2017-18) to the Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline to support victims and survivors.

We also provide £180,000 (over 2017-2020) to White Ribbon Scotland to encourage men to challenge gender based violence in all its forms.

In terms of work with perpetrators, we have provided over £2 million (2017-18) to support the innovative Caledonian System. This allocation includes £1.3 million for local authorities to deliver the men’s programme, the remainder supporting the women and children’s service. We recently announced a further £2.8 million to support the Caledonian System’s expansion into additional local authorities. We also provide nearly £250,000 (over 2017-2020) to Respekt, a domestic abuse project in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S5O-02142

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the accessibility and increase the availability of properties of all tenure types that are suitable for disabled people.