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-16153

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the value of the Scotland Reserve was in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18, and what is it now.

The closing balance on the Scottish Cash Reserve in 2016-17 was £74.2 million and this amount was transferred to the new Scotland Reserve, effective from 1 April 2017, in full. This amount has been held each month in the Scotland Reserve throughout 2017-18.

Details of the 2017-18 provisional outturn and associated cash underspend, which will accrue to the Scotland Reserve, will be reported to the Scottish Parliament and to HM Treasury in June in line with established practice.

Question reference: S5W-15788

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-operational Scottish Prison Service staff in each pay band will receive Prison Officer Professionalisation Programme (POPP) payments for the period since February 2015.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

Following the decision to make operational payments to Prison Officers and First Line Managers in recognition of their continuing engagement in a review of their roles, a number of non-operational colleagues raised equal pay claims. Our aim is to settle the equal pay claims by agreement and I intend to pay all eligible staff in non-operational pay bands C-E the same non-consolidated payments as are made to comparable claimants regardless of whether they brought a claim. Operational payments to Prison Officers and First Line Managers were made in 2015 and 2017 and a further payment will be made at the end of April 2018.

It is intended that non-operational staff in the employment of SPS at the relevant time(s), with a substantive pay band of C, D or E at that time, will be eligible. Our current assessment of the number of staff who will be eligible for the payments at each of the qualifying dates are:

Pay Band	2015	2017	2018
C	324	323	329
D	148	150	148
E	77	80	79

Non-operational staff may receive none, one, two or all three of the payments depending on whether they meet the eligibility criteria.

Question reference: S5W-15569

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13337 by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether all NHS boards will undertake priority-only surgery for one sixth of the year, and for what reason it (a) did not provide this information in its answer and (b) provided a month-long holding response and then responded by referring to an answer that had been published a month earlier, which did not provide the information requested.

The organising and scheduling of hospital admissions during the winter months is a matter for individual Boards to determine as part of their winter plans. There will always be a reduction in planned activity during the winter months to ensure there is sufficient capacity to cope with the likely increase in winter admissions. During that period of reduced activity Boards must ensure patients requiring urgent treatment, such as cancer patients have no delays in receiving their treatment. The admission of other patients during that period should then be based on individual patient's clinical priority.

Question reference: S5W-15799

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its capital borrowing plans are for each of the next five years.

Question reference: S5W-15800

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the £450 million in capital borrowing that was announced in its Budget will be (a) allocated and (b) spent.

Question reference: S5W-15709

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether an individual who experiences a net increase across both income tax and council tax in a year will experience a larger overall tax burden than in the previous year.

Scotland’s overall tax as a proportion of GDP is below the OECD average. Whether or not an individual has a greater overall tax liability relative to the previous year will depend on his or her particular circumstances. Scottish tax policy is designed to be progressive and fair and 70% of taxpayers will in fact pay less income tax in 2018-19 than they did in 2017-18.

We have capped Council Tax increases to 3% for the second successive year, following 9 years of a fully funded freeze in Council Tax. In 2017-18, the average charge for all property bands, including E, F, G and H, was up to £400 lower in Scotland than England and this gap stands to grow with the average increase in England for 2018-19 being 5.1%.

The Scottish Government is committed to protecting public revenue and the vital services that it sustains.

Question reference: S5W-15708

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14067 by Derek Mackay on 6 February 2018, whether it will provide the information that was asked for regarding, specifically, the consumption component of aggregate demand.

Question reference: S5W-15712

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Fiscal Commission's calculation that there is £137.8 million in additional funding in its 2018-19 Budget when compared with its initial Draft Budget, whether it will provide a breakdown of the sources of this additional funding.

The additional funding identified in the Scottish Government 2018-19 Budget during the budget process is funded through a combination of additional income tax receipts (approximately £62 million), anticipated underspend in 2017-18 and drawdown from the Scotland reserve.

The mix of underspend and reserve drawdown will be determined at the end of the financial year.

This information is explained with further detail in the Official Report of the Finance and Constitution Committee meeting held on 7 February 2018 which is available on the Scottish Parliament web site. http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=11358

Question reference: S5W-15235

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 20 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to educate people regarding the potential risks of the drug alprazolam, or Xanax; what support it offers to people who are at risk of misusing the product, and what action it can take to reduce its availability through third-party and black market sellers.

Police Scotland, alongside NHS Health Boards and Scottish Government funded organisations such as the Scottish Drugs Forum, have sought to increase awareness of the health related dangers of taking any prescription drugs, whether genuine or counterfeit, through national warning bulletins, messages on social media and local information campaigns.

It is the responsibility of local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to use local data and intelligence to commission appropriate services that respond to the immediate and changing needs of their population. As such, all individuals should be provided with high quality person centred treatment regardless of the drugs they are using.

Alprazolam is a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, therefore anyone unlawfully in possession of it without a prescription is committing an offence. We are aware of a black market for prescription and counterfeit drugs, including Alprazolam, and continue to work closely with Police Scotland on all aspects of drugs policy and enforcement, including counterfeit prescription medication.

Question reference: S5W-13337

Asked by: Tom Mason, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Grampian only booking category one and two patients for surgery during the months of January and February, whether all NHS boards will become priority-only for one sixth of the year.