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: S6W-16117

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15622 by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023, for what reasons the percentage of adults participating in the General Dental Service fell from 98.6% in September 2007 to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 66.2% in September 2019.

The total number of adults who have participated in NHS GDS has increased by 45.6%, from 1,902,885 in 2007 to 2,788,692 in 2019.

However, the participation rate is the proportion of the registered population who have seen a dentist in the last two years. The participation rate is therefore also influenced by the number of people who are registered for NHS dental services. The number of adults that were registered for NHS dental services between 2007 and 2019 has increased by 118.4%

Question reference: S6W-16114

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce compulsory microchipping of pet cats in Scotland, in light of the UK Government regulations proposing compulsory microchipping of cats in England, which were laid in the UK Parliament on 13 March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16088

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of ScotRail staff have received (a) first aid, (b) CPR and (c) defibrillator training.

a) At ScotRail, First Aid requirements are assessed on a First Aid Needs Assessment that aligns with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance. This has highlighted the importance of engineering locations due to the level of risk of employee injury and likely severity of possible injury at these locations should an accident happen.

ScotRail has provided the following data which shows the figures at each depot:-

Location	Fully Trained First Aiders	As a %age of Staff on Site Training Matrix	Defibrillators on site
Ayr Townhead Depot (Train Presentation only)	2	14.3%	1
Cadder Depot	1	12.5%	2
Corkerhill Depot	8	10.5%	1
Eastfield Depot	3	15.8%	1
Haymarket Depot	19	13.2%	2
Inverness Depot	19	20.2%	2 (one at Inverness station)
Millerhill Depot	4	30.1%	2
Shields Depot	15	10.1%	2

For all areas identified as lower risk-level, ScotRail has identified that all staff receive basic life preservation training as a minimum. ScotRail’s induction pack for new staff members contains basic life preservation training and this is carried out regularly within the briefing cycle for front line colleagues.

All of ScotRail’s frontline staff receive refresher briefings three times per year and CPR and preservation of life training are included as a core topic on a two year cycle. This covers approximately 2000 staff and is due to be included in the Sept to Dec Session this year.

Therefore, 2000 of 5000 staff = 40% of the workforce.

b) CPR is also part of the First Aid training received by either Face to face training or online training. Total ScotRail staff for 2023 that completed CPR training would be 43%.

c) Straight forward step-by-step instructions are included on every defibrillator machine. As a result of this ScotRail advise that defibrillators are designed to be easy to use and therefore no specific training is required for them.

Question reference: S6W-16091

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent public protests over the closure of the Edinburgh Filmhouse, what action it can take to ensure that the Filmhouse remains a cultural resource for the city of Edinburgh.

Following the closure of the Edinburgh Filmhouse last year, the Scottish Government continues to engage with Creative Scotland and other stakeholders to explore options for cultural cinema programme activity in Edinburgh, as well as ways to support the recently announced 2023 edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, with the associated opportunities for employment and audiences those will bring.

The administration process for the Edinburgh Filmhouse is still ongoing, so it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on these proceedings.

Question reference: S6W-16199

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on, or estimates it has made of, the number of people who have been employed at the Lochaber Aluminium Smelter in each year since 2016, including 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16082

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which schools will be part of the proposed pilot scheme as part of the roll-out of free school meals in secondary schools.

Question reference: S6W-16195

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many times its relevant department has received correspondence from Audit Scotland regarding Liberty Steel Dalzell in each year since 2016, including 2023 to date.

Question reference: S6W-16224

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many times Police Scotland has recorded substandard road conditions as a contributory factor in road traffic accidents in the Highlands and Islands in each of the last 10 years, also broken down by command area.

The following table shows the number of contributory factors in injury road accidents where road surface was poor or defective in Highlands and Islands police division, broken down by council area. In addition to the Highlands and Islands, the North command area also covers Grampian and Tayside. These areas have therefore not been included.

Contributory factors in injury road accidents where road surface was poor or defective in Highlands and Islands police division by council area

	Eilean Siar	Highland	Orkney Islands	Shetland Islands	Total
2012	1	14	0	2	17
2013	2	13	1	1	17
2014	0	11	0	0	11
2015	1	13	1	0	15
2016	0	3	0	0	3
2017	0	7	0	1	8
2018	0	5	0	0	5
2019	0	2	0	0	2
2020	0	2	0	0	2
2021	0	4	0	1	5

Question reference: S6W-16535

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance will next meet with each chief executive of Scotland’s enterprise agencies.

Question reference: S6W-16198

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of jobs that have been created at Liberty Steel Dalzell as a result of the financial support that it has provided to GFG Alliance.