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: S5O-03751

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the issuing of non-harassment orders by Sheriffs under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.

Question reference: S5O-03726

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes venison as a nutritional food.

Question reference: S5O-03628

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government when it will take decisions on the implementation of Cold Spell Heating Assistance.

Question reference: S5W-25239

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can give to doctors regarding the use of cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBMPs).

The decision of whether or not to prescribe CBPMs is ultimately one for clinicians to make in accordance with their professional duties. Clinicians are expected to work with individual patients or, where appropriate, their carers to agree the best treatment taking into account the clinical evidence base, General Medical Council prescribing guidance on licensed, off label and unlicensed medicines, and local governance systems. This is in line with normal clinical practice.

The Scottish Government produced support and guidance to clinicians which was issued on 31 October 2018. Further to this, supplementary information on cannabis based products for medicinal use was issued on 21 November 2018.

Question reference: S5W-25235

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) regarding the proposed guidance regarding the use of cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBMPs).

Question reference: S5W-25238

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) NHS boards and (b) the General Medical Council to ensure that doctors on the Specialist Register undertake the NHS Education for Scotland e-learning package regarding cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBMPs).

Scottish Government has worked with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to disseminate the eLearning package to health boards. This has included alerting all Directors of Pharmacy, the three sectoral pharmacy groups, Community Pharmacy Scotland and, senior specialist tutors to the package and for wider dissemination via their health boards. The package has also been disseminated across NES to ensure the relevant professions are aware of it. Furthermore, the Chief Medical Officer will be writing to Medical Directors at each of the health boards in NHS Scotland further highlighting this package, and encouraging further dissemination of this information to all clinicians.

Question reference: S5O-03514

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the status of EU nationals who are resident in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-23996

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 2 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what savings have been made by nurseries in (a) East Kilbride, (b) the South Lanarkshire Council area and (c) nationally since the Non-Domestic Rates (Day Nursery Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 came into force.

Data below local authority level is not held centrally. The following table sets out the most up to date information on the amount of nursery relief that was awarded in South Lanarkshire and Scotland in 2018-19, based on the latest non-domestic rates income returns. These figures will be finalised once Scottish Government receives the Audited Local Authority Income returns for 2018-19 in the autumn of 2019.

Nursery relief (£000s)	2018-19
	(Provisional Outturn)
South Lanarkshire	518
Scotland	8,943

Source: Local Authority Non-Domestic Rates Income Mid-Year Estimates.

Question reference: S5W-23995

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reached a decision on the way forward for civil partnership in Scotland, following the consultation in 2018.

The Scottish Government consulted on the future of civil partnership from 28 September 2018 to 21 December 2018. The consultation can be found at https://consult.gov.scot/family-law/the-future-of-civil-partnership-in-scotland/

The Scottish Government consulted in response to a declaration by the UK Supreme Court that the current law of civil partnership was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights to the extent that it prevents mixed sex couples from entering into civil partnerships. The decision by the UK Supreme Court is at https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2017-0060.html

The Scottish Government received 481 responses to the consultation.

The Scottish Government has decided to introduce legislation to the Scottish Parliament in autumn this year that will make civil partnership available to mixed sex couples.

We have listened carefully to the views expressed by the people and organisations who responded to this consultation. We believe that opening up civil partnership to mixed sex couples is the best way to remove the ECHR incompatibility from the current law.

The extension of civil partnership to mixed sex couples will provide everyone in Scotland with the same choices should they decide to enter into a legally recognised relationship. This promotes equality of choice and human rights.

The Scottish Government response to the consultation is being published on the Scottish Government website. The Scottish Government will also publish shortly the analysis of the consultation responses and the responses we have permission to publish.

Question reference: S5W-23677

Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 20 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what impact Brexit could have on the operation of family law in Scotland.

EU measures have not generally made provision which affects the substance of family law. Instead, they have tended to concentrate on areas such as the mutual recognition of judgements across the EU. This has provided welcome certainty and clarity for families. Details on various EU measures are outlined below.

The EU Brussels IIa Regulation (Regulation 2201/2003) covers matters such as the mutual recognition across the EU of divorce and parental responsibility judgments; jurisdiction in these cases; and child abduction. This Regulation is currently being re-cast, with the revised Regulation due to come into force in 2022. It is uncertain at this stage whether or not the re-cast Regulation will apply to Scotland.

The EU Maintenance Regulation (Regulation 4/2009) contains jurisdictional rules for maintenance claims and provision on recognising and enforcing spousal and child maintenance orders and binding maintenance agreements.

The EU Regulation on the mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters (Regulation 606/2013) is a measure to protect those at risk of domestic abuse by recognising civil protection measures (e.g. interdicts) across the EU.

The EU Regulation on simplifying the requirements for presenting certain public documents (Regulation 2016/1191) has just come into force. This Regulation simplifies the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the EU, such as birth, marriage or death certificates.

To ensure that necessary provision is in place, the Scottish Government has made Scottish Statutory Instruments to take effect if the UK should leave the European Union without a deal, including in relation to the Brussels IIa Regulation and the equivalent provision for same sex relationships. The Scottish Government has also consented to a number of UK Statutory Instruments at Westminster, including in relation to the Maintenance Regulation. The Justice Committee has published a report on the secondary legislation on civil (including family) and criminal law it has considered to date in relation to a potential no deal Brexit. This report is at https://sp-bpr-en-prod-cdnep.azureedge.net/published/J/2019/5/3/What-a--no-deal--Brexit-means-for-civil-and-criminal-law-in-Scotland---a-summary-of-subordinate-legislation-considered-by-the-Justice-Committee-to-date-1/JS052019R12Rev1.pdf

In relation to family law, there are a number of international Conventions, known as the Hague Conventions, which provide a reasonable fall-back if the EU measures should cease to apply to Scotland.