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-02254

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S5O-02214

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in eliminating prejudice-based bullying in schools.

Question reference: S5O-02000

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to the concerns raised by Rape Crisis Scotland and others regarding the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service's changes to prosecution policy in cases of rape and sexual violence.

Question reference: S5W-15726

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Alasdair Allan on 29 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress that has been made in relation to the International Development Small Grants Programme funding round 2018-19.

I am pleased to announce that funding amounting to a total of £354,860 will be provided to 12 organisations (see following link), from our Small Grants Programme 2018-2019, for work to commence in April 2018.

Total amount of Recommended funding - Programme Year 2018-2019

Type of Grant	Number	Total Recommendation
Project Implementation	5	£286,763
Feasibility Study	2	£19,517
Capacity Building	5	£48,580
TOTAL	12	£354,860

Recommendations for funding after assessment by country and grant type - Programme Year 2018-2019

Country	Project	Feasibility	Capacity Building	Total
Malawi	3	-	2	5
Malawi/Zambia	-	-	-	1
Rwanda	1	-	-	1
Zambia	1	-	1	2
Kenya	-	1	1	1
Tanzania	-	1	-	1
Mozambique	-	-	1	1
Total	5	2	5	12

The Small Grants Programme 2018-2019 attracted 17 applications before the deadline of noon , on 28 November 2017. Three applications were rejected as outwith our eligibility criteria, and therefore were not part of the full assessment process. The remaining 14 applications were fully assessed. Two did not meet our assessment criteria and were therefore not awarded funding.

The full list of the projects to be funded is available on the following web link: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/small-grants-programme-2018-2019/

Question reference: S5O-01926

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 21 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its housing policy as it relates to homeless non-UK EU nationals in Scotland.

Immigration, including determining the status and capacity of homeless non UK EU nationals to access housing or receive homelessness assistance, is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

Certain non-UK nationals have the same access to housing and homelessness assistance as UK nationals. Under UK Government immigration laws – some non UK EU nationals have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and as a result are not able to access social housing or homelessness assistance and cannot claim most benefits or tax credits that are paid by the state.

Question reference: S5W-15017

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS Boards have guidance in place to support clinicians in routinely offering bisphosphonates to post-menopausal women with primary breast cancer to help reduce the risk of breast cancer spreading.

Question reference: S5O-01821

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce fuel poverty.

This Government has always prioritised tackling fuel poverty, and is committed to ensuring that everyone in Scotland lives in a warm home that is affordable to heat.

We have recently consulted on a new, long-term fuel poverty strategy, with a definition of fuel poverty that is more focussed on those vulnerable to cold-related health impacts and those most in need. Responses to the consultation are being analysed and will inform the Warm Homes Bill that we plan to introduce to Parliament later this year.

We are on track to deliver our 2016 Programme for Government commitment to make half a billion pounds available for fuel poverty and energy efficiency over the 4 years to 2021, and by this date we will have allocated over £1 billion since 2009 to support these issues.

Question reference: S5O-01730

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency received support from the Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2017.

Question reference: S5W-12652

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many Syrian refugees to the UK have been settled in Scotland.

Scotland has welcomed over 1,900 people under the UK Government's Syrian Resettlement Programme since October 2015.

Official statistics for the Syrian Resettlement programme are published quarterly by the Home Office. The latest set of statistics was published on 24 August 2017 and covered the period to 30 June 2017. Those statistics show that 1,807 Syrian refugees arrived in Scotland under the Programme up to 30 June 2017.

Question reference: S5W-10426

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on someone under the age of 16 being able to give consent to sexual activity.

There are a range of criminal offences relating to sexual activity with a child under the age of 16. These are contained in the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 ("the 2009 Act"). The offences contained within this legislation are based on a Scottish Law Commission report into sexual offences with the offences acknowledging and informed by the generally accepted understanding that a child's capacity to consent to sexual activity differs depending on their specific age.

Under the 2009 Act, children under the age of 13 are deemed to have no capacity to consent to sexual activity. Under section 18 of the 2009 Act, it is an offence of rape of a young child where an adult undertakes sexual activity with a child under the age of 13.

Under the 2009 Act, children aged between 13 and 15 are deemed to have only limited capacity to consent to sexual activity. So, for example, where an adult has non-consensual sexual intercourse with a 13-15 year old child, this can be prosecuted as rape under section 1 of the 2009 Act. Where it cannot be proven that the child did not consent, this is still an offence which can be prosecuted using the offence of 'sexual intercourse with an older child' under section 28 of the 2009 Act.

As can be seen, the 2009 Act provides that it is always a criminal offence for an adult to knowingly engage in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16.