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-03329

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 27 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct a large-scale study on the effectiveness of mindfulness cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The Scottish Government does not itself conduct scientific research. However, the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Government funds health research projects directly through a competitive process to assess applications generated by the research community in Scotland. Applications are accepted for research across any health-related discipline or area, including mindfulness cognitive behavioural therapy and inflammatory bowel disease.

CSO also contributes about £10million annually to the Department of Health National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) that allows researchers based in Scotland to apply through a competitive process for funding via the majority of the large NIHR research programmes that together cover a similar wide spectrum of health-related research.

Question reference: S5W-03374

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of funded university places.

The Scottish Government, through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), has invested in excess of £4 billion in the higher education sector in the last four years, and will invest over £1 billion in 2016-17. This sustained investment since 2012-13 also means that the SFC is now supporting more funded places (full-time equivalents) than it did in that year.

Academic Year	FTE Funded Places
2012-13	125,736
2016-17	126,537

Source: SFC

We have established a Strategic Funding Group, consisting of Principals nominated by Universities Scotland, the SFC and Scottish Government officials to consider how increased excellence and equity can be achieved by the higher education sector in future.

Question reference: S5W-02988

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to mitigate the impact of the increase in part-time employment and the use of fractional contracts.

Question reference: S5O-00282

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for local authorities to be given greater fiscal autonomy to raise their own money and manage their local economies.

Question reference: S5W-03665

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Centre for Population Health recently suggesting that payday lending as a public health concern, what measures it can take to provide alternatives to the practice.

Question reference: S5W-03663

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages local authorities to end the use of zero-hour contracts.

The Scottish Government promotes the benefits of Fair Work. While employment law remains reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government is doing everything it can to promote good working practices with the powers available to us. This includes publishing Statutory Guidance Addressing Fair Work Practices. This guidance makes it clear that a positive approach to fair work practices can have an impact on the quality of services, goods and works.

Public bodies must now consider, before undertaking a procurement exercise, whether it can include a question on fair work practices, including the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts as part of the competition. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day to day business and decision making processes.

Question reference: S5W-03380

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 26 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government regarding closing tax loopholes created by Scottish limited partnerships.

The Scottish Government recognises that the current governance arrangements around the registration and operation of Scottish Limited Partnerships allows for their inappropriate use by organisations intent on carrying out criminal activity or avoid tax. The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Constitution wrote on 9 August to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and we are currently considering the response. My officials also met recently with officials from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and HM Revenue and Customs to discuss SLPs.

Question reference: S5W-02987

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve conditions for people in poverty who are in paid employment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01646 on 23 August 2016. Since then the Fairer Scotland Action Plan was published on 5 October 2016, with 50 government actions for this parliamentary term and a call for everyone to get involved in delivering a fairer and more prosperous country. As well as responding to the Fairer Scotland discussions, the Plan sets out progress to date on meeting the recommendations of the report of Naomi Eisenstadt the Independent Adviser on Poverty and Inequality.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-02989

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of large employers that are signed up to the Living Wage accreditation scheme.

The First Minister's Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality, Naomi Eisenstadt, published her report, Shifting the Curve, in January 2016. One recommendation in the report was that we build on Living Wage Accreditation. On 12 March 2016 the First Minister set a new target of 1,000 accredited employers by Autumn 2017 and we are supporting this by increasing funding for the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative to £300,000 and we are working with them and their leadership group to support their efforts to target larger employers.

Question reference: S5W-03583

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on tourism, what plans it has to discuss with the UK Government regulating the use of online holiday home marketplaces, such as Airbnb.

The Scottish Government wrote to the UK Government on 10 March 2016. This was to:

(i) update the UK Government on the work by the Regulatory Review Group and;

(ii) seek details of UK Government proposals to ensure that a consistent and proportionate regulatory response to the collaborative economy was developed across all respective regulatory vires within the UK.

The letter was copied to Tourism Ministers in other Devolved Administrations, the Conveners of the Cross Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament on Tourism and Recreational Boating and Marine Tourism, the relevant Enterprise Agencies and major tourism stakeholders within Scotland.

The Scottish Government received a reply from the UK Government on 27 April and will seek to discuss progress with the UK Government and other Tourism Ministers at a suitable date in the future.

Specifically on regulation, the independent Regulatory Review Group is also undertaking a review of the regulatory environment within Scotland for key sectors.