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-08178

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the study commissioned of the Arran ferry service.

Question reference: S5W-08216

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-07923 by Humza Yousaf on 23 February 2017, whether it has received the STAG report and, if so, whether it can confirm on what date it will announce its decision on the Arran ferry route proposals.

Question reference: S5W-07988

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2017

To ask the Government what plans are in place to meet the public transport needs of people in the Paisley and the Gryffe Valley area travelling to Glasgow Airport.

Question reference: S5W-07826

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on research by Marie Curie that suggests that one-in-four people do not receive the required palliative care that they need, and what action it is taking to ensure that there is frequent reporting of any progress that is being made regarding the Strategic Framework on Palliative and End of Life Care initiative.

The Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care (SFA) was developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, including Marie Curie, and outlines the key actions to be taken that will help ensure that everyone in Scotland can access services that respond to their individual palliative and end of life care needs.

The National Implementation Support Group on Palliative and End of Life Care (NIAG) regularly considers reports on progress on the implementation of, and provides advice to the Scottish Government on, how best to take forward the commitments set out in the SFA. The NIAG last met in December 2016 and will next meet on 29 March 2017.

Question reference: S5W-07824

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 20 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the link between obesity and cancer, in light of research by Cancer Research UK that highlights that obesity significantly increases the risk of developing cancer.

The Scottish Government is committed to consulting widely on the development of our new Diet and Obesity Strategy which will be brought forward in the course of 2017. In developing that strategy we will examine with our stakeholders what further effective actions can be taken, within the powers of this Government, to impact on moving and supporting Scotland's population towards better and healthier lifestyle choices.

We have already introduced a 2034 tobacco-free target as part of a tobacco strategy, reflecting the fact that smoking rates in Scotland are declining, including among young people. Our ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ strategy and the accompanying £100 million investment over five years, serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, aftercare and ultimately the survival, of people affected by cancer.

Question reference: S5W-07786

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it uses the so-called big data that it holds on people to help improve the provision of public services.

The Scottish Government’s vision is to use data systematically to improve decision making: saving lives, money and time. In doing so, we will enhance Scotland’s reputation for the safe, secure and transparent use of data for public benefit; rapidly translating our strengths into benefits for citizens, businesses and communities. To achieve this the Scottish Government is collaborating with a range of public sector organisations and academic institutes such as The Data Lab, Urban Big Data Centre, Farr Institute and Administrative Data research Centre to deliver a number of data innovation projects.

These collaborations have already delivered benefits. For example, sharing data between FE colleges, Universities, the Department for Work and Pensions has helped Skills Development Scotland better target its services and deliver an increased number of young people engaged in work or study.

The Scottish Government is also collaborating with these organisation to explore the potential to apply predictive analytics to support the shift to prevention. This includes, for example, the application of predictive analytics to large datasets such as linked health datasets to inform and support a reduction in delayed discharges from hospital. This project uses data about people who arrive in hospital to predict when they will leave, whether they will need social care and the care they will need.

Question reference: S5W-08177

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-07828

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) improve opportunities and (b) promote inclusive participation for disabled people in politics.

Because we are determined to increase representation of disabled people in our democratic institutions, the Scottish Government established the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) to help disabled people put themselves forward as candidates by helping to meet the additional costs disabled people face when seeking election.

The fund was initially established to cover the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections and 2017 local government elections. But in the Disability Delivery Plan I published in December 2016, we included a commitment to extend the fund to cover the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021.

Additionally and building on a pilot programme being delivered by SCVO and Inclusion Scotland in 2016-17, the Disability Delivery Plan included a commitment to deliver a disability internship programme, providing disabled people with 120 employment opportunities in the third and public sectors and in politics, over the period 2017-2021.

Question reference: S5W-07789

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report by BBC Scotland on 2 March 2017 suggesting that NHS Ayrshire and Arran spends an average of £3.20 on food and drink per patient each day.

The main focus for Scottish Government is that patients have a right to expect high-quality and nutritious food that meets their specific needs and aids recovery.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran provides patients with high quality and nutritionally balanced meals, based on a wide menu choice. Meals are prepared on site daily, using fresh produce to ensure that good, wholesome meals are provided to their patients. This approach is reflected in the 'Inpatient Experience Survey 2016' results where 81% of patients in NHS Ayrshire and Arran reported that they were happy with the food/meals they received.

To help reduce waste and therefore costs, NHS Ayrshire and Arran ask patients to choose their next meal as close as possible to the meal time, this means that their rate of unserved meals is very low, on average three per cent.

In order to ensure best value, NHS Ayrshire and Arran purchase their food and beverages from national procurement contracts agreed by NHS National Services Scotland (National Procurement), who use the combined buying power of NHS Boards throughout Scotland, to get the best possible deals on supplies and services. By buying through national contracts, NHS Ayrshire and Arran also saves money, to redirect into front line patient care.

Question reference: S5W-07782

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the proposed digitisation of some processes by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service will be accessible for (a) older people, (b) disabled people and (c) people with limited online access.