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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 3488 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-13058

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 5 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many households will be affected by the so-called bedroom tax in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area.

Question reference: S4W-13057

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 5 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many single bedroom rented households there are in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area.

The number of single bedroom rented households in each local authority is estimated to be as follows:

Local Authority	Number of single bedroom rented households
Aberdeen City	16,000
Aberdeenshire	8,000
Angus	6,000
Argyll and Bute	3,000
Clackmannanshire	2,000
Dumfries and Galloway	7,000
Dundee City	11,000
East Ayrshire	4,000
East Dunbartonshire	2,000
East Lothian	4,000
East Renfrewshire	2,000
Edinburgh, City of	24,000
Eilean Siar	1,000
Falkirk	4,000
Fife	12,000
Glasgow City	35,000
Highland	5,000
Inverclyde	4,000
Midlothian	2,000
Moray	3,000
North Ayrshire	3,000
North Lanarkshire	9,000
Orkney Islands	1,000
Perth and Kinross	5,000
Renfrewshire	9,000
Scottish Borders	5,000
Shetland Islands	1,000
South Ayrshire	4,000
South Lanarkshire	6,000
Stirling	2,000
West Dunbartonshire	4,000
West Lothian	5,000
Scotland	209,000

We have included social rented sector and private rented sector households in our analysis and our results are rounded to the nearest 1,000 households.

We are unable to provide a robust estimate of single bedroom rented households in each parliamentary constituency.

Question reference: S4W-12849

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what treatment is available on the NHS for (a) cancer and (b) non-cancer patients with lipoedema.

Patients may be referred to lymphoedema services as some of the treatment options for lymphoedema may be of benefit to people with lipoedema. In some cases, clinicians may consider referring patients for consideration of tumescent liposuction which would be determined following appropriate specialist assessment. Clinicians are best placed to determine the appropriate treatment for their individual patients.

Lipoedema, unlike lymphoedema, has no post-cancer treatment correlation, therefore this would not have any bearing on the referral or treatment process.

Question reference: S4W-12665

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the criteria for access to the Rare Conditions Medicines Fund and whether the fund will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis or allocated across NHS boards.

Question reference: S4W-12781

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the legal basis is for the licensing regime operated by Scottish Natural Heritage regarding the use of snares to capture mountain hares.

Mountain hares are listed on Schedule 3 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) considers that snares are non-selective traps and a licence is therefore required under Regulation 44 of the above Regulations.

SNH is, however, aware of the recent case at Inverness Sheriff Court concerning the snaring of mountain hares. SNH will be reviewing its position in light of this case before the end of the close season on 31 July 2013.

Question reference: S4W-12780

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that it complies with the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats regarding the (a) use of non-selective traps to capture protected species and (b) the reporting requirements under article 9.2.

The requirements of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats as regards the use of non-selective traps to capture protected species are implemented in Scotland through the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 Schedule 3 of these Regulations lists species which may not be taken by specified means including traps which are non-selective according to their principle or their conditions of use, or any method which is indiscriminate and capable of causing its local disappearance or serious disturbance to a population. However, the Regulations allow licences to be granted under certain circumstances to permit the taking of these protected species by these non-selective methods, for example preventing serious damage to growing timber is a commonly used reason.

In order to comply with Article 9.2 of the convention, UK licensing authorities report biennially to the European Commission on the granting of all such licences.

Question reference: S4W-12782

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for species licences to use snares to capture mountain hares have been made since 2006; how many have been granted, and for what reasons licences were not granted.

Four applications for a licence to snare mountain hares were received between 2006 and June 2011 by the Scottish Government, as the appropriate licensing authority at that time. Two were granted and two were refused.

The applications that were refused did not offer sufficient detail or historical information on populations to allow the Scottish Government to satisfy itself that this proposal would not affect the favourable conservation status of mountain hares and two of the licences were therefore refused.

Following the introduction of the Wildlife and Natural Environment Act 2011, the licensing function was transferred to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in July 2011. SNH has received one application for the snaring of mountain hares, which was granted.

Question reference: S4O-01836

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what educational opportunities there are for people who have retired.

Question reference: S4W-12848

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of lipoedema have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S4W-12921

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the practice of using the names of deceased children as identities for undercover officers has been the practice in Scotland and, if it has not made enquiries into this matter, whether it will do so.