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 1153 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-04394

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the rates of pay for seafarers who are EU nationals on ferry services between Cairnryan and (a) Belfast and (b) Larne.

Question reference: S5W-04434

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding nationality-based pay discrimination against seafarers working in the shipping industry in Scotland.

In May 2014 Scottish Ministers wrote to the relevant UK Government Minister to clarify the position on the National Minimum Wage with regard to seafarers. The response from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport indicated that the UK has to ensure that it operates within international law as set down in UNCLOS (United Nations Laws of the Sea), and it is clearly stated that a sovereign State cannot interfere with the internal economies of a vessel sailing under a foreign flag when it is in its waters.

Scottish Ministers wrote again to UK Ministers on 4 November 2016, asking the UK Government to investigate the applicability of National Minimum Wage legislation in the maritime sector, specifically regarding seafarers working exclusively in UK waters.

Question reference: S5W-04439

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to recognise CalMac Ferries’ status as the Scotland region winner of the Living Wage Champion Awards.

I welcome the success of CalMac Ferries Ltd in becoming the Scottish Living Wage Champion for 2016. CalMac is an operating subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, a company wholly owned by the Scottish Ministers. Since 2011, the requirement for employers to pay the living wage to all their employees has been a key strand of Scottish Ministers' public sector pay policy.

The Scottish Government is committed to extending the Living Wage in Scotland and fully supports the Living Wage campaign.

The Living Wage commitment formed part of CalMac’s bid for the new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract, and so is now a contractual obligation. Ministers are considering all available options to promote fair work practices, including payment of the National Minimum Wage and, where possible, the Scottish Living Wage in their contracts.

Question reference: S5W-04396

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the rates of pay for seafarers working on all ferry services between (a) Aberdeen and the Orkney and Shetland Islands and (b) Scrabster and Stromness.

Question reference: S5W-04393

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the number of seafarers who are resident in Scotland that are employed on ferry services between (a) Aberdeen and the Orkney and Shetland Islands and (b) Scrabster and Stromness.

In May 2014 the then Transport Minister in the Scottish Government, Keith Brown MSP, wrote to the UK Government’s Shipping Minister in relation to the application of the National Minimum Wage to seafarers employed in provision of lifeline ferry services to Scotland’s remote and island communities. I again wrote to the UK Government on this reserved matter on 4 November 2016. The Scottish Government asks the UK Government to explore the feasibility of extending National Minimum Wage legislation to include seafarers where vessels are operating solely in UK waters, to ensure all employees in the maritime sector working in Scottish waters are protected by the same employment legislation as other sectors.

Question reference: S5W-04437

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the payment of the living wage in the Scottish ferries sector.

Question reference: S5W-04395

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2016

Question reference: S5W-04138

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether police officers should be allowed to vote for the chair of the Scottish Police Federation.

Question reference: S5W-04136

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the findings of the independent review of the Police Federation in England and Wales that was chaired by Sir David Normington, and whether it will commission a similar review of the Scottish Police Federation.

Question reference: S5W-03983

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, what discussions it has had with the UK Government on the implications for (a) seafarer training, (b) ferry services and (c) fishing vessels in Scotland of proposed changes to the fees charged for regulatory compliance in these areas.

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Andrew Jones MP, wrote to the Scottish Government on 26 November 2015 detailing a proposal to undertake a consultation on increasing the fees associated with Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations charged by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to reach full cost recovery. The then Minister for Transport and Islands, Derek Mackay MSP, replied on 7 December 2015 recognising that fees had not increased since 2006 and that industry bodies were largely supportive of the aim to improve the MCA’s regulatory functions, but cautioning that the full impact of increasing fees during this challenging period should be considered, along with requesting they kept open the option of phasing in the increases.