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: S4W-17207

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the NHS budget it has allocated to NHS Lanarkshire in 2013-14.

Question reference: S4W-17205

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it calculates budget allocations for NHS boards.

The Scottish Resource Allocation formula is used in the allocation of around 70% of the total NHS budget between the 14 territorial NHS boards in Scotland. This provides funding to NHS boards for the provision of hospital and community health services and GP prescribing.

The formula calculates target shares (percentages) for each NHS board based on a weighted capitation approach that starts with the number of people resident in each NHS board area. The formula then makes adjustments for the age/sex profile of the NHS board population, their additional needs based on morbidity and life circumstances (including deprivation) and the excess costs of providing services in different geographical areas.

Further details on the formula are available online:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/Resource-Allocation-Formula/.

Question reference: S4W-17206

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to each NHS board in each of the last three financial years.

Over the last three years, the baseline allocation of NHS boards has been:

NHS Board

Baseline Allocations

2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
£ms	£ms	£ms

NHS Ayrshire and Arran	574.7	586.9	603.4
NHS Borders	167.3	170.7	175.4
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	241.7	246.4	253.3
NHS Fife	507.1	520.8	539.5
NHS Forth Valley	402.8	418.2	434.2
NHS Grampian	691.1	713.1	743.8
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	1,895.6	1,937.9	1,995.1
NHS Highland	484.8	496.0	509.8
NHS Lanarkshire	815.6	837.9	865.1
NHS Lothian	1,054.4	1,092.7	1,141.2
NHS Orkney	31.5	32.8	34.3
NHS Shetland	36.7	37.6	38.7
NHS Tayside	596.4	611.2	629.1
NHS Western Isles	57.7	59.1	60.7
Unified Boards	7,557.4	7,761.3	8,023.6
National Waiting Times Centre	39.1	39.4	44.7
NHS 24	59.4	60.1	61.5
NHS Education	393.4	391.1	390.4
NHS Health Scotland	20.2	19.3	18.5
NHS NSS	266.0	277.3	281.7
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	17.2	16.6	15.9
Scottish Ambulance Service	197.7	203.8	207.6
State Hospital	33.2	33.2	33.6
Special Boards	1,026.2	1,040.8	1,053.9
Total	8,583.6	8,802.1	9,077.5

Question reference: S4W-16087

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on companies contracted to provide public services using the public subsidy to fund redundancy payments to employees.

Question reference: S4W-16085

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances Transport Scotland can terminate the 2012-18 contract with Serco for Northern Isles ferry services before the contract ends.

Question reference: S4W-16084

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has received from (a) students and (b) the National Union of Students regarding Serco’s decision to increase fares for students on Northern Isles ferry services.

Question reference: S4W-16082

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has received from schools regarding Serco’s decision to increase fares for school pupils on Northern Isles ferry services.

Question reference: S4W-16083

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has received from pensioner groups regarding Serco’s decision to increase fares for pensioners on Northern Isles ferry services.

Question reference: S4W-15844

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it helps promote the work of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ employer ownership of skills fund and how often it meets the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to discuss the work of the commission.

The Employer Ownership of Skills is a competitive fund open to employers to invest in their current and future workforce in England only. The Scottish Government has not been involved in its promotion. The Minister for Youth Employment and representatives from the other devolved administrations last met with Matthew Hancock MP on 10 June 2013 to discuss matters relating to the work of UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES). Plans for any further meetings have not been formalised. Scotland has a dedicated national Commissioner who promotes Scottish interests within UKCES.

Question reference: S4W-15847

Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many apprenticeship places at colleges are available for people seeking a career in the maritime industry and what the (a) duration and (b) take-up rate is for each course.

The Scottish Government has committed to offer 25,000 new modern apprenticeships starts in each year of the current Parliament. In 2011-12 and again in 2012-13 we have in fact surpassed this ambitious target.

In Scotland, all apprentices must be employed, linking apprenticeships to real and sustainable jobs. As such, the programme is demand led and is therefore reliant upon employers offering apprenticeships in their sector.

Modern apprenticeship frameworks are not designed with set duration for completion, rather, they should be undertaken at the pace of the learner.

A modern apprenticeship framework for maritime occupations was developed last year, and approved by the Modern Apprenticeship Group in November 2012. As at 31 March 2013 there were two apprentices following this framework.