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 8820 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-25957

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24817 by John Swinney on 4 September 2019, whether it will publish the reports regarding Brimmond School in Aberdeen by Buro Happold and by Fairhurst.

Question reference: S5W-25959

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received the Aberdeen School project comments and discussion document from Stephen Dick and, if so, whether it (a) has sought any geotechnical opinion on its content of the document and (b) will provide a substantive response.

The Scottish Government has received the document from Mr Dick.

Aberdeen City Council has provided categorical assurances that there is no evidence to support these claims, and the Scottish Government are liaising with the Council regarding technical analysis of Mr Dick’s claims. Aberdeen City Council, in discussion with Hub North Scotland, will consider what further actions can be undertaken to provide greater assurance.

Question reference: S5W-25917

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been raised about home reports and the nature of these complaints.

Question reference: S5W-25918

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the process is for making a complaint about an inaccurate home report.

Home reports must be signed off by a fully qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and as such they are bound to act in accordance with the RICS guidance. If there are concerns about surveyors, they should be brought to the attention of the RICS, who may wish to investigate.

The surveyor is liable under the legislation to the buyer for any material loss suffered as a result of an incorrect home report. This ensures that the home report provides an independent assessment of the property, which can be relied upon by both the seller and buyer, based on a non-invasive inspection of the property.

Furthermore, a home buyer can contact The Property Ombudsman (TPO) for advice and possible investigation. TPO scheme is a UK government approved scheme to provide independent redress in relation to disputes between consumers and property agents.

Question reference: S5W-25919

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland or any of its contractors use zero-hours contracts.

Question reference: S5W-25835

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of people resident in Scotland who have had NHS treatment in England in each of the last 10 years.

The following table shows the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) for patients resident in Scotland who have received elective or emergency treatment as an inpatient or day case in hospitals in England in each year since 2009-10.

Year	FAEs
2009-10	7,671
2010-11	7,811
2011-12	7,574
2012-13	7,449
2013-14	7,201
2014-15	7,020
2015-16	6,578
2016-17	6,564
2017-18	6,595
2018-19	6,534

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital (England)

Question reference: S5W-25833

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of people in Scotland who do not have a (a) passport and (b) driving licence.

The Scottish Government does not hold passport data. Nationality and citizenship are matters that are fully reserved to the United Kingdom Government under the Devolution Settlement. The responsibility for issuing passports sits with HM Passport Office, which is part of the Home Office.

The Scottish Household survey (SHS) produces annual estimates of the number of adults (17+) in possession of a drivers licence. Transport Scotland publishes the SHS transport and travel data directly. The latest estimates for 2018, published on 10 September 2019 show that 69.5% of Scottish adults over 17 have a drivers licence.

Further information is available here - https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/transport-and-travel-in-scotland-2018-pdf-version/ .

Question reference: S5W-25633

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23944 by Derek Mackay on 27 June 2019, whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £54.7 million that has been allocated to it to deal with Brexit preparation in 2019-20 will be spent, broken down by portfolio.

This £54.7 million is included within the 2019-20 Scottish Budget and is fully absorbed in supporting work already underway, including EU exit preparation.

A full breakdown of money allocated to EU Exit preparation is contained within the
Scottish Government overview of no deal preparations published on 8 October: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-overview-no-deal-preparations/ .

Question reference: S5W-25636

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation was undertaken prior to the announcement of the Scottish European Co-Investment Fund, and with whom.

Question reference: S5W-25637

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget is for the Brexit Support Grant; how much has been committed to date, and how many businesses have (a) applied for and (b) been awarded the grant.

Scottish Enterprise has provided the following information.

The Brexit Support Grant is funded, administered and delivered by Scottish Enterprise. A grant budget of £1.5 million is available in the 2019-20 financial year.

A total of £550,000 has been committed since the launch of the grant.

432 applications for the grant had been received by 13 October 2019.

150 businesses have been awarded the grant and a further 153 applications are currently being processed.