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 1617 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-29362

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to the Celtic Connections festival in each year since 2011.

I support Celtic Connections and Showcase Scotland by regularly attending and speaking at their events where she is able to promote the aims and value of the festivals.

Since 2011, Celtic Connections and Showcase Scotland have received funding from

Creative Scotland, the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland and distributes funding on behalf of the Scottish Government and EventScotland, which is part of VisitScotland, Scotland's national tourism organisation.

Creative Scotland funding since 2011

Year	Title of Project/Activity	(£)
2011	Partnership with Ryder Cup – Preview of Celtic Connections in Chicago (September 2012).	75,000
2012	Flexibly Funded 2012-13	170,000
2013	Annual Client Funding 2013-14	170,000
2014-15	Annual Client Funding 2014-15	170,000
2014	Showcase Scotland – Commonwealth project. Showcase of Australian and Indian musicians.	20,000
2014	Gaelic and Scots Arts Showcase at Showcase Scotland 2014 (CS-1407-14237)	4,000
2014	Gaelic and Scots Arts Showcase at Showcase Scotland 2014 (CS-1401-11757)	4,000
2015-18	Regular Funding 2015-18 (this equates to £183,334 each year)	550,000
2015	Gaelic and Scots Arts Showcase at Showcase Scotland 2015	8,000
2016	Gaelic and Scots Arts Showcase at Showcase Scotland 2016	8,000

EventScotland funding since 2011

Year	(£)
2011	30,000
2012	36,000
2013	15,000
2014	69,200

Question reference: S4W-29363

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the value of the Celtic Connections festival is to the economy.

An independently run economic impact study was undertaken on behalf of Celtic Connections in 2014 by research consultancy Culture Republic. The study, which conducted a programme of quantitative research using face-to-face administered interviews with festival attendees from 2014, set out the following figures:

Celtic Connections 2014 generated expenditure of £6,017,743 from visitors from Scotland who are not resident in Glasgow; £377,401 from visitors from out with Scotland, and £1,541,002 from visitors resident in Glasgow City.

Once all organiser costs have been taken into account, the calculation of economic impact has identified that a benefit of £6,401,349.40 (Note: The benefit of £6,401,349.40 does not include the economic contribution from local residents which is calculated to be an additional £1,541,002).

When ‘advance impact’ multipliers are applied, Celtic Connections generated £10,754,233.99 of new output to Glasgow and £743,479.97 for Scotland (this is estimated to have generated 132.06 new jobs for one year in Glasgow and 12.58 new jobs for Scotland).

Question reference: S4W-29364

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have taken part each year in the Celtic Connections festival's education programme.

Celtic Connections have reported, based on their box-office figures, that since 1998 over 220,000 children from all over Scotland have benefited from the Celtic Connections education programme, attending free workshops, concerts and other events in an initiative designed to celebrate and build awareness of their cultural heritage.

Each January, professional Celtic musicians also give free workshops in Glasgow schools, during which children can have a go at playing traditional Celtic instruments such as the bodhran, fiddle, clarsach and whistle, and join in with Scots song and Scottish step dance. These workshops provide children with a vital opportunity to become actively involved with traditional Scottish music. Delivered free of charge, they are completely inclusive, involving young people with special needs and those who have English as a second language.

The education programme sits at the heart of the festival and aims to educate and enhance the lives of children from across Scotland. Having reached 99% of Glasgow schools, it enables young people to learn about their own tradition and background, as well as introducing them to cultures from across the world.

Question reference: S4O-05491

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4O-05263

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 14 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Glasgow City Council and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S4O-04912

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government on the progress of the Scotland Bill.

Question reference: S4T-01142

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 October 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Air Accident Investigation Branch report into the helicopter crash at the Clutha Vaults, what steps it can take to bring closure for the families involved.

Question reference: S4T-01101

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Government's refugee taskforce.

Question reference: S4W-26773

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 August 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what progress each university has made since 2011 on increasing access to courses for students from each income decile.

Income data is collected only for those students who apply for income assessed support and for this reason it is not possible to provide the data requested.

However, as an alternative, it may be helpful to consider data published by the Scottish Funding Council on young undergraduate entrants from Scotland’s 20% most deprived areas, based on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation:

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/PublicationsStatistics/statistics/higher_education_statistics/HE_performance_indicators/Participation_indicator_for_Scottish_HEIs.aspx

You will also be aware that ministers have set up a Commission on Widening Access to advise on the achievement of our ambition that a child born today, irrespective of socio-economic background, should have an equal chance of accessing higher education.

Question reference: S4T-01048

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government about the welfare of people held at the Dungavel detention centre in light of recent protests held there.