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-07625

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh will open.

The opening of the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, in Edinburgh, is planned for physical completion by the end of 2016 and operation in spring 2017 following commissioning. This timetable is dependent on the full resolution of the current issues being negotiated with the funders of the existing PFI contract regarding land and associated commercial issues.

Question reference: S4W-07379

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 11 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recent investigation by the board’s auditors, what discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding the use of private healthcare providers.

The Scottish Government has always made clear our policy is to invest in the NHS in Scotland and to build sustainable services for the benefit of all NHS patients. However, NHS boards retain the option to use the independent sector where necessary to help meet short-term pressures and to provide temporary additional capacity from time to time to enable them to treat patients quickly. This will always be at the margins.

Scottish Government officials, including senior managers and members of the expert team, have had a number of discussions about use of the independent sector as one of the options to manage the backlog of patients awaiting treatment who are outwith target treatment times, while work is ongoing to put in place a more sustainable system of capacity planning and delivery which will enable patients to be treated swiftly within the board's own resources

Question reference: S4O-01136

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what work it is doing to improve the local environment around the canal network.

Question reference: S4W-07378

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it supports the use by the NHS of private healthcare providers.

Question reference: S4W-07403

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive which stakeholders have been contacted regarding the impact of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 on discounts to council tax bills.

Question reference: S4W-07404

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the financial impact has been of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 on council tax bills.

Question reference: S4W-07401

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring has been carried out regarding the impact of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 on discounts to council tax bills and whether it plans to continue this.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 placed a duty on individual local authorities to introduce a discount scheme for council tax for those who make their homes more energy efficient. The Scottish Government has a duty to report to Parliament on the impact of these schemes and collects information from local authorities on the number of properties receiving relief from council tax through energy efficiency schemes and the total amount of relief received. The Scottish Government will continue to collect this information, as required by the act.

Question reference: S4W-07132

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06879 by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012, whether it will provide guidance to Stirling Council in relation to the organisation and delivery of Clan 2014 given its experience with The Gathering 2009.

Question reference: S4W-07130

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 30 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S4W-06873 by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2012, what potential support options it has discussed with Stirling Council in relation to Clans 2014.

Question reference: S4W-07141

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 25 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on targeted financial support for postgraduate students in each year since 2007-08, broken down by discipline.

There are several funding options for postgraduate students. Support for postgraduate research students is generally provided through the Research Councils with support for vocational taught postgraduate courses provided largely through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). Postgraduate initial teacher training is supported through the main undergraduate student support programme and social work qualifications receive support through the Scottish Social Services Council.

SAAS does not hold information on which academic disciplines students study at postgraduate level.

The total spend on postgraduate students supported through the Postgraduate Students’ Allowances Scheme (PSAS) was £10.1 million in 2007-08, £10.7 million in 2008-09, £9.6 million in 2009-10, £7.7 million in 2010-11 and £7.6 million in 2011-12.

The living cost element of PSAS was discontinued in academic year 2010-11 to fund an increase in the number of students eligible to receive tuition fee support. The number of places available increased from 1,820 to 2,700.