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-23681

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Ambulance Service not responding to correspondence sent by an MSP on 3 October, 4 November and 1 December 2014 about patient transport services in the Killin area.

It is understood that the correspondence referred to was addressed to 23 Tipperlinn Road, Edinburgh EH10 5UU. The Scottish Ambulance Service relocated to South Gyle Square, 1 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9EB on 9 December 2011. Mail was being redirected to the new premises up until the end of December 2012.

I understand the Scottish Ambulance Service have been in touch with your office directly regarding this and are in the process of investigating your concerns. They will provide you with a full reply, and I have asked to be kept informed of this.

Question reference: S4O-03775

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what agreements are in place with COSLA regarding the funding of education services.

Question reference: S4W-22991

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which orchestras it provides funding to; how much it has provided each orchestra in each year since 2011, and what conditions are attached regarding where the orchestras perform.

The Scottish Government directly provides grant funding to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO), two of five Scottish Government–funded National Performing Companies.

The following core revenue funding has been provided:

	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
RSNO	£4.14 million	£4.14 million	£4.09 million	£4.08 million
SCO	£2.08 million	£2.08 million	£2.06 million	£2.05 million

In addition the following has been provided from the International Touring Fund:

	2013-14	2014-15
RSNO	£30,000 - Touring in France	£8,000 - Commonwealth Games Activity
SCO	£77,000 - Touring in Far East and Austria	£125,000 - European Tour and Commonwealth Games Activity

The Scottish Government has also provided over £8.5 million for RSNO’s Glasgow Royal Concert Hall capital project.

All of the companies are required to perform nationally across Scotland. This is set out in the criteria to be a National Performing Company and reinforced through their funding agreements. The full criteria can be found at

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/04/7232/7

and these include, specifically, that the bodies ensure “that a range of high quality performances take place across the country (including full-scale where it can be accommodated), working with local authorities and others”.

Additionally, in 2013-14, the Scottish Government provided a grant of £18,000 to support the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s participation in the India 2014 tour with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Question reference: S4W-23121

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many lives will be saved by the introduction of its legislation on drink driving.

Around one in 10 deaths on Scotland’s roads each year involve drivers over the legal drink drive limit. The estimates of lives to be saved from a lower limit can vary as they are often made on different bases for different countries. Sir Peter North’s Report of the Review of Drink and Drug Driving Law, published in 2010, stated at paragraph 4.17:

‘‘…The estimates of the potential for a lower limit of 50 mg/100 ml to save lives vary. On the one hand, Professor Richard Allsop estimates, with conservative assumptions, that 43 lives could be saved in Great Britain annually, NICE [the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] on the other hand makes more ambitious estimates based on the experience of research conducted in Europe and in Australia. NICE applies their model to all road traffic casualties in England and Wales rather than just those reported as drink drive-related. Based on the Albalate study of European countries, although without a defined time horizon, 77 to 168 lives could be saved each year in England and Wales whereas, based on the Australian experience, 144 lives could be saved after the first year in England and Wales, progressively increasing by the sixth year to a total of up to 303 deaths avoided. These estimates for England and Wales take no account of the possible casualty savings for Scotland. It should be noted that Scotland represented 7% of all drink drive-related casualties in Great Britain in 2008.’’

A range of studies are mentioned in the North report and analysis applied to England and Wales figures. In 2012, prior to consulting on the proposal to reduce the drink drive limit, the Scottish Government apportioned these figures to Scotland and estimated that reducing the drink drive limit to 50mg/100ml blood, as recommended by Sir Peter North, could result in between three and 17 fewer deaths on Scotland’s roads each year.

Question reference: S4W-23124

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much the concessionary bus pass scheme has cost in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S4W-23123

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys have been made under the concessionary bus pass scheme in each local authority area in the last year.

Question reference: S4W-23125

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next review the concessionary bus pass scheme.

The terms of reimbursement for operators carrying concessionary passengers are subject to periodic discussion with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), informed by an economic model agreed in January 2013. We are currently discussing reimbursement rates for 2015-16 onwards. The January 2013 agreement with CPT also provides for a fuller review of reimbursement arrangements by January 2018.

Question reference: S4W-23122

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Stirling Council regarding mental health provision for people over 65.

Question reference: S4O-03714

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides for people and their families living with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.

Question reference: S4O-03687

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what importance it places on the delivery of a high quality music experience for primary school children.