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: S5W-13529

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 9 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Welsh Government’s evaluation of the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013, published on 30 November 2017, which reportedly shows lower rates of donation since the change in the law, will have on its policy on this issue.

The Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 has been in operation since 1 December 2015 and the Evaluation of the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act: Impact Evaluation Report suggests that a longer period of time is needed to draw firmer conclusions around the impact of the change in the law. There are complex factors involved in donation and donor numbers fluctuate for a variety of reasons. Such fluctuations are particularly important given the relatively small numbers involved.

We will continue to learn from the experience in Wales, and from other countries which have adopted an opt out system. Introducing an opt out system of donation will be just one of a package of measures we have put in place to help increase the number of donors over time.

Question reference: S5W-13408

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the role that schools can play within the wider community, for adults as well as pupils.

Schools can be considered one of the partners in the process of identifying and documenting local needs for community learning and development and inform CLD plans. As recently announced in the 2018 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan, the ability of children and young people to learn in the classroom does not exist in isolation from their wider circumstances at home and in their community. We also know that parental engagement in children’s learning has a hugely positive impact on outcomes for children.

Schools have been fully involved in the development of Local Outcome Improvement Plans at local authority level and have much to contribute to the plans and their delivery. Schools have for many years been active members of their local communities, working in partnership with local groups, charities, employers and others. There is evidence of outstanding practice in this area and headteachers are committed to forging stronger and further links across their local communities.

Question reference: S5W-13409

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Architecture and Design Scotland good practice guide, School renewal by refurbishment, which says that “where they are feasible, re-imagined old schools can deliver new education benefits, bridging the best of the old school building and modern settings for learning, socialisation and wider community engagement.”

The 2015 'School Renewal by Refurbishment - a Good Practice Guide' was developed by Architecture & Design Scotland in collaboration with local authorities, ADES, COSLA, Education Scotland and Scottish Futures Trust. This formed part of the 2014-15 A&DS Schools Programme which is supported by Scottish Government and underlines the Government's commitment to improving learning in Scotland through raising the condition of our school estate.

Question reference: S5O-01629

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce overcrowding on trains.

Question reference: S5W-12951

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it will spend on the drink-drive awareness campaign over Christmas 2017.

Question reference: S5W-12950

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans additional investment for transport links between cities and suburbs and, if so, how much.

The Scottish Government has invested almost £20 billion in transport infrastructure and services across Scotland since 2007. Our investment in public transport extends to £2.8 billion support for bus and £7.6 billion for rail infrastructure and services. The Programme for Government sets out our commitment to double investment in Active Travel from £40 million to £80 million from 2018/19. Most of these investments either directly or indirectly support connections between or around our major towns and cities and their suburbs.

The Scottish Government is also the biggest funder of City and Region Deals in Scotland with commitments of over £1 billion to date and these include measures to improve transport links between our cities and suburbs.

Looking to the future, the alignment of the ongoing reviews of the National Transport Strategy, Strategic Transport Project Review and the National Planning Framework will consider the interaction of land use and transport and future decisions on transport investment priorities will be informed through the context set by these emerging policies.

Question reference: S5W-12949

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of research suggesting that, between 2011-12 and 2015-16, 800,000 bus journeys were lost to bikes, whether it will give greater consideration of the needs of the cycling infrastructure in towns and cities.

In September, our Programme for Government stated that we would double investment in Active Travel from £40 million to £80 million from
2018-19 to make our towns and cities friendlier and safer spaces for pedestrians and cyclists.

Earlier this year, I announced over £22 million of Scottish Government investment in five Community Links PLUS projects delivered by Sustrans in partnership with local authorities. This will facilitate segregated paths and improvements to the public realm for two projects in Edinburgh and one each in Inverness, Glasgow and Stirling. Our £22 million will also be matched by the local authorities.

Our aim is to take active travel to another level in our towns and cities, and further announcements will be made on the additional funding once the Budget Bill has been approved by The Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S5O-01545

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the non-domestic rates system is fair to businesses.

Question reference: S5O-01532

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact engaging in sport and leisure activities has on mental health.

Question reference: S5O-01508

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that school buildings are safe and meet pupils' educational needs.

All children and young people should feel safe and secure in their schools in order to learn and to achieve their full potential. It is for the education authorities to ensure all their schools comply with the relevant Building Standards and health and safety requirements. However, over the past year the Government and its agencies have worked collaboratively with the Scottish Heads of Property Services, a local authority based forum, and others to undertake a comprehensive review of the guidance on assessing the condition and suitability of schools. This should ensure a more robust, risk based and consistent approach in how local authorities undertake these assessments. This revised guidance was published yesterday.