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: S5O-01315

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what role sports clubs and leisure centres play in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Question reference: S5O-01302

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that schools are safe environments for pupils.

The safety of our children and young people in school is of paramount importance and any violence towards staff or pupils is unacceptable. We are actively working with schools and local authorities to tackle serious disruptive behaviour and violence.

Early years experiences, positive parenting and the experiences of having good healthy, respectful relationships all play a key role in reducing violence.

Since 2009, we have provided over £3 million of funding to the No Knives, Better Lives initiative, which is available to all local authority areas in Scotland. It educates young people about the dangers and consequences associated with carrying a knife and encourages positive life choices away from violence.

In June we published our refreshed national guidance - Included, Engaged and Involved Part 2: A Positive Approach to Preventing and Managing School Exclusions, which provided guidance on managing incidents involving weapons in schools.

Question reference: S5W-11363

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings it has held with cycle groups regarding the preferred new road layout proposed for the Sheriffhall Roundabout and what was discussed.

Question reference: S5O-01269

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

To ask the Scottish Government what role sport has in attracting tourism to Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-01209

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how the performance of the economy is affected by the property market.

Question reference: S5W-10003

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides for churches to make their buildings more energy-efficient.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting organisations across Scotland to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. We provide support to churches and other organisations to achieve this through three main sources.

Firstly, Resource Efficient Scotland (RES) offers an Advice and Support Service which, between April 2013 – 2016, delivered one-to-one support to over 2,300 organisations and identified a potential £39 million in annual cost savings and an estimated 2,820 GWh of lifetime energy savings. We also provide organisations with loans of up to £100,000 for the installation of resource efficiency measures and renewable energy technologies through the RES SME Loans Scheme. The scheme has financed over 800 projects since 2008, resulting in estimated heat and electricity energy savings of 319 GWh and financial savings of over £35 million. Further information can be obtained from: www.resourceefficientscotland.com or by phoning 0808 808 2268.

Secondly, the Climate Challenge Fund supports communities across Scotland to take action on climate change and make the move to low carbon living. This includes energy efficiency renovations to community buildings such as churches and church halls, alongside community engagement projects to reduce emissions. Since 2008, the Scottish Government has made 986 awards valued at £85.8 million to 622 communities. More information is available from: http://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/sustainability-climate-change/climate-challenge-fund/.

Thirdly, the Scottish Government’s Communities and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) offers advice and funding to support a range of organisations, including charities and third sector organisations, to develop renewable energy projects. Further information and contact details can be found at: http://www.localenergyscotland.org/.

Churches may also wish to contact the Green Network for Business, which consists of organisations who have implemented resource efficiency or renewables measures and are open to visits and contact from others who are considering such action. Network members can be found at: http://greennetwork.resourceefficientscotland.com/.

Question reference: S5W-10051

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 31 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09973 by Aileen Campbell on 28 June 2017, whether it considers that section 7(1) of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006, which suggests that the nearest relative of a deceased adult can still authorise the use of organs for transplantation in cases where they did not know the person’s wishes, can be considered as a form of “soft opt-out”.

Section 7 of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 provides for explicit authorisation by the nearest relative in cases where there is no knowledge that the individual was unwilling to donate. In contrast, an opt out system would enable authorisation from an individual to be deemed, rather than it being provided by the nearest relative, subject to certain safeguards for groups whose authorisation cannot be deemed.

Question reference: S5W-10002

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric vehicle charging points there are at service stations on the M8.

Question reference: S5W-10082

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure “on protection” prisoners have the same possibility of movement in prisons as other prisoners.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

HMP Edinburgh is Scotland’s second largest prison and houses a complex mix of population groups. Ensuring six different population groups are kept safe does, at times, have an impact on the range of activities and experiences offered to prisoners.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is undertaking a review of the prison population to determine its future approach to Population Management in Scotland which will support the management of all prisoners, including those held on protection.

Question reference: S5W-10080

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reportedly high level of staff absences at HMP Edinburgh.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The level of staff sick absence at HMP Edinburgh has risen over the past 12 months. To alleviate staffing pressures, additional resources will be allocated to HMP Edinburgh during August 2017, with further resources being assigned to the establishment by the end of the year.

There are also robust measures in place to allow staff who are absent from work to access any support they may require at the earliest opportunity, allowing them to return to work when they are fit enough to do so in line with advice provided by our Occupational Health partners.