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-10212

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the aims and objectives of local or rural growth deals would be, and how they would align with existing national and local commitments on sustainable development.

Deals whether city, region or rural offer the potential for new collaborative regional partnerships focused on long term strategic approaches to improving economies.

The starting point should be a regional strategic vision for economic development. Each deal is bespoke and can include a package of measures designed to work as a coherent whole. Any deal must however support a long term focus on the priorities required to deliver Scotland's Economic Strategy - inclusive, sustainable economic growth.

Question reference: S5W-10215

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether local or rural growth deals will be introduced, and how it plans to address issues that have been highlighted in responses to the Local Government and Communities Committee's city region deal inquiry, particularly regarding insufficient accountability and transparency.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10213 on 19 July 2017, on whether the Scottish Government will introduce local or rural growth deals.

We welcome The Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee inquiry on city region deals. A call for written evidence as part of its scrutiny of city region deals was launched in April 2017. The Committee is considering the written submissions received before agreeing its next steps. The Scottish Government has worked closely with the UK Government and regional partners to ensure robust governance and accountability is built in to city region deals and will consider carefully any issues raised by the Committee and respond appropriately.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-10214

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have submitted proposals for local or rural growth deal funding, and with which of these it has discussed the possibility of such funding.

Over and above city region deals The Scottish Government is engaged in a number of discussions with regions developing proposals for economic growth. Deals offer the potential for new collaborative regional partnerships, focused on long-term strategic approaches to improving regional economies.

My officials are working with Argyll & Bute; the 3 Ayrshire Councils; Falkirk; Moray; Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles, who are working together to develop an Island approach and The Borderlands to understand proposals and priorities.

Question reference: S5W-10213

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether local or rural growth deals will be introduced across the whole of Scotland; what the timescale and process will be for agreeing deals, and whether they would be modelled on the existing city region deal agreements.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with all our cities and regions; urban and rural to unlock investment. This could be individually or collectively and could be through a Deal, one of the SG’s devolved initiatives to stimulate growth and deliver infrastructure investment, or a combination of measures.

The Scottish Government is working with a number of regional partners who have developed economic growth proposals to realise opportunities across Scotland, capitalising upon local knowledge and resources to deliver more equal growth across the country.

Question reference: S5W-10084

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what additional financial support it expects to provide to NHS Tayside in 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-10085

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that NHS Tayside may have to reduce its number of staff in order to balance its finances.

Question reference: S5W-10086

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported financial issues at NHS Tayside will have on patients, and what assurance it can provide on this matter.

The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that patient safety should not be affected by NHS Tayside’s position. The recently established Transformation Support Team will work with NHS Tayside on the current position and the likely level of brokerage needed at the end of the financial year. Repayment of brokerage has been suspended to avoid the prospect of an impact on the quality of care.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the policy of no compulsory redundancies. While NHS Tayside has to achieve a sustainable financial balance, this can be done by changing services to remove unwarranted variation and ensuring staff are in the right place at the right time.

The Transformation Support Team, which includes a financial expert, will provide advice to NHS Tayside to help the Board develop a plan that will return it to a sustainable financial position.

Question reference: S5W-10087

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to address NHS Tayside’s reportedly "inadequate" budgetary control.

Question reference: S5W-10005

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken regarding the recommendation by the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee to carry out a run of the TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) model that places a greater emphasis on modal shift and therefore has alternative car traffic growth assumptions to the model that was completed prior to the publication of the Draft Climate Change Plan.

Question reference: S5W-10007

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a run of the TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) model for a scenario in which Scotland no longer has access to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme after the UK leaves the EU.

The Climate Change Plan modelling takes into account the EU ETS cap for the traded sector to 2020. In subsequent years, the Climate Change Plan modelling uses actual emissions from the traded sector rather than reflecting the impact of the ETS cap. This reflects the fact that individual countries' share of the cap beyond 2020 have yet to be determined.

The impact of the UK's exit from the EU on the role of emissions trading was not factored into the draft Plan since the UK Government has not yet taken a position on the UK's future relationship with the EU ETS. The EU ETS remains a fundamental part of UK and Scottish climate change legislation.