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-03429

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 20 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported 5% increase in crime in the area, what its position is on whether Midlothian Council’s disbandment of its community safety teams is in the public interest and appropriate.

The Scottish Government remains committed to tackling crime across Scotland. Over the last decade official statistics show that recorded crime in Scotland has fallen by more than a third, with a 43% decrease in violent crime.

While there was a small increase in crimes of attempted murder and serious assault recorded by police in Midlothian in 2017-18 compared to 2008-09, recorded statistics for Midlothian show that crime recorded by the police has fallen by a fifth over the same period.

The Scottish Government recognises that local community safety structures and approaches rightly vary based on local circumstances, and it is for Midlothian Council to decide what is best for the local area.

Question reference: S5O-03460

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on SEPA classifying the sea water at Fisherrow in Musselburgh as poor in 2018-19, and the potential impact that this has on tourism, and the health of people bathing, in the area.

Question reference: S5O-03303

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report on the fact-finding visit to the UK by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Question reference: S5W-23152

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 22 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support is being offered to former employees of Hutchinson Networks in Danderhall who have been made redundant following the company entering administration.

The Scottish Government is saddened to learn that Hutchison Networks, based in Danderhall, entered administration on 13 May and that 94 of the 109 employees have been made redundant with immediate effect. I know this will be a very difficult time for the staff, their families and the local area which will be affected by this decision.

It is within our objective to ensure our agencies and partners are able to provide skills development and employability support, and in this way PACE aims to minimise the time people affected by redundancy are out of work.

The local Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team was in attendance to offer advice and support to those affected by this announcement and in addition all employees at the meeting were provided with a PACE Facing Redundancy Guide.

All employees who were unable to attend the announcement meeting have been sent the PACE Facing Redundancy Guide by KPMG and the PACE team were planning to hold an event this week for redundant employees to provide further information and advice. However, feedback from KPMG suggests that a large number of staff have secured work.

Many of the employees appear to have been in job roles where there are skills shortages and will likely be of interest to a number of other employers. To that end the PACE team have canvassed employers for vacancies and will send these out, by letter, through KPMG.

Question reference: S5O-03216

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to celebrate International Museum Day on 18 May.

Question reference: S5O-03063

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the ageing population, how it encourages more community engagement with older people.

Question reference: S5O-03017

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how staffing levels in the tourism industry are being impacted by Brexit.

The tourism industry is vital to communities across Scotland, and EU nationals form a significant and highly valued part of its workforce – accounting for 11.6% of those working in the sector. Exiting the EU will create major difficulties for the sector, with industry representatives making clear to us that it will significantly restrict the ability of employers to retain and attract the workers required. Industry representatives from across Scotland have indicated that there are already numerous vacancies in the sector, particularly in rural areas, along with a decrease in the number of EU applicants.

Question reference: S5O-02964

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on non-medically qualified practitioners providing Botox and other similar treatments.

Question reference: S5W-20849

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 18 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on local authorities introducing a charge for bags used to recycle food waste.

The Scottish Government has set a target to reduce food waste by at least a third by 2025 and is committed to promoting the recycling of food waste, where this cannot be prevented. Since 2011, Zero Waste Scotland has provided £25.2m to local authorities to support the roll out and uptake of food recycling services; and it provides ongoing support, advice and guidance to local government to enable successful implementation of the Scottish Household Recycling Charter. However, the delivery of local collections is a matter for individual local authorities to determine and this includes decisions to charge for food waste recycling bags.

Question reference: S5O-02757

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the rail network.