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: S4O-01849

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made regarding Homecoming 2014.

Question reference: S4O-01766

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Transport Scotland regarding the price of off-peak train travel.

Question reference: S4O-01725

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it has provided to support the cruise ship industry in the west of Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Development International and VisitScotland helped set up the industry umbrella body, CruiseScotland, in 2008. In 2010 Scottish Enterprise funded a report for Cruise Scotland on the future of the cruise industry in Scotland.

VisitScotland also actively supports Cruise Scotland by providing in-kind support, advice and funds marketing opportunities through the VisitScotland Growth Fund.

Question reference: S4W-11855

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2012
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have been diagnosed with asbestos-related conditions in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

It is not possible to answer the question fully from central records. It is likely that asbestos related conditions may have been diagnosed in a range of clinical settings (e.g. Primary Care, by a GP; or Secondary Care, at an outpatient appointment clinic or after admission to hospital).

The following table shows the number of first hospital admissions with asbestos-related conditions for each of the last five financial years, broken down by NHS Board of residence.

Number of women with a first hospital admission¹ for an asbestos-related condition² in each of the last five financial years; by NHS board of residence.

Health Board of Residence	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	4	4	3	1	2
NHS Borders	-	-	1	-	-
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	1	2	-	-	-
NHS Fife	4	4	-	3	3
NHS Forth Valley	2	2	-	-	-
NHS Grampian	1	3	3	5	1
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	13	14	21	26	23
NHS Highland	2	-	5	5	-
NHS Lanarkshire	1	5	5	4	4
NHS Lothian	1	5	8	2	3
NHS Orkney Islands	-	-	1	-	-
NHS Shetland Islands	-	-	-	1	-
NHS Tayside	3	3	2	2	-
NHS Western Isles	-	-	-	-	-
Other³	1	-	-	-	1
Scotland	33	57	49	49	37

Source:ISD Scotland SMR01.

Notes:

1. Incidence count looks for a patient’s first admission with the specified diagnosis within a given time period. The incidence table is based on a 5 year incidence look back period.

2. Asbestos related conditions have been identified where the following ICD10 diagnostic codes appear on patients’ hospital records:

J61 - Pneumoconiosis due to asbestos and other mineral fibres

C45 – Mesothelioma

J92.0 - Pleural plaque with presence of asbestos

3. Other includes unknown, England/Wales/Northern Ireland, outside the UK, no fixed abode.

Question reference: S4O-01671

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4O-01626

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist people with visual impairments.

Question reference: S4W-11318

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with the (a) UK Government and (b) UK Border Agency on the new procedures affecting cruise ship passengers coming to Scotland (i) prior to and (b) since their introduction in 2012.

Scottish Government Ministers have had no discussions with (a) the UK Government or (b) the UK Border Agency regarding procedures in respect of the embarkation and disembarkation of cruise ship passengers.

The Scottish Government is aware of some concerns being expressed on the application and operation of the procedures. We are obtaining evidence and will write to both the UK Border Agency and the UK Government setting out our concerns.

Question reference: S4O-01592

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the use of community service orders.

Question reference: S4W-11315

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it provides to Scotland-based businesses seeking to export to China.

Support is wide ranging and is aligned to customer need. Assistance spans market awareness events, export skills development, strategy development support and help to develop or expand in the Chinese market.

Services include:

Export assessment
Market awareness events
Smart exporter preparing to export and preparing for international growth programmes
Export technical support
International strategy development
Overseas market research and identification of business opportunities
Exhibition and missions
In-country support via SDI offices and representation overseas, including GlobalScots
Partnering support and assistance to establish a presence in China

SDI provides assistance directly in China through its offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai and across Scotland via SDI trade advisers.

Question reference: S4W-11316

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it provides to educational institutions seeking to export their services to China.

The Scottish Government through its international trade and investment arm, Scottish Development International (SDI), provides comprehensive and tailored support for Scottish educational institutions seeking to export to China. SDI’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong have supported a number of Scottish institutions in developing their ambitions for delivering their services to China.

Through SDI's dedicated education sector team, universities and colleges receive customised support to develop and enhance their international plans for China.

China remains a key market for Scottish institutions and education is an integral part of the priority areas identified in the Scottish Government's China plan. SDI’s aims in China are to: increase trade opportunities for Scottish institutions; expand and deepen Scotland's education links; and increase collaboration in research and development between China and Scotland.

The SDI led programme of activities for Scottish institutions interested in exporting internationally include:

planning (or reviewing) an international/export strategy - amongst the support available is funding for an international strategy review, bespoke market intelligence and expertise from industry specialists in China such as GlobalScots;
growing an export market by developing routes to the Chinese market and through receiving support to attend international trade shows, trade missions and exhibitions;
advice on setting up in an overseas market by exploring partnering opportunities, developing overseas campus operations and working with the corporate sector.

SDI has recently supported Scottish institutions with: market research into areas of new opportunity in China; developing new partnerships with Chinese universities; undertaking training with Chinese businesses; establishing office presences in China; and further developing research linkages through partnership and joint research centres.