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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 351 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-17433

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that there are barriers to the full implementation of the kinship care orders proposed by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill and, if so, what these are.

Question reference: S4W-17435

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding how kinship care would be resourced in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-02494

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4O-02460

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 2 October 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on increasing the number of teachers employed on permanent contracts.

My answer to Angus MacDonald a few minutes ago covered this.

We now have the strongest level of teacher employment in years, and the lowest level of teacher unemployment since the current Jobseekers Allowance time-series began in 2005. This constitutes tremendous progress.

You will appreciate, of course, that the employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. That includes the nature of contracts they offer, for example, whether permanent or temporary.

On the specific matter of permanent contracts, which is what the question asks about, the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s post-probation employment surveys have shown a rising trend in the use of permanent contracts over recent years; up from 22.9% in spring 2011 to 50.3% in spring 2013, better than doubling over two years.

There is also now a Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers pay offer on the table, which I hope the teacher unions will accept.

Question reference: S4O-02338

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 4 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on the Scottish economy will be of the recently reported record investment in the North Sea.

Oil and Gas UK expect capital investment in the North Sea to reach an all-time record of £13.5 billion this year.

This will bring a significant boost to the Scottish economy. In 2012, oil and gas production was estimated to have contributed around £22 billion to Scottish GDP and approximately 225,000 people across Scotland are estimated to be employed directly or indirectly in the sector. It is therefore clear that the industry will continue to make an important contribution to the Scottish economy for years to come.

Question reference: S4W-15462

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 13 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to place an annual limit on the number of GP appointments that a person can have.

Question reference: S4O-02144

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to support vulnerable children and their families.

Question reference: S4O-02112

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with the Kurdistan Regional Government to strengthen links between Scotland and Kurdistan.

Question reference: S4O-02076

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the health and wellbeing needs of adults with learning difficulties are taken into account when service redesign is being proposed at a local level.

Question reference: S4O-02071

Current Status: Withdrawn