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-22331

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 2 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent cyclone, whether it has plans to increase the aid it offers to Malawi, and how it can ensure that this is spent on immediate relief measures to provide food, medicine and shelter.

The Scottish Government continues to provide funding through a range of Scottish based organisations who work with their Malawian partners on the ground. These include registered charities, universities, local authorities, NHS Boards, private sector companies (acting on a not-for-profit basis) and social enterprises, with an emphasis on respectful partnership with organisations in our partner countries.

In light of the flooding in Malawi, £225,000 additional funding has been given to Strathclyde University, the Scottish Government’s implementing partner on the Water Futures Programme under the Climate Justice Fund. This additional funding is to deliver critical work addressing water resource issues, responding to the urgent need to secure water supplies, test and treat for contamination, best utilising Scotland’s expertise in water management in the immediate aftermath of the disaster in Malawi.

Separately, a further £100,000 has been granted to the Disasters Emergency Committees (DEC) Cyclone Idai appeal to support relief efforts in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. This money is being used to deliver immediate relief measures including emergency shelter kits, food, water purification tablets and urgent health assistance.

The Scottish Government is continuing to monitor the situation closely.

Question reference: S5T-01593

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support integration joint boards with funding shortfalls.

Question reference: S5W-22339

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many breaches of unsuitable temporary accommodation orders there have been, broken down by local authority.

The Scottish Government collect information on the number of placements that have been in breach of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order from Local Authorities via the HL3 data collection. The most recent published data presents the number of breaches, broken down by local authority.

Please see Table 19 in the most recent publication, available in the Tables document here: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics-publication
/2019/01/homelessness-scotland-update-30-september-2018/documents/tables/tables/
govscot%3Adocument

Question reference: S5O-03103

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on rail passengers being charged peak fares when they have to stand.

Question reference: S5W-22140

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will fulfil its commitment to keep together siblings who are looked-after; what legislation it plans to (a) amend or (b) introduce as part of this process, and by what date this will be in place.

The Scottish Government is committed to making our care system the best that it can be. We are considering how best to use law and practice to make sure that more children are kept together, either physically, or through the proactive encouragement of contact.

There are already provisions in the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 which require local authorities to assess sibling relationships and to ensure that brothers and sisters are placed together, or near to each other, where practicable; and we aim to strengthen these legal provisions.

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government announced that we intend to introduce both a Family Law Bill later this year. We plan to include in the Family Law Bill a duty on local authorities to keep children together where it is in their best interests to do so, and a duty on local authorities to promote a child’s contact and personal relations with their brothers and sisters where this is practical and appropriate and in the welfare of the child.

Question reference: S5W-22075

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) sexual health services and (b) intrauterine device (IUD) fittings.

Question reference: S5W-22073

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices provide intrauterine device (IUD) fittings in-house.

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) does not hold this information as they are unable to determine whether or not GP practices fit Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) in-house or if this is conducted elsewhere. The Prescription Cost Analysis publication https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Publications/data-tables2017.asp – tab 4 will show the number of IUDs prescribed in Scotland in 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-22072

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some people in the NHS Lothian area have been advised that they must wait at least eight to 10 weeks for an intrauterine device (IUD) fitting.

We are aware that NHS Lothian is currently experiencing some capacity issues with appointments for the intrauterine device, and officials are in communication with the Board regarding this matter.

The provision of long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods is a policy priority for the Scottish Government, as set out in the Refreshed Maternity Framework (2011), the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework Update (2015) and the Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy (2016). The Scottish Government has funded trial projects in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to improve access to LARC for women who have recently given birth, as this has been identified by a successful trial project in NHS Lothian as an area which can be improved.

Question reference: S5W-21515

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of how many people will transition to public transport in light of its decision to tax workplace parking.

Question reference: S5W-22074

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 21 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it incentivises GP practices to provide intrauterine device (IUD) fittings.