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: S4W-28576

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent communication it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding GP shortages at Kersiebank Medical Practice in Grangemouth.

Question reference: S4W-28577

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 4 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a Community Heartbeat Trust report suggesting that public access defibrillation is around 10 times more effective than cardiopulmonary resuscitation alone, whether it will (a) take action to increase the number of portable defibrillators in communities and (b) introduce training in schools on using (i) defibrillators and (ii) other cardiac-related lifesaving techniques.

Increasing the accessibility of public access defibrillators (PADs) is a key part of the Scottish Government’s goal to reduce the number of out of hospital cardiac deaths. On-going activities to increase access to PADs across Scotland are supported by our out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy that was launched in March 2015. The strategy aims to ensure that PAD locations are shared with the public and mapped by the ambulance control centres, which are operated by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) and can direct callers to the nearest PAD.

The strategy also looks to ensure that the available PADs are used as effectively and widely as possible in Scotland. It enables us to work closely with a range of partners, including the SAS, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, and other key stakeholders to rapidly deploy available assets to effectively treat cardiac arrest cases in remote, rural and urban communities across Scotland.

In 2014 the Scottish Government invested considerably in providing PADs in Scotland. This included £1 million to install defibrillators in dental surgeries, and £100,000 to increase the number of PADs available in Scotland’s communities.

Through its Community Resilience Team the SAS offers support and advice to any council, community, organisation or business interested in operating a PAD. The British Heart Foundation provides schools across Scotland with a range of opportunities for training in the use of PADs and in applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The organisation has already agreed to provide such training to over 600 schools in Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-04926

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the road haulage industry regarding reported driver shortages.

Question reference: S4W-28645

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 2 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to raise sight test fees.

The current NHS eye examination was introduced in Scotland on 1 April 2006. This examination is free to all UK residents and those exempt from charges under the NHS (Charges for Overseas Visitors) (Scotland) Regulations 1989 who receive an NHS eye examination in Scotland.

This eye examination replaces the previous NHS sight test. The examination assesses not only whether or not a patient requires glasses/contact lenses, but also provides a full eye health assessment tailored to meet the needs of the patient. This examination is called a “primary eye examination”. Identifying possible sight-threatening conditions early is a key element.

Question reference: S4W-28402

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 24 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported shortage of HGV/LGV drivers in the (a) general haulage and (b) livestock haulage sector.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is engaged with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in exploring a range of options to address the driver shortage. This has included SDS presenting at RHA members' briefing events during National Lorry Week.

SDS has a dedicated employer helpline and a specific web service, Our Skillsforce, offering help on planning, recruiting and developing a skilled workforce: https://www.ourskillsforce.co.uk/. We provide a contribution for Modern Apprenticeships in key enabling sectors, including freight logistics which encompasses the planning, routing and movement of freight across all transport modes (road, rail, sea and air) as well as associated activities such as warehousing and storage.

Question reference: S4W-28232

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with upstream oil and gas producers regarding minimising methane emissions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector by 2020, as recommended by the International Energy Agency.

Gas flaring (and venting) on offshore oil and gas installations is regulated by the Oil and Gas Authority, which is committed to eliminating all unnecessary or wasteful flaring and venting of gas.

Emissions occurring from offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities are included in the UK greenhouse gas inventory but are not currently attributed to the constituent countries of the UK. While efforts to reduce methane emissions in offshore oil and gas production will impact on UK and global emissions, it will not impact on Scottish emissions for the purpose of reporting progress against statutory emissions reduction targets set under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Question reference: S4W-28229

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many carbon storage permits it has issued for the North Sea region.

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is the licensing authority for offshore storage except within the territorial sea adjacent to Scotland, for which Scottish ministers authorise.

In order to undertake a CO₂ storage project on the continental shelf, a business needs (i) a grant of property rights from the Crown Estate and (ii) both a CO₂ storage licence and permit from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).

The Crown Estate awards rights for CO₂ storage through two sets of documents: a storage agreement for lease (AfL) followed by a storage lease, and the same for the pipeline (if necessary). The AfL grants to the holder a time limited exclusive option to proceed through to a pre-agreed lease once a number of conditions have been met. In the case of storage, the holder of an AfL requires a licence from either the OGA or the Scottish Government (depending on the location of the site) to undertake certain activities ahead of stepping into the lease. To conduct storage operations both a lease and a storage permit from the OGA or the Scottish Government are needed.

The OGA has issued no carbon storage permits to date however the Shell/SSE Peterhead carbon capture and storage project is currently going through the permitting process.

Question reference: S4W-28191

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 October 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 12 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding An Comunn Gàidhealach has received from (a) the Scottish Government and (b) Creative Scotland and its predecessor in each year since 2007.

The funding which An Comunn Gidhealach has received from the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland is listed in the following tables:

Scottish Government

2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
0	£1k	£36k	£31k	£1k	£71k	£11k	£51k	£27,280k

N.B. These sums include sponsorship of the annual Gaelic Ambassador of the Year award.

Creative Scotland

2012	An Comunn Gidhealach, Commemorative Concert	£4,600
2013	Royal National Mod: Fringe Events	£15,000

In addition to this An Comunn Gidhealach has received funding from bodies such as Bòrd na Gidhlig, Event Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Caledonian MacBrayne and the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Question reference: S4W-26767

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether its moratorium on hydraulic fracturing includes test drilling for shale gas in central Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-27579

Asked by: Angus MacDonald, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21092 by Keith Brown on 27 May 2014, which (a) ports and (b) vessels in the CalMac fleet now have a wi-fi connection available to passengers.

At present, CalMac Ferries Ltd provides public wi-fi on the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay route, which covers those two ports and the MV Argyle and MV Bute. The service has been available on this route since February 2015.

The rollout of wi-fi across the Clyde and Hebrides network has been challenging due to the requirement to install high bandwidth connections, radio masts across challenging terrain and cabling to the ports and vessels.

CalMac Ferries Ltd remains committed to providing wi-fi across the ports and vessels and is working with the suppliers to make sure that this will happen as soon as possible. The programme of works is being developed with an anticipated completion date of spring 2016.