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-26434

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 28 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the expected overall impact on families in Scotland of changes to child benefit and tax credit rates between 2010-11 and 2017-18.

Question reference: S4W-26786

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2015
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Maureen Watt on 21 July 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the review of maternity and neonatal services announced on 26 February 2015.

Following a short period of consultation with key stakeholders and professionals, I have invited Jane Grant, Chief Executive of NHS Forth Valley to chair the review. Jane has accepted the appointment and will now invite key professionals and service user representatives to join the group, which will hold its first meeting later in summer 2015. I have asked the group to report back to me in summer 2016.

Question reference: S4O-04448

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote child safety.

Question reference: S4O-04421

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the measures in the Queen’s Speech will have on its ability to tackle poverty and inequality.

Question reference: S4O-04342

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 20 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what impact a further £12 billion reduction in social security spending across the UK will have on poverty in Scotland.

As the Cabinet Secretary said in his answer to question S4O-04334, the UK Government has yet to outline where this reduction will fall.

What we do know is that The Institute of Fiscal Studies has estimated that by 2020,100,000 additional children in Scotlandcould be living in relative poverty, after housing costs, as a result of already announced UK Government welfare reforms.

That estimate does not take into account these further £12 billion cuts.

This Scottish Government will always do what it can to mitigate the worst of these reforms. But there is a limit to our ability to act if cuts of this size are taken forward.

Question reference: S4F-02794

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2015

To ask the First Minister how Scotland compares with EU member states on LGBTI equality.

Question reference: S4F-02738

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 April 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2015

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to figures from the Trussell Trust suggesting that the number of people in the UK relying on foodbanks is expected to pass one million.

Question reference: S4W-24955

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 2 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of how increasing the work allowance for universal credit will impact on (a) the income of working households in the lower end of the income distribution scale and (b) incentives to work for claimants in Scotland.

Increasing the work allowances for universal credit would provide targeted support to low income households. This would allow households to retain more of their income as they enter work or increase their earnings and can therefore improve incentives to work. The benefits of increasing the work allowances accrue largely to working households in the bottom half of the income distribution.

Universal credit and the power to change the work allowances remain reserved matters for the UK Government.

Question reference: S4O-04189

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4T-00976

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 March 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling severe and extreme poverty in Scotland.