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: S4T-00429

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the offshore industry regarding the impact on the oil and gas industry in Scotland of the recent Super Puma tragedy.

Question reference: S4W-16656

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set for reducing income inequality and what its position is on the social impact of income inequality.

The Scottish Government Solidarity Target is to increase overall income and the proportion of income earned by the three lowest income deciles as a group by 2017. There are two parts to this - (1) increasing the overall income received by Scottish households and (2) increasing the percentage of income earned by households in the lowest three income deciles.

Tackling poverty and inequality is a central priority for this Government and we are committed to seeing greater equality and social justice. We are doing this not just because we believe it is the right thing to do for the benefit of everyone in Scotland, but also because international evidence shows that countries that achieve greater equality also perform better in economic terms. Social justice leads to social cohesion, and that is a building block of economic success.

Question reference: S4W-16415

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 31 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to ensure that trainee teachers are made aware of (a) autism and (b) dyslexia during their training.

All programmes of Initial Teacher Education are accredited and approved by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). The GTCS’s Evaluation Framework which is used in the process of accreditation, specifically asks the question about what is done in each programme to address additional support needs and these needs would include autism and dyslexia.

However, the GTCS is not prescriptive about the number of hours of course delivery or student learning that should be allocated to each of the elements of the Standard. That would be a matter for the university concerned.

The GTCS will only grant accreditation if they are satisfied that the content of courses is appropriate for a student teacher to be able to meet the requirements of the Standard for Provisional Registration (SPR). The SPR includes, among other things, a requirement to demonstrate an awareness of barriers to learning, such as autism and dyslexia, and an ability to recognise when to seek further advice in relation to learners who have additional support needs.

Teachers' career-long contractual requirement to undertake continuing professional development provides further opportunities for them to augment what they have learnt during initial teacher education.

Question reference: S4W-16416

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 31 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to encourage teachers to develop a greater understanding of (a) autism and (b) dyslexia through continuing professional development.

Scottish Autism have received funding through the Scottish Strategy for Autism to enhance the Autism Toolbox. This will deliver an improved, online, national tool that will encourage good practice in schools to support children and young people with autism spectrum disorder. The enhanced toolbox will be introduced at the Scottish Learning Festival in September 2013.

To help all teachers address the needs of pupils with dyslexia, the “Addressing Dyslexia” Toolkit was launched at the Scottish Learning Festival in September 2012. This includes materials on effectively supporting children and young people, increased accessibility for teachers and information for education authorities on implementation of the toolkit. In addition, Education Scotland is undertaking a review of the Education for Learners with Dyslexia report (2008) to find out how far the recommendations from the original report have been implemented and what still needs to be done. Education Scotland will then compile a report, by the end of December 2013, for Scottish Ministers to consider.

Question reference: S4W-16069

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many times, and on what dates, it has received correspondence from Aberdeen City Council regarding the timescale of the works at the Haudagain roundabout since May 2012.

Question reference: S4W-16066

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued to NHS boards in respect of the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of diabulimia.

NHS boards and diabetes clinics have local pathways in place to enable psychological or primary care services to respond and provide support and advice to people who misuse insulin based on the level of individual need. This would include individuals who miss doses of insulin to lose weight.

The Psychology in Diabetes, Psychology and Diabetes (PID PAD) project, aims to increase recognition and awareness among clinicians of psychological and psychiatric conditions that can affect people with diabetes to ensure that individuals can receive appropriate psychological support, where required, that is tailored to their specific needs.

In 2006, guidance was issued to NHS boards on the management and treatment of eating disorders in Scotland. While diabulimia is not specifically included, we expect the principles and good practice around care and treatment of individuals will be applicable to this cohort of people.

Anyone for whom referral for a psychological therapy is considered appropriate will benefit from the HEAT target we have introduced to provide faster access to such treatment within 18 weeks by December 2014.

Question reference: S4W-16067

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed as having diabulimia in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S4W-14104

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what requirement there is for tenancy agreements between private landlords and tenants to make reference to the behaviour of the tenant.

There is no statutory requirement for a tenancy agreement to make reference to the behaviour of the tenant. It is for the landlord and tenant to be satisfied as to what the specific terms of a tenancy agreement are.

Landlords are responsible for the property which they let, including for the conduct of the tenant. Local authorities have powers to serve an antisocial behaviour notice (ASBN) on a private landlord if they fail to take action where an occupant or visitor to a house they let engages in antisocial behaviour at or in the locality of the house.

Question reference: S4W-14102

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility private landlords have for the conduct of their tenants.

Under Part 7 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 a local authority may serve an antisocial behaviour notice on landlords where an occupant or visitor to a house let by the landlord engages in antisocial behaviour at or in the locality of the house. The notice will specify actions the landlord must take to address the antisocial behaviour.

From 1 May 2013 landlords will have a legal duty to provide new tenants with an information pack. The pack includes information for tenants and landlords on their respective obligations in relation to the conduct of tenancies.

Question reference: S4W-14103

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action can be taken against a private landlord who refuses to deal with an antisocial tenant.

Under Part 7 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 local authorities have powers to serve an antisocial behaviour notice (ASBN) on a private landlord where an occupant or visitor to a house they let engages in antisocial behaviour at or in the locality of the house. The notice specifies actions the landlord must take to address the antisocial behaviour.

Local authorities must also have regard to antisocial behaviour by the landlord, the tenant, or at the property where an antisocial behaviour order has been served, for the purposes of landlord registration. Where evidence relating to antisocial behaviour results in a landlord being found not to be fit and proper, this may result in a landlord being refused registration, or having their registration revoked.