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 261 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-07330

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is flexibility for local authorities to set the level of special responsibility allowance that is paid to individual senior councillors or whether it must be paid at a set rate for each local authority.

Question reference: S4W-07329

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 31 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it issues to local authorities in relation to the payment of special responsibility allowances to senior councillors.

Special Responsibility Allowances for senior councillors were abolished with the introduction of salaries for councillors in 2007. The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Regulations 2007 and amendments set out the requirements for senior councillors’ remuneration.

Non-statutory guidance to local authorities on councillors’ remuneration, allowances and expenses was first published on the Scottish Government website in April 2007. An updated version was published in April 2010.

A copy can be viewed at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/12120139/1.

Question reference: S4W-07225

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to improve the rate of diagnosis of (a) autism and (b) Asperger’s syndrome in females.

The term Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has over the last ten years increasingly been used to cover both autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. More recently, the professional tendency is to use the term “autism” to cover both conditions. The following therefore applies to anyone on the autistic spectrum.

The Scottish Government and everyone working in the field of ASD assessment is aware of the need to improve awareness amongst professionals with regard to how autism presents in general, particularly in females.

The Scottish Strategy for Autism includes a number of recommendations on Diagnosis, Intervention and Support (Recommendations 19-25 refers) and a Sub-group of the ASD Reference Group is taking this work forward. In particular, the Scottish Government is funding work being undertaken by NHS Lothian to look into national waiting lists, to clarify the extent and causes of delays, in order to develop solutions to reduce the waiting times. (Recommendation 21 of the Scottish Strategy for Autism refers).

Although this work is not female-specific, information regarding females will emerge with more clarity as a result of this work.

Question reference: S4W-07224

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average age of diagnosis is for (a) males and (b) females with (i) autism and (ii) Asperger’s syndrome.

This information is not centrally held.

The Scottish Government is funding work being undertaken by NHS Lothian to look into national waiting lists, to clarify the extent and causes of delays, in order to develop solutions to reduce the waiting times. (Recommendation 21 of the Scottish Strategy for Autism refers). Information regarding the average age of diagnosis will emerge as a result of this work and will be available by the end of 2012.

Question reference: S4O-00977

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had discussions with the staff and management of Hall & Tawse joinery following the announcement that the business is to close, given the impact on employment in the area.

Question reference: S4W-06892

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much business taxes have been lowered annually under the small business bonus scheme since its introduction, broken down by local authority area.

The following table shows a breakdown of savings, in £ million, awarded to businesses under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, split by local authority area.

Total business rates relief awarded under Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) *

	2008-09 £m	2009-10 £m	2010-11 £m	2011-12 £m	2008-2011 £m Total
Aberdeen City	2.4	3.3	3.3	3.8	12.7
Aberdeenshire	3.4	5.0	5.8	6.4	20.6
Angus	1.8	2.4	2.7	2.9	9.7
Argyll and Bute	2.2	3.1	3.3	3.8	12.4
Clackmannanshire	0.5	0.8	0.9	1.1	3.4
Dumfries and Galloway	2.6	3.6	4.0	4.6	14.8
Dundee City	1.8	2.8	3.1	3.5	11.3
East Ayrshire	1.3	2.1	2.2	2.5	8.1
East Dunbartonshire	0.9	1.5	1.7	1.9	6.0
East Lothian	1.3	1.9	2.2	2.4	7.8
East Renfrewshire	0.7	1.1	1.2	1.3	4.4
Edinburgh, City of	6.5	10.1	11.8	12.7	41.0
Eilean Siar	0.3	0.6	0.6	0.8	2.2
Falkirk	1.7	2.5	2.7	2.9	9.8
Fife	4.2	6.5	7.4	8.3	26.4
Glasgow City	6.5	11.0	12.8	14.6	44.9
Highland	4.2	6.5	7.7	8.7	27.1
Inverclyde	0.8	1.3	1.4	1.7	5.2
Midlothian	0.9	1.4	1.7	1.9	5.8
Moray	1.3	1.8	2.1	2.2	7.3
North Ayrshire	1.9	2.7	3.0	3.4	11.1
North Lanarkshire	3.2	5.1	5.8	6.5	20.6
Orkney Islands	0.5	0.8	0.9	0.9	3.1
Perth and Kinross	2.7	4.2	4.5	5.2	16.7
Renfrewshire	2.3	3.4	3.7	4.0	13.5
Scottish Borders	2.2	3.4	3.8	4.2	13.7
Shetland Islands	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.7	2.0
South Ayrshire	1.7	2.6	2.9	3.1	10.4
South Lanarkshire	3.6	5.5	5.8	6.4	21.3
Stirling	1.6	2.4	2.6	3.0	9.6
West Dunbartonshire	0.8	1.3	1.6	1.9	5.6
West Lothian	1.7	2.6	3.1	3.4	10.8
Scotland	67.8	103.7	116.8	130.8	419.1

* SBBS was introduced in April 2008

Question reference: S4O-00914

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses in North East Scotland have received support from the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

Question reference: S4W-06451

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports the rights of minority ethnic groups in the workplace.

Employment legislation which provides for the rights of employees, including ethnic minorities, is a reserved matter. Equality legislation is also largely reserved and the protection from discrimination for ethnic minorities and other protected characteristics is provided for through the Equality Act 2010. Scottish Ministers are responsible for specific duties to enable the better performance of the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010. Within these proposed specific duties are requirements in relation to impact assessment, and gathering and using employment information. These duties are currently under consideration by the Scottish Parliament.

In relation to specific work around employment and employability, the Scottish Government continues to seek to address issues facing ethnic minorities. This includes funding the Glasgow Works project which supported and helped implement the Glasgow Works Ethnic Minority Policy Group Action Plan. In 2012-15, we are also funding the STUC’s One Workplace project, which aims to promote equality and tackle racism in the work place by building the capacity of Scottish trades unions to work effectively with public, private and voluntary sector employees on equality issues.

Question reference: S4W-06452

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what research is being done into the working conditions of minority ethnic groups.

The Scottish Government does not currently have any commissioned research projects on this topic, but has considered the available evidence on the broader issue of employment outcomes for the full range of ethnic minority groups in Scotland.

Scottish Government analysts are also engaged in a Joseph Rowntree Foundation research programme on poverty and ethnicity in the UK. Within this, JRF seeks to explore the impact of informal workplace practices and culture on workplace experiences of people with different ethnic identities, and on deprivation. The main aim is to provide insight into what action could be taken to address the level of in-work poverty experienced by people from different ethnic minority groups. The Scottish Government awaits the findings of this work with interest.

Question reference: S4W-06473

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures it has in place to (a) record and (b) monitor instances of alleged racial (i) harassment and (ii) discrimination in schools.