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: S5O-02973

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider traffic management options for the A90/A944 junction.

Question reference: S5W-21748

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been distributed each year to each school in the Aberdeen City Council area in pupil equity funding, also broken down by the year-on-year change for each school.

Question reference: S5W-21747

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many speeding penalties have been issued each month on the A90 between Stonehaven and Dundee since the installation of average speed cameras, and how this compares to the equivalent time period prior to their introduction.

Average speed cameras (ASC) on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven have encouraged a significant improvement in driver behaviour, with 99 out of every 100 vehicles now driving at speeds of 70mph or less. This is a significant improvement when considered against the fact 3 out of every 5 vehicles were speeding under the previous enforcement regime of fixed and mobile cameras. Only 1 out of every 2500 vehicles are now driving at speeds of more than 10mph over the speed limit compared to 1 out of every 5 vehicles speeding excessively under the previous enforcement regime of fixed and mobile cameras.

Offence numbers from average speed camera systems are recorded quarterly by Police Scotland and published retrospectively on the Safety Cameras Scotland website. http://www.safetycameras.gov.scot/news-publications/publications/average-speed-data/

Question reference: S5O-02806

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are in place to prevent disclosure of an accused's identity from compromising the safety of innocent parties.

Question reference: S5O-02672

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve adult oral health.

Question reference: S5W-20077

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 3 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its response to the consultation, Adults with Incapacity Reform.

Question reference: S5O-02586

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the expected completion date is for the Haudagain Improvement project.

The main construction contract for the A90/A96 Haudagain Improvement Project is expected to be awarded in December 2018 enabling work to commence shortly after. It is expected that the project will open to traffic in 2021 which will be three months later than originally estimated. This slight delay resulted from a combination of factors including difficulties encountered during ground investigation work. Information from these investigations is essential to allow contractor to price and programme the job correctly.

Question reference: S5W-19354

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions there have been between Transport Scotland and Aberdeen Roads Limited regarding the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).

Transport Scotland is working closely with the contractor to open sections of the road as soon as it is safe to do so.

In particular, I have instructed Transport Scotland to investigate the potential to open the 31.5km section of new road from Craibstone to Stonehaven and Charleston as soon as possible, while remedial work at the Don progresses. Discussions have taken place with ARL and they are currently progressing this matter through the necessary governance channels within their organisations. It is right and important that ARL considers this matter carefully; but we are urging them to conclude their deliberations swiftly so the people of the north east can start to benefit from the new road as soon as possible.

Question reference: S5W-19372

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government by what date each section of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) will be opened, and when the road will be fully accessible to all vehicles.

Sections of the scheme have already opened to traffic, for example Craibstone and Dyce junctions at Aberdeen Airport and the 7km section of dual carriageway between Blackdog and Parkhill (Goval). More recently the section between Balmedie and Tipperty opened on 15 August 2018.

As with all complex civil engineering projects of this scale, delivery and completion of certain elements of work are dependent on a variety of factors throughout the project including weather, scheduling of other works and availability of specialist resources for certain tasks. Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the contractor for the project, reports that the project is on target to open in late autumn 2018, however, they are unable to estimate a precise opening date while remedial work continues at the River Don Crossing.

I understand and share the public frustration that the road has not yet opened, and can confirm that Transport Scotland is doing everything possible to deliver the benefits of the new road at the earliest opportunity.

Question reference: S5O-02476

Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to NHS boards regarding end-of-life planning for people with MND.

We have worked with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop revised General Standards for Neurological Care and Support, to improve care for people with neurological conditions at all stages of their care journey.

The draft standards, which are currently out for consultation, emphasise the importance of having early end of life planning conversations to ensure that people living with neurological conditions, such as MND, receive the care and support that is right for them and their families.

When published, these standards will apply to all health and social care services and organisations that support adults living with neurological conditions like MND