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: S4F-01323

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2013

To ask the First Minister what the implications are for scientific evidence in courts following the appeal court ruling in the Kimberley Hainey case.

Question reference: S4O-02026

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish civil service jobs have been transferred to or created in Dundee since May 2007.

Question reference: S4O-01981

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct a review of Health Improvement Scotland in light of reports that a fourth person has resigned from the organisation following the unpublished inspection into older people’s care at Ninewells Hospital.

Question reference: S4W-13602

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol is not included in its Guidance on Joint Investigative Interviewing of Child Witnesses in Scotland.

The National Strategic Group for Joint Investigative Interviews with Children was established in 2007. It took forward work to revise guidance; progress the roll-out of visual recording equipment; and consider the training requirements of professionals undertaking joint investigative interviews with child witnesses. The membership of the Group included representatives of the police, social work, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Legal Aid Board, Scottish Court service, Crown Office and the Joint Investigative Interviews Tutors Forum.

The Group considered that the phased or “step-wise” model, set out in the revised guidance, promotes the use of open-ended prompts, as does the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development protocol. They concluded that the protocol was an issue for training rather than the guidance itself. Paragraph 81 of the revised guidance provides a clear link between the guidelines in the guidance and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development protocol.

Question reference: S4W-12376

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 8 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many criminal cases funded by legal aid have been transferred from summary to solemn in each year since 2007.

I have been advised by the Scottish Legal Aid Board that data on criminal cases received prior to April 2008 does not contain the summary information required to provide an answer to these questions. In April 2008, a new computer system, which retains more detailed information, was introduced. For that reason, the numbers provided do not show figures for 2007 and the 2008 is figure for the year from April, only.

The number of cases transferred from summary proceedings to solemn from April 2008 are as follows:

From April 2008: 29

2009 34

2010 45

2011 45

2012 56

Question reference: S4W-12375

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 8 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many criminal cases funded by legal aid have been transferred from solemn to summary in each year since 2007.

I have been advised by the Scottish Legal Aid Board that data on criminal cases received prior to April 2008 does not contain the summary information required to provide an answer to these questions. In April 2008, a new computer system, which retains more detailed information, was introduced. For that reason, the numbers provided below do not show figures for 2007 and the 2008 is figure for the year from April, only.

The number of cases transferred from solemn proceedings to summary from April 2008 are as follows:

From April 2008: 633

2009 1,122

2010 1,165

2011 1,244

2012 1,213

Question reference: S4W-12357

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how long it took Healthcare Improvement Scotland, from the date of the inspection, to publish its announced inspection reports on care for older people in acute hospitals, broken down by NHS board.

Information requested is provided in the following table:

Health Board	Hospital	Date of Inspection	Date of Publication of Report	Duration
NHS Borders	Borders General Hospital	17-19 July 2012	27 August 2012	6 weeks
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary	6-8 August 2012	17 September 2012	6 weeks

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Western Infirmary	21-23 Feb 2012	4 April 2012	6 weeks
Royal Alexandra Hospital	14-16 March 2012	25 April 2012	6 weeks
Glasgow Royal Infirmary	2-4 May 2012	13 June 2012	6 weeks

NHS Lanarkshire

Hairmyres Hospital

6-8 March 2012

16 April 2012

6 weeks

Wishaw General Hospital

28 -30 May 2012 (and 19 June 2012 unannounced follow-up)

19 July 2012

Combined report 7 weeks after initial inspection

(4 weeks after follow-up inspection)

Monklands Hospital

25-27 June 2012

6 August 2012

6 weeks

NHS Lothian

Western General Hospital

11-13 April 2012

21 May 2012

6 weeks

NHS Tayside

Ninewells Hospital

24-26 September 2012

(and 21 January 2013 unannounced follow-up)

30 January 2013

Combined report published 18 weeks after initial inspection

(9 days after follow-up inspection)

NHS Western Isles

Western Isles Hospital

17-19 October 2012

26 November 2012

6 weeks

Question reference: S4W-12356

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when Healthcare Improvement Scotland's draft Announced Inspection Report - care for older people in acute hospitals: Ninewells Hospital was completed.

Question reference: S4W-12365

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff hours have been allocated by each police force to the single service reform team units.

Question reference: S4W-12415

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people are registered as deaf with NHS boards and how many of them have presented with mental health issues.