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: S5W-00802

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00246 by Angela Constance on 14 June 2016, whether it has made an assessment of the March 2016 report by the Work and Pensions Committee of the UK Parliament, Support for the bereaved, and, if so, what its position is on the findings.

The Scottish Government has made an assessment of ‘Support for the Bereaved’, published by the Work and Pensions Committee of the UK Parliament and shares its concerns about the operation of the Department of Work and Pensions DWP funeral payment. We will be consulting on proposals to improve the funeral payment as part of a broad consultation on social security in Scotland, which will take place in 2016.

Question reference: S5W-00804

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00236 by Angela Constance on 14 June 2016, who the members are of the stakeholder reference group on funeral poverty; on what dates it has met and plans to next meet, and whether it will publish the minutes of its meetings.

The membership of the funeral poverty and funeral payment reference group is:

Association of British Credit Unions Ltd

Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland

Church of Scotland

Citizens Advice Scotland

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland

Funeral Planning Authority

Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management

Marie Curie

Money Advice Scotland

Muslim Council of Scotland

National Association of Funeral Directors

NHS Education Scotland

NHS Lothian Bereavement Services

Quaker Social Action

Roman Catholic Church

Royal London Group

Scottish Local Government Partnership

Scottish Older Peoples Assembly

Scottish Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

Scottish Working Group on Funeral Poverty

There have been two meetings of the group to date which took place on 14 March 2016 and 27 April 2016. No further dates have been identified. The group is expected to meet shortly in connection with the planned round table events and conference on funeral poverty.

Notes of the meetings will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

Question reference: S5O-00079

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the role of independent advocacy in the future delivery of social security.

Providing support for people will be a vital part of the future delivery of social security in Scotland and independent advocacy has a critical role in this. Our forthcoming consultation will ask for views about advocacy as well as wider advice and support. We are working with people who receive social security and the organisations that support them to design a system that is responsive, person-centred and treats people with dignity and respect.

Question reference: S5W-00820

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government in relation to the future of HMRC Cumbernauld and whether and, if so, when it has had discussions with staff representatives.

HMRC Cumbernauld is a Whitehall department and as such this is a reserved matter.

However, when HMRC announced the next stage of their building our future transformation programme in November 2015, the First Minister personally spoke to the second permanent secretary at HMRC to relay her grave concerns over these job losses.

This is a worrying situation for staff and we are fully committed to working with all interested parties at local, national and UK level, including the trades unions, to mitigate the impact of HMRC office closures in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-00821

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered moving Revenue Scotland operations to North Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S5W-00817

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Donation and Transplant Group will next meet and what matters will be discussed.

Question reference: S5W-00818

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish the minutes of meetings of the Scottish Donation and Transplant Group.

Question reference: S5W-00816

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government who the members are of the Scottish Donation and Transplant Group.

Question reference: S5W-00800

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00248 by Angela Constance on 14 June 2016, what the terms will be of the review of the funeral industry.

Question reference: S5W-00797

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00248 by Angela Constance on 14 June 2016, when the inspectors of the funeral industry will be appointed; what the selection criteria for the appointments will be, and for how long the appointments will last.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the implementation of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. It is anticipated that the appointment of inspectors of funeral directors will start once relevant regulations come into force, which is not likely be before 2018. The terms and conditions for the appointment are likely to be similar to those for the current Inspector of Crematoria who was appointed in 2015.