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: S4W-10407

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to businesses in West Lothian to help them deal with the impact of the closure of Hall's meat processing plant.

Question reference: S4W-10398

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will give to trade unions seeking to assist their members at the Hall's meat processing plant in Broxburn who are facing unemployment .

Question reference: S4W-10394

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government which of its agencies are providing support to the employees of Hall's meat processing plant in Broxburn and what the nature of this support is.

Question reference: S4W-10399

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential economic impact of the closure of the Hall's meat processing plant in Broxburn, whether it will provide funding for developing the Dalmeny chord.

Question reference: S4W-10393

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with West Lothian Council regarding the decision to close the Hall's meat processing plant in Broxburn.

West Lothian Council has been an integral part of the Hall’s of Broxburn Task Force from its first meeting on 5 July when the company announced the consultation on closure.

We are working with West Lothian Council and Task Force members to provide the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative for staff affected. Representatives from PACE, led by Skills Development Scotland and comprising key partners including the Department of Work and Pensions, have been onsite 5 days per week since 24 August 2012 and have delivered 92 presentations to around 800 employees. PACE representatives have continued to liaise closely with the trade unions during delivery of PACE support for employees.

Support provided includes:

PACE Guides translated into Polish and Romanian, and a Polish-speaking adviser available to support staff;

specific CV support for Halls of Broxburn employees;

onsite and offsite resource centres offering one to one support for employees;

three jobs fairs organised for staff - the first of these will take place on
10 November with PACE Partners and local and national employers who have expressed an interest in recruiting Halls employees in attendance; and

the local colleges collaborating to develop a programme of learning that can be tailored to individual needs with the primary aim of boosting employment potential and earnings.

In addition we are in discussion with West Lothian Council and Task Force members on a recovery plan for the area to support those affected by the closure. All options will be explored in this process. The resulting plan will be agreed by the Task Force at its next meeting.

Question reference: S4W-10396

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it will give to (a) West Lothian Council, (b) charities, (c) the third sector, (d) social enterprises and (e) other agencies to deal with the impact of the closure of the Hall's meat processing plant in Broxburn.

Question reference: S4W-10146

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 2 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many average hours of overtime per month each member of staff at Lothian and Borders Police Force Communications Centre has worked in the last year.

Question reference: S4W-10154

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 2 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are plans for the Lothian and Borders Police Force Communications Centre to work with other police force communications centres.

Question reference: S4W-10150

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 2 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) performance and (b) targets are measured at Lothian and Borders Police Force Communications Centre.

Question reference: S4W-10148

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 2 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the average rate of sickness absence has been for staff at Lothian and Borders Police Force Communications Centre in each year since it opened.