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-04386

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is transferring (a) short and (b) long-term prisoners from HMP Barlinnie in order to reduce overcrowding and, if so, whether it is considering taking action to speed up this process.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The current level of overcrowding in Scottish Prisons requires the SPS to monitor occupancy levels across all prisons daily. Where particular pressure requires action, the SPS looks to distribute the population across the estate in a balanced manner which takes account of operational pressures and the prisoner population profile. The opening of HMP Low Moss in March 2012 is expected to alleviate the current numbers pressures across the estate and reduce the overcrowding level in
HMP Barlinnie.

Question reference: S4O-00474

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have used the Independent Learning Account in the last financial year.

Question reference: S4W-04071

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 25 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 330 school building projects completed during the last parliamentary session were planned or started before May 2007.

On election, the responsibility for the provision of funding for school building projects fell to the new Government. As a result the Government from 2007 was responsible for the 330 school building projects.

Under this Government, the annual revenue support grant paid to local authorities for schools PFI or NPD projects rose from £17.6 million in 2006-07 to over £153 million by 2010-11. In addition, the average annual capital expenditure on school buildings rose from £270.4 million in the four years prior to May 2007 to £432.4 million in the following three years, an increase of 60%.

Question reference: S4W-03637

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to standardise the training of foster carers under the remit of Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-00393

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons.

Question reference: S4W-03722

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Bruce Crawford on 9 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the title of the First Minister would be in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-03635

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many foster carers are in place and how many new foster carers have been recruited in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-03634

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much is spent on training foster carers by each local authority.

Question reference: S4W-03658

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 8 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is from diagnosis of lupus to treatment and what specialist lupus services there are.

Information regarding the time from diagnosis to treatment is not held centrally. Organising appointments and scheduling admissions to hospitals are very much local and operational matters for NHS boards. The Scottish Government has, however, set out the wider policy within which it expects NHS Scotland to deliver services. Part of that is ensuring that all patients have swift access to the full range of services they need from the NHS. Within the framework of national priorities and guidance it is for NHS boards to determine local service needs and provide or obtain rheumatology services to meet those needs.

Effective management of lupus relies on the expertise of many specialists, including rheumatologists, nephrologists, dermatologists, neurologists, gastroenterologists, respiratory physicians and cardiologists, and their respective supporting investigative and administrative teams. Clinicians from across Scotland have therefore formed the Scottish Lupus Exchange (SLEx). It brings together the clinicians in the various disciplines to ensure that, through working collaboratively, people living with lupus receive the care and support they need as close to home as possible.

We have provided pump priming funding to support the development of a rheumatology Managed Clinical Network in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. While its initial focus will be on Rheumatoid Arthritis, we expect that, over time, its work will extend to other conditions, including lupus.

Question reference: S4W-03638

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will use evidence-based data to assess intervention programmes arising from health reforms and, if so, who will collect and evaluate this.

Work to promote integration between health and social care includes the development of a draft set of key outcomes and associated measures for older people which health and care partnerships will be expected to deliver. These will be across the care spectrum from anticipatory and preventative approaches through to improved care and support.

This work is currently in the development phase and involves engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. It will form an important part of any future consultation on integration more widely.

In the area of early years, a robust evidence base has been established for the effectiveness of early intervention and preventative spend. We have produced a list of Early Years Indicators which enable local partners to measure progress towards achieving the aims of the Early Years Framework at the local level.