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-02508

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 30 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Exectuive what progress has been made in its negotiations with the UK Department for Transport and the Welsh Assembly Government to help deliver the Ministry of Defence's commitment to make it easier for seriously injured service personnel and veterans under 60 to access the concessionary travel scheme.

Discussions were held over several months with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Welsh Assembly Government about adopting a common approach in taking forward the Ministry of Defence commitment to make it easier for seriously injured HM Forces personnel and veterans to apply for a bus pass. The Scottish Government announced on 22 March 2011 that bus pass applications from seriously injured HM Forces personnel and veterans living in Scotland would be fast tracked from 1 April 2011 under the Scotland-wide Free Bus Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People. Similar arrangements have now been introduced in England and Wales.

Question reference: S4O-00250

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to raise public awareness of myalgic encephalitis or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Question reference: S4O-00232

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made toward creating a Scottish sentencing council.

Question reference: S4O-00193

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support job creation in Kirkcaldy and the rest of Fife.

Question reference: S4W-01410

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on (a) offering day-to-day assistance to people with myalgic encephalopathy (ME) and (b) providing funding for research into this condition.

In September 2010, we published a Scottish Good Practice Statement (SGPS) on ME-CFS, for use by General Practitioners, as part of the process of ensuring that people get better and more consistent standards of care, including quicker and more reliable diagnosis. The Statement provides GPs with an algorithm setting out the generic care pathway. The Statement and its accompanying documents - a Quick Reference Clinical Guide and a Guide for Patients - can be found at: http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/GoodPracticeStatementonME-CFSforGeneralPractitioners.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (formally NHS QIS), launched the Clinical Standards for Neurological Health Services on 21 January 2010. The standards are in part generic, dealing with the early part of the patient journey, including access to specialist neurological services and the quality of the patient experience. The generic standards are applicable to people living with all neurological conditions including ME- CFS and Healthcare Improvement Scotland is supporting NHS Boards in implementing the standards through its 2-year implementation and improvement plan.

The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Government Health Directorates has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. CSO primarily responds to requests for funding research proposals initiated by the research community in Scotland and this role is well known and advertised throughout the healthcare and academic community.

CSO is not currently funding any research into ME-CFS, but would be pleased to consider research proposals, of a sufficiently high standard, for innovative studies to treat Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. These would be subject to the usual peer and committee review.

Question reference: S4O-00047

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to support microgeneration.