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-23793

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 14 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what time period the public should have to scrutinise planning applications published on the web.

There is no statutory time period for public scrutiny of planning applications published on the web.

Planning authorities are required to publish on the internet, as part of the list of applications, the date by which representations to the planning application must be received. This date is set by the planning authority and must be not less than 21 days after the date on which notice is sent to the owner, lessee or occupier of premises on any land neighbouring the development. Additionally, where there is a requirement to publish notice of the application in a local newspaper, it must be not less than 14 days from the date of publication.

Scottish Government guidance, set out in Planning Series Circular 3/2013: Development Management Procedures, recommends that planning authorities arrange that planning applications are published online in the list of applications on the same date as notice is sent out and, where required, published in the newspaper, and the time periods for representations in notices and newspapers are aligned.

Question reference: S4W-23689

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the views of sex workers should be taken into account by the organisations that provide services to support them.

Question reference: S4W-23688

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what role it considers sex worker-led organisations should have in discussions about the (a) development and (b) implementation of its policy toward (i) sex work and (ii) tackling violence against women.

The Scottish Government considers that it is important that those directly affected by a policy, and the organisations which represent them, are given an opportunity to contribute to its development and implementation. Consultation is an essential and important aspect of how the Scottish Government develops policy.

In general, consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

Question reference: S4W-23686

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis of pre-exposure prophylaxis will be carried out prior to its refresh of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

Development of the refreshed Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is currently in its early stages and we are consulting with a variety of stakeholders. The refreshed framework will be published in summer 2015 but no decisions on any specific recommendations have yet been made.

Any decisions specifically relating to pre-exposure prophylaxis will be based on recommendations from the British HIV Association, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the UK Expert Advisory Group on AIDS.

Question reference: S4W-23685

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the interim results of the PROUD Study's report on pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Whilst the interim results of the PROUD study of pre-exposure prophylaxis are encouraging, we should await the full results before taking any decisions. Once the full results are available we will work with the NHS and other interested stakeholders to consider our approach to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as part of a package of HIV prevention interventions. Any decisions on PrEP will be informed by recommendations from the British HIV Association, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the UK Expert Advisory Group on AIDS.

Our current policy on PrEP reflects the joint position statement, issued by British HIV Association/British Association for Sexual Health and HIV on pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK in 2012 which states that “ad hoc prescribing is avoided, and that PrEP is only prescribed in the context of a clinical research study in the UK”.

Question reference: S4W-23687

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on pre-exposure prophylaxis being used as a method of HIV prevention.

Question reference: S4W-23684

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much of its international development budget is spent on HIV treatment and education programmes.

The Scottish Government's international development budget does not provide funding for any projects whose sole function is to deliver HIV education/awareness raising. The budget does fund projects which contain an element of HIV education/awareness raising as part of their overall remit.

An example is the Karonga Girls and Boys Empowerment Project in Malawi, to which the Scottish Government is contributing nearly £400,000. The project addresses issues that can have a wide range of negative impacts, including exacerbation of problems related to HIV and AIDS. These include: harmful cultural practices; low household income; and increased exposure to HIV.

Funding for this and other projects is provided for the projects in their entirety and specific amounts are not allocated to the HIV education/awareness raising aspects. It is therefore not possible to calculate the spend on this element of each project.

Question reference: S4W-23601

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to NHS Grampian has been of delayed discharges in the Aberdeen City Council area in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S4W-23602

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the current cost to NHS Grampian is of delayed discharges in the Aberdeen City Council area.

Question reference: S4F-02471

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 December 2014

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will respond to the findings of the all-party UK parliamentary inquiry into hunger in the UK.