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: S5O-02238

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it gives to inclusive communication, and what improvements it can make to parliamentary broadcasts in this regard.

Question reference: S5W-17009

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to recruit more educational psychologists.

It is for individual local authorities to take decisions on the numbers of educational psychologists they need and employ and the methods they use to recruit to educational psychology services. We have been working with the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP) on workforce planning to ensure a sustainable supply of educational psychologists to meet needs.

On 25 May 2018 an agreement was reached between COSLA and the Scottish Government on a new partnership funding package to help with fees and living costs for trainee educational psychologists. This will deliver up to 30 new educational psychologists each year. This partnership funding package will ensure that the profession is attractive to psychology graduates across Scotland, and robust workforce planning with local authorities will ensure that numbers trained match demand.

Question reference: S5O-02169

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making toward delivering the carers allowance supplement.

Question reference: S5O-02115

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that children are able to give their views in a way that works best for them in cases of court-ordered contact.

Question reference: S5O-02065

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that quality is embedded and evidenced in drug and alcohol services.

Question reference: S5O-02002

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that court mandated contact orders are safe for both the child and parent with residency.

Question reference: S5W-15464

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent each year on measures to mitigate the impact on Scotland of the UK Government's welfare reforms.

The Scottish Government continues to protect the most vulnerable and those on low incomes by mitigating the worst impacts of the UK Government’s welfare cuts.

We have increased our spending on welfare mitigation measures by over £20 million in each of the last two years. In 2018-19 we expect to spend £128m, this is up from £102.8m in 2017-18 and £81.4m in 2016-17.

Using public funds to make up shortfalls caused by UK Government welfare reforms to which the Scottish Government is firmly opposed is unsustainable. In the long term, only full devolution of social security will allow us to build a system that meets Scotland’s needs and supports our long-term ambitions.

Question reference: S5O-01968

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it is involving stakeholders with the development and implementation of its Planning Bill.

Question reference: S5O-01883

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports social landlords in providing affordable housing that is allocated according to need.

Question reference: S5O-01854

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its national Play Strategy.