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-00462

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what was discussed at the recent meeting between the finance secretary and the chancellor.

Question reference: S5W-05227

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04449 by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 November 2016, whether it will provide an update on what plans it has to consult on extending coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to registered social landlords.

I am pleased to confirm that in line with my commitment to consult on extending coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to registered social landlords, today marks the start of this consultation. The consultation paper is available on the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that Scotland’s internationally recognised Freedom of Information legislation remains robust and effective. This latest consultation follows earlier orders extending coverage to a wide range of bodies including local authority arm’s length trusts and private prison contractors.

Question reference: S5O-00437

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland it estimates would be impacted by the UK Government reducing employment and support allowance to claimants placed in the work-related activity group.

Question reference: S5W-04699

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to encourage qualified nurses to practice midwifery, and what courses are available.

The Scottish Government's Nursing and Midwifery Student Intake Planning Group is considering options to increase access to conversion programmes for registered nurses. As part of its deliberations it will be considering whether the 18 month conversion programme previously run in Scotland should be reinstated, along with consideration of which Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) could provide that training given the desire to increase access for nurses based in the Highlands and Islands. The group is also considering the level at which registered nurses should be paid whilst undertaking conversion courses.

Additionally, we are encouraging those who trained or worked in NHS Scotland to return and work in the health service through our Return to Practice programme. A key focus of the programme is to bring experienced staff directly back into the workforce, so NHS Education for Scotland, the HEIs and NHS Board nursing leads that provide the practice placement experiences are looking at innovative ways to link returnees directly to employment.

Question reference: S5O-00363

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Edinburgh City Region Deal.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal and we have been working closely with the city region partners for the past year to understand their ambitions and how their proposals can significantly improve the region’s prosperity and fairness.

Our work with Edinburgh builds on the substantial commitments that we have already made to deals for Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness and we are committed to working with all our cities, including Stirling, Perth, and Dundee.

I call upon the UK Government to make an explicit commitment to working with us to deliver ambitious City Deals for Stirling and for the Tay Cities in next week’s Autumn Statement.

Question reference: S5W-04278

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to Lord Gill's recommendations in the Scottish Civil Courts Review for a multi-party action procedure.

Question reference: S5W-04448

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the average Housing Association Grant (HAG) subsidy levels approved for housing association new development tender approval activity in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last five years, broken down by type of tenure.

The following table sets out the average grant subsidy levels approved for housing association developments in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last five years, broken down by tenure. The line for Mid-Market Rent covers all ‘other rented’ schemes. These units will have been provided by a range of suppliers including Registered Social landlords subsidiaries.

Grant per Unit
	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16

Glasgow
HA Rent	£44,934	£53,369	£63,651	£66,221	£63,031
HA Low Cost Home Ownership	£30,107	£63,163	£45,400	£0	£0
Other Rent (Mid-Market Rent)	£19,419	£27,036	£38,281	£33,713	£49,367

Edinburgh
HA Rent	£41,986	£44,931	£55,526	£59,066	£59,063
HA Low Cost Home Ownership	£26,714	£0	£30,000	£29,558	£47,174
Other Rent (Mid-Market Rent)	£28,870	£31,708	£31,820	£33,070	£39,882

Question reference: S5W-04449

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to consult on proposals to expand the provisions in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to include housing associations.

Question reference: S5O-00330

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark the 70th anniversary of the Edinburgh festivals.

Enhancement of the Expo Fund for the Edinburgh Festivals is a Scottish Government manifesto commitment. The Scottish Draft Budget 2017-18 will be published on 15 December. Decisions on specific budget allocations will not be available before that date.

The Scottish Government and the Edinburgh International Festival are presenting an event in Scotland House, Brussels on Wednesday
23 November 2016 to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the EIF in 2017. There will be an exhibition on the photographic history of 70 years of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Director of the EIF, Fergus Linehan, will give a talk on Entrances and Exits - what next for Europe's Festivals?

Question reference: S5W-04507

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take as a result of the responses to two recent consultations on Stop and Search.

Analysis of the responses to two recent consultations on Stop and Search has been published today at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/Recent. One consultation was on a draft Code of Practice and the other was on police powers to search children for alcohol. On the Code of Practice, Scottish Government officials are working with the independent Stop and Search Advisory Group to revise the Code to respond to issues raised in the consultation in preparation for laying before Parliament by 12 January 2017 as required by the Criminal Justice Act. On police powers to search children for alcohol, the Scottish Government does not believe there is sufficient evidence to support creating such a power at this time. However, the situation will be re-assessed after the Code has been in force for 12 months (with an interim assessment after 6 months), during which time a range of further evidence will be gathered.