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: S5W-15115

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the last 12 months have reported medical issues while travelling on ScotRail services and, of those, how many were wholly or partly due to travelling conditions at the time.

Neither Scottish Government or Transport Scotland hold this information. However ScotRail have provided the data it records for all incidents of passengers taking ill either at station or on train.

These figures confirm that 149 incidents have been recorded of passengers taking ill whilst travelling on ScotRail services during the last 12 months.

The type of illness/incident is recorded if known or obvious, the underlying detail is not be an aspect which would be routinely requested from passengers and therefore we cannot provide an answer to the question pertaining to travelling conditions.

Question reference: S5W-15118

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many rail stations in Scotland are due to be upgraded to make them wheelchair accessible.

Equality legislation is reserved to the UK Government and as such funding to make stations accessible is with the UK Government.

However, the Scottish Government continues to support substantial accessibility improvements to railway stations. I can tell you that currently there are eight (8) stations due to be upgraded, five (5) of which are funded by this government and two (2) being funded by the Access for All UK Programme.

There is additional funding in CP6 to continue with Access for All UK Programme and Transport Scotland is working with the Department for Transport to agree scope and priority for more stations.

Question reference: S5W-14828

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work on 22 February 2018 (Official Report, c. 44), whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether it is aware of any instances of Prestwick airport being used for rendition flights or live military missions to Syria by the United States Air Force.

Question reference: S5W-14827

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work on 22 February 2018 (Official Report, c. 44), how many military flights it expects at Prestwick airport in each of the next 10 years.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government in compliance with European Union state aid rules. Securing a larger share of military business is part of the 5 year Strategic Plan 2017-2022 published by Glasgow Prestwick Airport on 28 April 2017. The Scottish Government does not hold information on projected number of aircraft movements for the next 10 years.

Question reference: S5W-14076

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 2 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many registered blind or partially-sighted people there have been in each local authority area in each year since 2010.

There are no national figures on the number of people registered as blind or partially sighted since 2010 as the statistics and associated data collection have been under review.

In 2010, 34,492 people were identified as being registered as blind or partially sighted. The following year, 125,660 people reported in the 2011 Census that they had ‘blindness or partial sight loss’. The information available nationally is captured in the following table.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting adults and children who have sight loss, deafness and dual sensory loss to access the services, care and support they need through its See Hear Strategy. The Strategy is jointly endorsed by COSLA and is being delivered in local areas by partnerships between statutory and third sector organisations.

Local Authority	People who are registered blind or partially sighted in 2010 ¹	Scotland’s Census people who are blind or who have partial sight loss in 2011 ²
Aberdeen City	872	4,779
Aberdeenshire	845	5,284
Angus	617	2,947
Argyll & Bute	876	2,431
Clackmannanshire	303	1,156
Dumfries & Galloway	962	4,173
Dundee City	813	3,529
East Ayrshire	704	3,061
East Dunbartonshire	428	2,149
East Lothian	750	2,512
East Renfrewshire	755	1,850
Edinburgh, City of	3,484	10,063
Eilean Siar	136	717
Falkirk	892	3,398
Fife	1,923	9,307
Glasgow City	5,743	14,797
Highland	1,240	5,347
Inverclyde	479	2,221
Midlothian	640	1,922
Moray	394	2,297
North Ayrshire	1,063	3,679
North Lanarkshire	2,842	7,827
Orkney Islands	88	538
Perth & Kinross	803	3,571
Renfrewshire	1,072	4,231
Scottish Borders	755	2,839
Shetland Islands	78	575
South Ayrshire	864	3,070
South Lanarkshire	2,195	7,573
Stirling	578	1,965
West Dunbartonshire	536	2,360
West Lothian	762	3,492
Scotland	34,492	125,660
Sources 1) Scottish Government http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/Data/RegisteredBPSinfo 2) Scotland's Census 2011 http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html (Table DC3106SC)

Question reference: S5O-01868

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what change it forecasts in the number of support for learning staff in schools in the next year.

Question reference: S5O-01829

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards ensuring that the Galloway Viking Hoard is displayed in Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S5T-00944

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that ScotRail has had to pay a record amount in financial penalties in the last nine months.

Question reference: S5W-14020

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 24 November 2017, what plans are in place to engage (a) stakeholders and (b) the public in the work of the independent group for ensuring grouse moor management practices are sustainable and legally compliant.

Question reference: S5W-14021

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what efforts it has made to prevent large-scale culls of mountain hares this winter.

The Scottish Government opposes large-scale culls of mountain hares. There is no current evidence to indicate that large scale culls are taking place but if evidence emerges that points to large-scale culls taking place that could cause significant population declines, locally or nationally, the Scottish Government will consider bringing forward further measures to protect mountain hares. This could include the use of Nature Conservation Orders or giving mountain hares further protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Recent analyses of available data by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) provides no evidence of a national decline in mountain hares. Data from the North East of Scotland suggests there may be local population declines but these are not reflected at a national scale. On 26 January, SNH published a commissioned report on ‘Developing a counting methodology for mountain hares (Lepus timidus) in Scotland’. https://www.nature.scot/snh-commissioned-report-1022-developing-counting-methodology-mountain-hares-lepus-timidus-scotland . Adoption of the recommended counting methodology by land managers will help in developing a better understanding of mountain hare population cycles and trends.