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-25073

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05394 by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 December 2016, for what reason statutory protection of the freshwater pearl mussel population in the unnamed water, river X, has still not been implemented.

Question reference: S5W-25200

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to improve the energy efficiency of listed buildings.

The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving the vision of our Energy Efficient Scotland (EES) Programme that by 2040 our homes and buildings are warmer, greener and more efficient.

The EES Route Map, published in May 2018, outlines our objectives for all Scotland’s buildings including traditional and listed buildings. It specifies that all properties should achieve certain energy efficiency standards by sector specific deadlines where cost effective and technically feasible (see EES Route Map ).

The Scottish Government continues to fund free and impartial advice through Home Energy Scotland. Advisors have received specialist training from Historic Environment Scotland to provide appropriate advice. Historic Environment Scotland also provide advice on saving energy in traditional buildings on their own website .

As we develop and deliver the EES Programme, we will continue to work with our partners, including Historic Environment Scotland and local authorities, to ensure that the Programme helps to maintain or improve the energy efficiency of our traditional buildings without diminishing their contribution to our sense of place and cultural identity.

Question reference: S5F-03530

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2019

To ask the First Minister when an action plan for delivery of residential services for drug and alcohol rehabilitation across the country will be provided, in line with its Drug and Alcohol Strategy.

Question reference: S5O-03510

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its anticipated timescale is for the progress of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Bill.

Question reference: S5W-23908

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on offering blood tests to anyone considered to be at risk of having contracted Lyme disease.

Question reference: S5W-23909

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 5 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on setting up a regional or national blood testing centre in the NHS Grampian area, and what support it can offer toward this.

NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Division (NSD) commission and manage nationally designated specialist services in Scotland. Proposals may be submitted to the National Specialist Services Committee throughout the year.

NSD already commissions the Scottish Lyme Disease and Tick-borne Infections Reference Laboratory. The service, hosted by NHS Highland, provides specialist diagnostic testing for Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections and provides a reference service function for the whole of Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-03449

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made since August 2018 on increasing the number of foundation, modern and graduate apprenticeships that are offered and taken up.

Question reference: S5W-23491

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the partnership between Aberdeenshire Council and private, voluntary and independent sector childcare providers will be able to deliver the expansion to 1,140 hours of funded childcare by August 2020, and whether it will publish the details of any analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of this work.

All local authorities recognise that funded providers across the private and third sectors are vital to the delivery of the 1140 offer. This is reflected in local authority expansion plans which indicate that around a quarter of funded hours will be delivered by funded providers in the private or third sector or childminders by 2021-22.

The Scottish Government and COSLA have robust joint governance arrangements in place to ensure that all local authorities have the required capacity and capability in place and are well supported as they prepare for August 2020.

The Joint Delivery Board, which I co-chair with the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People, is responsible for reviewing progress towards implementation of the 1140 hours offer across all 32 local authorities and for agreeing actions to mitigate risk, respond to emerging issues or put support in place where that may be required. The Board will publish further delivery progress reports at https://www.gov.scot/publications/early-learning-and-childcare-delivery-progress-report/

Question reference: S5W-23490

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place for private, voluntary and independent sector providers in Aberdeenshire that wish to comment on the decision-making process for the expansion for the delivery of 1,140 hours of funded childcare by August 2020.

Meaningful and genuine partnership working between local authorities and funded providers is key to the expansion of funded early learning and childcare.

The Scottish Government and COSLA established the ELC Partnership Forum to bring together local authorities and funded providers across Scotland to share and promote good practice in partnership working. The Forum met in Aberdeen on 12 December 2018, including a number of providers from Aberdeenshire. Any provider who wishes to participate in the national ELC Partnership Forum can get further information by emailing [email protected]

Local authorities are responsible for developing local partnership working arrangements. Aberdeenshire Council has advised that funding provider meetings take place termly, and that senior council officers are contactable via [email protected].

Question reference: S5W-23488

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage local authority transparency in the setting of the hourly rate for providing childcare services.

Guidance was published on 29 April 2019 - Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare Providers: Guidance for Setting Sustainable Rates from August 2020 – to support local authorities to set sustainable rates for providers in the private and third sector, including childminders, delivering the funded early learning and childcare entitlement.

The guidance, which was developed by Scotland Excel on behalf of the Scottish Government and COSLA, sets out the overarching principles and points that should be taken into account by all local authorities when establishing sustainable rates. One of the principles, as set out in Section 2 of the guidance document, is that Local authorities and funded providers should work together to be as transparent and open as commercially reasonable when discussing rates and costs .

The guidance is available from: https://www.gov.scot/publications/funding-follows-child-national-standard-early-learning-childcare-providers-guidance-setting-sustainable-rates-august-2020/ .