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-01049

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in resolving the dispute between seafarers and management at Marine Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-08947

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many mortalities of salmon there have been due to the use of mechanical lice treatments on salmon farms in each year since 2007.

Information regarding fish farm mortality is collected as part of fish health inspections conducted by Marine Scotland’s fish health inspectorate. Case information is published here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/FHI/CaseInformation

In 2014 the Ministerial Group for Sustainable Aquaculture Farmed Fish Health and Welfare Working Group recommended that mortality over certain thresholds be reported to Marine Scotland’s fish health inspectorate. Mortality thresholds were incorporated into the voluntary Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture in 2015. The following information provides details of fish mortalities which were reported to the fish health inspectorate and included mechanical lice treatment as one of the reasons for mortality.

Year	Total Mortality
2015	0
2016	115,950
2017	18,995

Question reference: S5O-00985

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Church Census 2016, which estimates that the number of churchgoers will have more than halved between 2000 and 2025.

Question reference: S5W-08948

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) sea-going and (b) land-based staff are (i) directly and (ii) indirectly employed by CalMac Ferries Limited to deliver Clyde and Hebrides ferry services, and what information it has on the percentage of these that reside on the islands served by CalMac.

There are 1,050 sea-going staff who crew CalMac Ferries Ltd vessels, all employed through CalMac Crewing (Guernsey). There are 593 land-based employees involved in delivery of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services contract - 564 are employed directly by CalMac Ferries Ltd, 2 by David MacBrayne Ltd and 27 by David MacBrayne HR (UK) Ltd). Employees have been recruited on the basis of their skills and experience, not on their place of residence.

Question reference: S5W-08946

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the chemicals that are used to treat for sea lice in salmon farms, and what quantities of these are used.

Information on chemicals, and quantities, used to control sea lice in salmon farms is published on Scotland’s Aquaculture website at:

http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/fish_farms_monthly_biomass_and_treatment_reports.aspx and Scotland’s Environment hub at: http://www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/get-interactive/data/marine-fish-farm/

On 30 March 2017 Scottish Government published a joint statement - endorsed by The Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform and The Cabinet Secretary for The Rural Economy and Connectivity- to articulate the Scottish Government’s vision for a sustainable and competitive aquaculture sector available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/MinStatement

Question reference: S5W-08949

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) sea-going and (b) land-based staff on the Gourock - Dunoon ferry service are (i) directly and (ii) indirectly employed by Argyll Ferries, also broken down by what information it has regarding what percentage live in Cowal.

Question reference: S5W-08691

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS always offers people who test negatively for hepatitis B a vaccination against the condition.

If a person is tested for Hepatitis B (Hep B) infection in the NHS, and the results come back negative, they may not necessarily be offered vaccination.

However, there are a number of people who are deemed to be at particular risk from infection and may be offered vaccination after a risk assessment is undertaken by a health professional.

Detailed information on those at risk of Hep B infection is available in the ''Immunisation against infectious disease'' (The Green Book) which is an information resource for health professionals and immunisation practitioners to help inform a decision as to whether or not immunisation against Hep B should be offered.

Question reference: S5O-00875

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle sea lice in the salmon farming sector.

The Scottish Government has invested significantly to support research and in developing innovative, long-term, sustainable options for the control and management of sea lice on Scottish fish farms. In 2014, £11 million funding (to be matched by industry) was provided to establish the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre with sea lice control a priority. Last year, a further £1.7 million funding was awarded to SAIC, through the European and Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for piloting non-medicinal sea lice interventions. These will also allow a range of sea lice removal and barrier technologies to be trialled and piloted in Scotland, and the work involves a wide range of companies based in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-08690

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a universal hexavalent infant vaccination against hepatitis B.

The JCVI has recommended a universal programme for all babies to receive protection against Hepatitis B (Hep B).

The Scottish Government has accepted this recommendation and arrangements are being made to introduce a new cost effective hexavalent (six-in-one) vaccine into the routine childhood vaccination programme when it becomes available later this year. The new vaccine will be administered at two, three and four months of age when babies currently receive protection against Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).

Question reference: S5W-08213

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 30 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on raising awareness of Lynch syndrome in each year since 2007.

Through the Detect Cancer Early programme, we have made significant investments in the Scottish Bowel Cancer Screening Programme which was rolled out in June 2007. This programme invites all eligible men and women aged 50–74 to carry out a simple test at home every two years. Men and women aged 75 or over can also take a bowel screening test every two years if they wish. If a person under the age of 60 is diagnosed with colorectal cancer they would also be tested for Lynch syndrome.