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-10513

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what guidelines there for dealing with people on waiting lists for treatment when referred between two or more NHS boards, and how (a) it and (b) each NHS board ensures that these people do not face disadvantage.

Many patients will be assessed at their local hospital and will then be required to be referred on to a regional or national service for highly specialised care. Once a patient is transferred to a regional or national service the responsibility for the patient waiting times will then transfer to the hospital undertaking the specialist treatment. In such instances the hospital undertaking the care will be required to take account of Scottish Government waiting time standards and guarantee.

Question reference: S5W-10792

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10361 by Keith Brown on 9 August 2017, what resources it has committed to Scottish Development International’s High Growth Market Unit since May 2016, broken down by (a) individual project delivery costs, (b) staff costs and (c) other expenditure.

Question reference: S5W-10515

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has been given in each of the last five years to reduce waiting times for paediatric care.

The specific information requested is not available centrally.

The Scottish Government continues to support health boards to plan and provide paediatric services to meet the needs of its local population. I have already announced in May that an additional £50 million investment was being made available to NHSScotland to improve performance and reduce waiting times for all patients. NHS Boards are currently agreeing plans on how they intend to improve waiting time performance between now and March 2018 from this additional funding.

Question reference: S5W-10547

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 17 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10296 by Jamie Hepburn on 31 July 2017, when it will publish a full response regarding the impact on Scotland of the report, Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices, and for what reason it did not provide such a response in its answer.

Question reference: S5W-10343

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it was provided with the gross domestic product Q1 2017 figures, which were published on 5 July 2017.

Question reference: S5W-10400

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that there is an adequate supply of social housing suitable for wheelchair users.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the appropriate numbers of social housing required to meet specialist provision in their areas, which includes wheelchair accessible houses, based on guidance issued by the Scottish Government including Scottish Planning Policy, Housing Needs and Demand Assessment and Local Housing Strategies. In addition A Fairer Scotland - Our Disability Delivery Plan (December 2016) requires Scottish Government to work with local authorities, disabled people, and other stakeholders to ensure that each local authority sets a realistic target within its Local Housing Strategy for the delivery of wheelchair accessible housing across all tenures and report annually on progress.

Question reference: S5W-10363

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions Transport Scotland has had with (a) Network Rail, b) ScotRail and (c) freight companies regarding noise and vibration pollution caused by freight vehicles on the rail network, and whether it has discussed with the UK Government changing the regulations that cover such pollution.

Scottish Government attend the UK Noise Policy Working Group which is chaired by Rail Safety And Standards Board (RSSB). Membership is made up from UK and Welsh Governments, DeFRA, Transport for London, Network Rail, representatives of Freight and Passenger operators and consultant acousticians. We also meet regularly with Network Rail and ScotRail to discuss a range of sustainability issues including environmental noise.

The Scottish Ministers' High Level Output Specification for Control Period 6
(2019-2024) published in July 2017 also states "With the aim of monitoring and reducing the overall environmental impact of rail, the Scottish Ministers require the rail industry to report and build on the existing measures for the overall reduction in environmental impact".

Question reference: S5W-10344

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it was provided with the regional labour market statistics for January to March 2017, which were published on 12 July 2017.

Question reference: S5W-10401

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the length of time that wheelchair users are on waiting lists for social housing.

Question reference: S5W-10399

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the (a) quantity, (b) size and (c) location of social housing that meets wheelchair accessibility requirements, and whether it holds this information centrally.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the appropriate numbers, size and location of social housing required to meet specialist provision in their areas, which includes wheelchair accessible houses, based on guidance issued by the Scottish Government including Local Housing Strategies, Housing Needs and Demand Assessment and Scottish Planning Policy.

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Our Delivery Plan to 2021 for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (December 2016) requires Scottish Government to work with local authorities, disabled people, and other stakeholders to ensure that each local authority sets a realistic target within its Local Housing Strategy for the delivery of wheelchair accessible housing across all tenures and reports annually on progress; that grant mechanisms assist rather than prevent houses for specialist provision being built; and that research be undertaken into creating tailor-made wheelchair accessible homes from mass-market new homes. This will enable disabled people in Scotland to live life to the full in homes built or adapted to enable them to participate as full and equal citizens.