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-00839

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic contribution of the music industry.

Question reference: S5O-00664

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to music therapy groups that work with people who have long-term health conditions.

Question reference: S5O-00624

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 in reducing inequalities.

The different Parts of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 are being brought into force to different timescales. Part 5 of the Act on Asset Transfer was the latest when it was brought into force on 23 January 2017.

The Scottish Government will keep the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 under review to look at the impact on improving outcomes for people and communities across a number of key aspects including reducing inequalities.

Question reference: S5O-00549

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what contribution music education can make towards closing the attainment gap.

Question reference: S5O-00422

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of the US Presidential election on Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-00319

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce carbon emissions.

Question reference: S5W-03158

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any information regarding planned changes to the European Health Insurance Card service following the result of the EU referendum.

The Scottish Government has received no information regarding planned changes to the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) service following the result of the EU referendum.

However, the EHIC stems from EU legislation (Regulation 883/2004) which sets out European co-ordination of social security arrangements and, as long as it is a member of the EU, the UK must comply with that legislation.

Therefore, at this time, the EHIC remains valid and allows UK residents to receive necessary state healthcare, in the event of illness or accident, during short-term visits to other European Economic Area (EEA) countries. It also allows residents from those countries to receive necessary NHS treatment when visiting the UK.

We recognise the considerable benefits of having access to state healthcare throughout the EEA whether during a short-term visit, planned healthcare, or as Scottish state pensioners living in other parts of the EEA. We will, therefore, make it clear to the UK Government that our citizens must retain their rights in this regard and that this must be treated as a priority in Brexit negotiations.

Question reference: S5F-00307

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2016

To ask the First Minister what representations the Scottish Government will make to the UK Government to ensure that reciprocal healthcare arrangements are a priority in Brexit negotiations.

Question reference: S5O-00177

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 22 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to empower communities.

The Scottish Government has taken a number of actions to empower communities. We developed with this Parliament the Community Empowerment Act to give communities new rights. We established the £20m Empowering Communities Fund which gives local groups the money and support they need to make change happen on their own terms. And as part of that fund, we launched the Community Choices programme in June this year. This will support thousands of people to have a real say in budget decisions in their areas.

Question reference: S5O-00204

Asked by: Tom Arthur, MSP for Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that housing developments do not have a negative impact on the character and infrastructure of villages.