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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: S4W-28514

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 30 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether all (a) police vehicles, (b) fire and rescue vehicles and (c) ambulances carry defibrillators at all times and whether all emergency service staff who use these vehicles are trained in their use.

Twenty-one specialist police vehicles carry defibrillators and all staff who operate these vehicles are fully trained in their use. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service holds a register of all vehicles and fixed locations where a defibrillator is installed/carried for use. Approximately 75% of its operational fleet carries defibrillators. Ambulances crewed by the Scottish Ambulance Service carry defibrillators at all times. Ambulance staff who use these vehicles are trained to use them.

Question reference: S4W-28508

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 30 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects a slow uptake of adult carer support plans and young carer statements in year one of the implementation of the Carers (Scotland) Bill and whether the funding and resources of local authorities are sufficient to meet their new duties in year one.

Question reference: S4W-28480

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 30 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many acres of land in the (a) crofting counties and (b) rest of the country are designated as common grazings.

That information is not held centrally. The Crofting Commission administers the regulation of crofting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers and the Chief Executive of that organisation was asked to supply the information.

The Crofting Commission has advised that only 80% of the common grazing land on the Register of Crofts has an extent entered against it. The 20% shortfall is partly due to certain grazings not being regulated, accordingly, no figures are registered with the Crofting Commission.

Of the 80% of common grazing land in the crofting counties that does have an extent, this totals 1,350,501 acres. Please note that this figure should not be considered as authoritative as some of the data is old. However, this is one of the reasons for the introduction of the new Crofting Register which, once complete, will provide an accurate extent of land under crofting tenure.

It should be noted that, in answer to point (b), the phrase “common grazings” is synonymous with the crofting counties and not commonly associated with land in the rest of the country.

Question reference: S4W-28461

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government on what days since April 2015 the 06.18 rail service from Wick has been delayed at Muir of Ord due to late running, also broken down by length of the delay.

The Scottish Government does not routinely hold information on specific delays per service, however ScotRail has provided the following details on incidents of delay since April 2015 affecting the 06:18 service from Wick between Dingwall and Inverness:

Date	Delay (minutes)
25-04-15	1
22-05-15	1
13-06-15	1
02-07-15	65
03-07-15	4
03-08-15	2
23-09-15	1
22-10-15	49
03-11-15	1
07-11-15	2
11-11-15	56

Question reference: S4W-28503

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue to provide (a) respite care funds, (b) carer information strategy funds and (c) the change fund under the Carers (Scotland) Bill.

The Financial Memorandum for the Carers Bill sets out funding for Carer Information Strategies and for support to carers, including short breaks, from 2017-18 onwards. The Integrated Care Fund (ICF) is providing £300 million to health and social care partnerships over three years from April 2015. The ICF builds on the Reshaping Care for Older People's Change Fund which ended in 2015 and can be used for support to carers.

Question reference: S4W-28502

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources for carer support it will provide to fund the implementation of the provisions in the Carers (Scotland) Bill and how these will be allocated.

Question reference: S4W-28501

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the reported funding gap for carers' information services in 2016-17.

Question reference: S4O-04868

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing and what funds it has allocated to make care a more attractive career choice for men and young people.

Question reference: S4W-28244

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it provides to crofting communities in the Highlands and Islands that are affected by extreme weather, and what plans it has to introduce additional measures.

The Scottish Government understands that weather conditions experienced during the spring and early summer of 2015 were challenging for some crofters and farmers. In order to get a better understanding of the issue and to see what might be done assist, a wet weather working group, jointly chaired by the Scottish Government and NFU Scotland, was established. This group’s membership comprised representatives from the sector, including the Scottish Crofting Federation.

To provide assistance in the short term, on 11 August 2015, the Scottish Government announced a £50,000 donation to RSABI, a charity that provides financial assistance and support to those people who have worked in Scotland in land-based occupations and who are suffering hardship.

In the longer term, the Scottish Government will continue to engage with the industry and other stakeholders to promote participation in national discussions about the future of Scottish agriculture which will include, amongst other things, discussion on the sector’s resilience to shocks and future challenges.

Question reference: S4W-28479

Current Status: Withdrawn