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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: S5W-17758

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to roll-out the Scottish Scenic Routes initiative to other areas of the Highlands and Islands following previous pilot schemes, and for each of the pilot areas, what (a) route they covered, (b) their budget was and (c) the outcome of the pilot was.

The Scottish Scenic Routes initiative was launched in July 2013 as a pilot project to explore the creation of innovatively designed, bespoke viewpoints at selected stopping points on tourist routes, to support tourism whilst also providing opportunities for architectural innovation by young architects.

The Scottish Government allocated £500k per annum for the initiative over a period of 3 years between 2013 and 2016. The pilot was delivered in partnership with the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Scottish Canals on land either owned by these bodies or where an agreement was reached with a local landowner.

There are three installations in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park:

Off the A82 on the west side of Loch Lomond at Inveruglas (£262k)
Off the A82 at the Falls of Falloch; and
Beside Loch Lubnaig on the A84 (two installations which total £271k).

There is also a mobile structure on Loch Voil at Balquhidder (£24k).

There are three installations in the Cairngorms National Park, which are part of the ‘Snow Roads Scenic Route’ from Blairgowrie to Grantown-on-Spey:

Lay-by site at Corgarff on the A939 road (£110k)
At the Devil’s Elbow adjacent to the A93 (£110k)
At Tomintoul on the A939 (£110k).

There is one site on the Caledonian Canal at Laggan (£452k) and a mobile structure at Banavie (£24k).

No formal evaluation of the pilot projects has been undertaken but consideration of the operation of the scheme to date and its future is ongoing. This should not discourage local authorities and others who may be interested in developing a similar project in their areas.

Question reference: S5O-02324

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to investigate the financing of the Calmac vessel, MV Loch Seaforth, which is now owned by Lloyds Banking Group after a lease deal was agreed at a reported cost to the public purse of £53 million.

Question reference: S5W-17358

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 16 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what regulatory measures are in place to avoid potential conflicts of interest between advisory groups appointed by Audit Scotland and the sectors being audited.

The Auditor General for Scotland was established under section 69 of the Scotland Act 1998 as an individual appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Scottish Parliament. In the exercise of any of her functions she is not subject to the direction or control of either the Scottish Government or the Parliament.

My understanding is that the role of advisory group members is to provide independent specialist advice and feedback to audit teams in the course of an audit, but the detailed governance of those advisory groups would be a matter for Audit Scotland to comment on.

Question reference: S5O-02234

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some of its and its agencies' staff have clauses in their contracts that prohibit them from speaking out or whistleblowing.

There is nothing in Scottish Government contracts of employment which prevents employees raising concerns. Our policy on raising a concern under the Civil Service Code and Whistleblowing ensures that staff are fully informed about how to raise different types of concern and what support is available to them during this process. The policy also ensures that managers are aware how to respond to any concerns raised and clearly sets out the roles of individuals, managers, investigating officers, nominated officers and the Integrity Group as well as the Civil Service Commission. There are no circumstances under an employment contract which could legally prevent someone from making a protected disclosure.

In addition, advice is provided to all Board members of executive agencies to highlight their responsibilities under the Public Interest Disclosure Act to ensure that the body has appropriate policies and procedures in place to allow staff to raise concerns and links to guidance from Audit Scotland on whistleblowing.

Question reference: S5O-02199

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to reduce waiting times for children’s health services in the Highlands.

Question reference: S5W-16246

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the survival rate of people in Scotland with haemophilia compares with the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S5W-16316

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the survival rate is of people aged (a) 50 to 59 and (b) 60 and over with haemophilia, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-16248

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the people who were infected by contaminated blood are in receipt of the correct level of benefit and that no person who is entitled to these is left without regular payments, and how it monitors the effectiveness of this.

The payments provided by the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS) to those affected by infected NHS blood are not taken into account when calculating a beneficiary's entitlement to means-tested benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions. SIBSS gathers information on benefits claimed when assessing eligibility for income top-up payments or one-off grants and encourages beneficiaries to claim all of the benefits they are, or seem to be entitled to.

SIBSS also directs beneficiaries to financial advice services and has provided grants for a welfare rights advisor to provide detailed advice and assistance to some SIBSS beneficiaries who have appealed against DWP benefits decisions. However, SIBSS does not have information covering the full individual circumstances of any beneficiary and, apart from those beneficiaries seeking income top-up or one-off grant payments, does not have access to data about beneficiaries' benefits; therefore it cannot monitor whether all beneficiaries are accessing the correct benefits.

Question reference: S5W-16249

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with haemophilia in each NHS board area have died from (a) Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and (b) other neurological conditions in each year since 1999.

No patients with haemophilia or other bleeding disorders have been reported to have died from any form of CJD in Scotland.

With regard to other neurological conditions, this is a matter for the UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors' Organisation which collects data related to the diagnosis, management and complications of bleeding disorders on the National Haemophilia Database. The information requested is not held centrally.

Question reference: S5W-16247

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many recipients of haemophilia plasma-pooled products in each NHS board area are subject to public health observation for neurological disorders or abnormalities.

This is a matter for the UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors' Organisation (UKHCDO) which collects data related to the diagnosis, management and complications of bleeding disorders on the National Haemophilia Database. The UKHCDO is responsible for the surveillance of bleeding disorder patients identified as having received plasma products between 1990 and 2001 — the largest single 'at risk' group for variant CJD. The information requested is therefore not held centrally.