- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 24 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government which of the books recommended by Stonewall Scotland for use in primary schools (a) it and (b) Education Scotland has approved since the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 came into force.
Answer
The Scottish Government and Education Scotland do not approve books or texts for the teaching of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education. It is up to local authorities and schools to determine what are the best resources to use in their circumstances.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 24 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what materials and publications (a) it and (b) Education Scotland has approved or recommended to teach about same-sex marriage in primary schools since the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 came into force.
Answer
The Scottish Government and Education Scotland do not approve materials or publications for the teaching of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education. It is up to local authorities and schools to determine what are the best resources to use in their circumstances.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2014
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2014
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to remarks made by the chief executive of the NHS regarding the movement of emergency patients.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2014
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the home report system.
Answer
<>Prior to the introduction of the home report, Scottish Ministers gave a commitment to carry out a full policy review after five years of its operation. This review began with a public consultation on 5 December 2013. This consultation, which formed the first stage of the review, closed on 27 February 2014. All responses have now been analysed and the report published on the Scottish Government website on 7 May 2014. The report can be found at the following link:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/05/2311 The second stage of the review will take the form of a research study and focus groups. A research company has been appointed and this phase is now under way. The review is due to be completed by the end of 2014.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 17 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the volume of oil that is recoverable from Scottish territorial waters up until 2015.
Answer
Oil and Gas UK estimate that there are up to 24 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves remaining under the North Sea. Recent research by Professor Alex Kemp of the University of Aberdeen has suggested that around 98.8 per cent of North Sea oil production and around 60 per cent of gas production in the 30 years from 2011 will come from Scotland's geographical share of the current UK continental shelf.
The Oil and Gas UK Economic Report 2013 is available at:
https://publ.com/N6D1Taa#8
The Scottish Government published the third Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin on
28 May 2014; this focuses on the outlook for the industry over the next five years.
It is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0045/00451335.pdf
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 16 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government when the transport plan for the Armed Forces Day National Event in Stirling will be signed-off at ministerial level.
Answer
The Scottish Government has been working closely with Stirling Council to support their preparation of the transport plan and other aspects of the various events across Stirling's 'Big Weekend'. The most recent draft of this transport plan, as prepared by Stirling Council, was received by officials on 6 June 2014.
The Armed Forces Day National Event is an event bid for and organised by Stirling Council. As such, signing-off a robust transport plan is a matter for Stirling Council rather than Scottish Ministers.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government how many speed cameras have been (a) replaced and (b) repaired due to vandalism, and at what cost, in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
In the last five years, three of the eight Safety Camera Partnerships across Scotland have recorded incidents of vandalism to speed cameras. These are logged with the Safety Camera Programme Office on a partnership rather than a local authority basis. The number of incidents and associated costs are set out in the following table.
| Safety Camera Partnership | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 |
| Lothian and Borders | 1 incident £2,633 | 1 incident £2,200 | 5 incidents £12,668 | 1 incident £1,444 | 4 incidents £9,381 |
| North East | - | - | - | 4 incidents £20,395 | 1 incident £3,965 |
| Tayside | - | - | - | 1 incident £4,064 | - |
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 June 2014
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on (a) repairing and (b) maintaining speed cameras in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The eight Safety Camera Partnerships across Scotland provide the Scottish Safety Camera Programme Office with a projection of costs associated with maintenance for the following financial year. The partnerships are then allocated funding based on this projection, which may not reflect the actual cost of maintenance in that year. If the partnership does not spend its full allocation, funding can be recovered by the Scottish Government and reinvested in other safety camera activity.
The following table sets out the financial projections for maintenance costs for the eight Safety Camera Partnerships over the last five years:
| Safety Camera Partnership | 2009-10 (£) | 2010-11 (£) | 2011-12 (£) | 2012-13 (£) | 2013-14 (£) |
| Central | 500 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 3,000 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 14,700 | 7,500 | 775 | 2,400 | 2,400 |
| Fife | 6,600 | 5,000 | 2,325 | 1,580 | 2,080 |
| Lothian and Borders | 92,000 | 81,000 | 97,172 | 98,866 | 70,340 |
| North East | 18,551 | 18,332 | 20,740 | 22,912 | 12,744 |
| Northern | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,631 | 5,981 | 3,700 |
| Strathclyde | 179,836 | 171,550 | 82,100 | 90,744 | 57,140 |
| Tayside | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,800 | 16,750 | 8,500 |
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recently-published research in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine, which suggests a connection between increasing levels of childhood vaccination and (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) autism.
Answer
The paper in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine is authored by a private individual who has no wider organisational affiliation. The paper reviews a selection of previous publications, many of which are by the same author. The paper does not publish any new findings and does not present any new evidence.
The alleged associations between vaccination and autism and type 1 diabetes have been extensively researched through population studies, and there is no evidence linking vaccination to increases in type 1 diabetes or autism. The World Health Organisation’s Global Advisory Committee on vaccine safety supports this view.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what scientific evidence has been used to support the vaccination of primary school children with the nasally ingested Fluenz drug.
Answer
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine Fluenz should be the vaccine of choice for the childhood flu immunisation programme. Arrangements are in place to offer alternative authorised vaccines for the small number of children who are unable to receive the Fluenz vaccine.
The new childhood vaccination programme was introduced in October 2013, and will be rolled out over the next few years on a phased basis, offering protection to those aged 2-17. Advice from Health Protection Scotland was that maximal public health benefit was anticipated through introducing the programme in the youngest age groups initially and progressively rolling the programme out to older children over coming seasons. The rationale for this choice reflects the maximal risk from influenza and its complications arising in the youngest children. It additionally takes into account the maximal anticipated impact on lowering transmission of influenza in the community by vaccination of the youngest children and as a consequence indirectly protecting other unvaccinated children and adults.
Vaccination is voluntary, and it is always our aim to ensure that people are able to make informed choices about whether or not to accept the offer of vaccination for themselves or those for whom they make decisions. The Scottish Government will raise awareness of the childhood flu vaccination programme to inform and educate parents, children, healthcare professionals and others about the programme.
