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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-12788

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had (a) nationally and (b) internationally regarding plans to deal with future environmental epidemics.

<>British Irish Council Environment Ministers’ meetings offer a specific opportunity to co-ordinate a response to threats posed by, for example tree and plant pests and parasites. Most recently on 7 September 2012, at Vogrie Country Park, ministers’ heard evidence from Joint Nature Conservation Committee and discussed strengthening co-ordination of efforts to overcome threats posed to biodiversity by invasive non-native species and exotic tree and plant pests and diseases. We have regular discussions with counterparts in Defra and in other devolved administrations about plans to address environmental threats which may have adverse consequences for the natural environment; however, international discussions are currently led, on behalf of devolved administration interests, by the UK Government.

Question reference: S4F-01213

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2013

To ask the First Minister what action is being taken to reduce the cost of NHS medical negligence claims.

Question reference: S4W-12709

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider supporting cloning as a means of ensuring the future of the Scottish wildcat.

Cloning of wildcats is not under active consideration at present as there are other more immediate options to conserve extant populations and if necessary, to captive breed and reintroduce wildcats.

The main threat to the Scottish wildcat is considered to be hybridisation with feral domestic cats. Hence many of the actions being considered are intended to reduce the threats to wildcats from domestic cats in the countryside, with this being undertaken through neutering and vaccination and the promotion of wildcat-friendly land management practices.

Other actions are likely to include further survey work to improve our knowledge of current Scottish wildcat populations, research on both genetics and hybridisation issues and on practical habitat management. A captive breeding programme and other measures, such as storing frozen gametes, are also currently being considered. Underpinning the range of conservation actions, will be the aim of promoting responsible domestic cat ownership in order to reduce the risk of further hybridisation in areas identified as priority habitats for wildcats.

Question reference: S4W-12710

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when the findings of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project will be published.

Question reference: S4W-12787

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what strategies are in place to deal with ash dieback.

Question reference: S4W-12711

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider sponsoring a follow-on programme to the Cairngorms Wildcat Project that ran from 2007 to 2012.

The Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Group (SWCAG), which is co-ordinated by Scottish Natural Heritage, and consists of a range of organisations, is currently producing a National Conservation Action Plan for the Scottish wildcat. The Action Plan, which SWCAG hope to have agreed by Spring 2013 and published shortly thereafter, will build on the experience from the Cairngorms Wildcat Project.

Question reference: S4F-01186

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2013

To ask the First Minister what strategies the Scottish Government has to combat obesity.

Question reference: S4O-01825

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many wind turbines will need to be erected to meet its target of providing 100% of Scotland’s electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020.

Question reference: S4W-12573

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 7 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many students applied for, but did not obtain, college places in 2012-13, broken down by institution.

Question reference: S4W-11921

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-11036 by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2012, what information it has regarding whether additional processes were introduced by the (a) Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) Commission on Human Medicines to ensure the quality, efficacy and safety of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in light of the litigation initiated between 1992 and 2003 regarding its safety.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the government agency that has responsibility for the regulation of medicinal products including vaccines in the UK. The MHRA has robust procedures in place to continually review the safety of vaccines on an on-going basis and where any new evidence is presented, the Scottish Government will consider this as a priority. Further safety information can be obtained from www.mhra.gov.uk.