Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 941 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-01120

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals have provided emergency operations on weekends in the last four years, broken down by NHS board.

Information on operations/interventions undertaken during emergency hospital admission episodes are recorded on central data returns. It is not possible to easily indentify those which are operative or non-operative (for example, imaging, injections and x-rays). Information on the number of emergency admission episodes where a main operation/intervention was recorded on either a Saturday or Sunday by hospital in the calendar years 2007 to 2010 inclusive has been placed in the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 53053).

Question reference: S4W-01119

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time has been to receive a hearing aid over the last 12 months, broken down by NHS board.

Audiology Services have being included in the Scottish Government’s challenging target that no patient should wait more than 18 weeks from a GP referral to start of treatment. This target is due for delivery by the end of 2011.

Information on Audiology services is collected on a aggregated form. Consequently, it is not possible to provide the information requested. However, information on the median wait from assessment to fitting of a hearing aid in each quarter from April 2010 to 31 March 2011, by NHS board is provided in the following table.

Nationally collected waiting times information for Audiology services is relatively new data and is currently still under development. As information collection system are fairly new there are data quality issues around this information and figures should be treated with caution. ISD are working with NHS Boards to improve data quality.

MEDIAN WAITING TIME FROM ASSESSMENT TO FITTING OF HEARING AID IN EACH QUARTER OF 2010-11

NHS Board	April-June (Weeks)	July - Sept (Weeks)	Oct – Dec (Weeks)	Dec – Mar (Weeks)
Ayrshire & Arran	x	x	x	x
Borders^f	6	5	5	5
Dumfries & Galloway	12	6	6	0¹
Fife^f	0¹	7	9	8
Forth Valley	x	1	0¹	0¹
Grampian	8	9	9	8
Greater Glasgow & Clyde^a	5	5	5	5
Highland^b	6	6	5	7
Lanarkshire^c	2	4	4	3
Lothian	x	x	17	16
Orkney	3	3	3	3
Shetland	4	7	8	7
Tayside^{d f}	6	5	4	6
Western Isles^e	x	0^e	0^e	0^e

Source: ISD Scotland

xData not available

¹ Median waits of less than a week.

^aClyde data not available for July to December 2010.

^bData cleansing ongoing, please treat with caution

^cData cleansing is ongoing, please treat with caution. Adult figures not available for the months April and May 2010.

^dPaediatric figures not available for the month of April 2011.

^eProvides Audiology services for adults only – no patients had hearing aid fitted during July 2010 – 2011.

^fSince 1 January some Boards have submitted waiting times for one-stop clinics separately from the normal audiology stage of treatment waiting time returns. Other NHS Boards report one stop patients in the ‘first assessment’ or assessment to treatment stages.

Question reference: S4W-01431

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce any mechanisms to widen access amongst those universities in Scotland which charge students from the rest of the United Kingdom the full £9,000 tuition fee.

Question reference: S4W-00934

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 27 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how its outdoor learning policy will be delivered and what agencies will be responsible for taking it forward.

Education Scotland, the new agency bringing together the work of HM Inspectorate of Education and Learning and Teaching Scotland from 1 July 2011, is responsible for leading and supporting the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. This includes support for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence through outdoor learning. Education Scotland will work with partners to support the Outdoor Learning Implementation Group and the Outdoor Learning National Network which have been established to provide advice and support to local authorities and partners involved in outdoor learning.

Question reference: S4W-00453

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the level of proposed tuition fees in England being set at an approximate average of £8,500, whether it will revise its estimate of the funding gap facing universities in Scotland.

The work done by joint group set up by the Scottish Government and Universities Scotland which reported before the election indicated the size of any funding gap. The Scottish Government fully intends to meet the funding commitments we made to the sector in our manifesto. We will continue to work with universities to maintain and enhance the excellence of Scottish higher education ensuring the access remains free.

Question reference: S4W-00454

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact will be on the number of students attending universities in Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom of its proposal to increase their tuition fees by up to 250%.

Question reference: S3O-13296

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following reports that cases of rickets in children and adults have increased since 2006.

Question reference: S3W-40064

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimated minimum distance is needed between a standard wind turbine and surrounding forestry, taking into account turbulence and required wind speeds.

The separation between wind turbines and trees depends on many factors, including local topography; the ambient wind regime; the size and type of turbines, and the height and species of tree - as such there is no standard distance. It has been amply demonstrated that turbines can successfully be installed in Scottish forests with minimum disruption and with enhancement of habitats such as at Whitelee near Glasgow.

Question reference: S3W-40063

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what its best estimate is of the average carbon payback time for a wind farm development replacing forestry that has been clear felled.

The Scottish Government strongly encourages wind farm developers to use the guidance and calculator provided by the publication Calculating carbon savings from wind farms on Scottish peat lands - A New Approach to estimate carbon payback time when submitting applications for developments on peat lands. Where the application is for over 50 MW the consent of the Scottish Ministers is required. This publication is available from the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/25114657/0.

Improvements to the calculator are currently being carried out to factor in impacts on forestry, which will allow developers to estimate carbon payback time. The effects of clear felling on payback time will depend on a number of factors including the characteristics of the model of wind turbine and the surrounding forestry, and the nature and extent of any replanting of felled forestry which may be planned. It is anticipated that an improved calculator will be published in May.

Where woodland removal is proposed the Scottish Government''s second National Planning Framework (NPF2) and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) state a presumption in favour of protecting woodland resources. The SPP states Woodland removal should only be allowed where it would achieve significant and clearly defined additional public benefits. In appropriate cases compensatory planting may form part of the balance. The criteria for determining the acceptability of woodland removal and further information on the implementation of the policy is explained in the Control of Woodland Removal Policy. This policy, and associated guidance, are publicly available from http://www.forestry.gov.uk/woodlandremoval.

Question reference: S3O-13199

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what cultural events it has planned to coincide with the 2014 Ryder Cup.

The hosting of the Ryder Cup in 2014 will deliver significant positive economic impact and a host of other benefits for Scotland. Through the staging of the Ryder Cup, the Commonwealth Games and the Edinburgh Festivals, Scotland will be centre stage in world terms in 2014 and that is why we have designated 2014 as our next Homecoming Year. Just as was the case in 2009, this will ensure Scotland has an inspirational programme of cultural events taking place the length and breadth of the country throughout the year.