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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: S5F-03797

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-03760

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-03748

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-03709

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2019

Question to be taken in the Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-03685

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2019

Question to be taken in the Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-25335

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the issues raised in the article in The Herald on 11 September 2019, "Doctor: Pension tax bill will force me to cut hours".

The Scottish Government is aware of the impact that Annual Allowance (AA) and Lifetime Allowance (LTA) tax charges are having on senior clinicians in Scotland. The Scottish Government is working with employers and the BMA to help mitigate this impact and has written to the UK Government on three occasions highlighting its concerns about the impact this reserved policy is having on the delivery of key NHS services in Scotland.

The level of any AA and LTA tax charges depends on an individual's circumstances. NHS pension scheme flexibilities that would allow affected senior clinicians to better manage their annual pensions growth, and therefore the impact of AA and LTA charges, are currently under consideration. These will build on the current option whereby a member can request the scheme pays their AA tax charge with a resulting deduction made to their pension. The UK Government is also undertaking a review of the impact the tapered AA is having on the delivery of public services and the Scottish Government will feed into that review.

This is under active consideration, and we are working closely with BMA Scotland and other stakeholders. If we can find a way of even partial mitigation where risk level is acceptable, we will implement any changes or option for flexibility across NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S5F-03597

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-25334

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 30 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will issue guidance to NHS employers setting out how they can provide flexibility in 2019-20 for senior clinical staff to do extra work without breaching limits for pensions tax relief, and whether it will allow affected staff to opt-out of the NHS pensions scheme mid-year with discretionary flexibility to maintain the value of clinicians’ total reward packages.

Question reference: S5W-24898

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 23 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which local authority was unable to provide data for the reporting period detailed in the Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Delivery Progress Report dated June 2019; what the reason for this was, and whether it will provide data for inclusion in the next progress report.

Question reference: S5W-24892

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 23 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23962 by Maree Todd on 18 July 2019, what will be (a) included and (b) excluded in the initial results of the revised ELC census in 2021.

We are planning an individual child level ELC census in May 2021 with the data to be published later in the year. Data will be collected on child characteristics (such as ethnicity, age, disability and sex), and the pattern of provision for children enrolled in funded ELC. More information on the data to be collected is available on the Scottish Government website . What is included or excluded from the published information will depend on data completeness and confidence in the quality of the data received given that this will be the first year that the census will have been conducted in this manner. Any issues identified will be addressed for subsequent releases.