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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S4W-24811

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) Governance Board linked the NHSCR to the 2011 census.

The linkage which was carried out between an extract of the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) and an extract of the 2011 Census was carried out under the direction of the Beyond 2011 Programme Board which was chaired by the Registrar General.

The Beyond 2011 Programme was established to explore the provision of population and socio-demographic statistics in Scotland. The programme aimed to investigate a range of options and alternatives in relation to the supply and provision of available statistical information, including the possibility of using administrative sources and methods for developing a more cost-effective and efficient census design. This linkage of extracts took place to help assess the suitability of increasing the use of the NHSCR in the production of census statistics.

Question reference: S4W-24818

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) Governance Board’s research exercise to link the NHSCR and the 2011 census.

Question reference: S4W-24815

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) Governance Board’s decision to link the 2011 census and NHSCR is consistent with the Scottish Government's identity and management principles.

Question reference: S4W-24817

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) Governance Board conducted a cost/benefit analysis of the research exercise to link the NHSCR and the 2011 census and, if so, what it concluded.

The linkage which was carried out between an extract of the National Health Service Central Register and an extract of the 2011 Census was carried out under the direction of the Beyond 2011 Programme Board which was chaired by the Registrar General.

The programme contained several work streams and this linkage project was a subset of one work stream. A cost/benefit analysis was not produced for this specific piece of work, which involved minimal costs (see the answer to question S4W-24818 on 19 March 2015)

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-24819

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) public bodies, (b) companies or (c) consultants or contractors were involved in the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) Governance Board’s research exercise to link the NHSCR and the 2011 census.

All staff who worked on the linkage and subsequent analysis between the extract of the NHSCR and the extract of 2011 Census data were National Records of Scotland employees.

Question reference: S4W-24814

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether an identifying number or code is retained in either the 2011 census or the NHS Central Register to allow individual records in one system to be cross-referenced to the other.

Question reference: S4W-24656

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to implement its proposals to expand the use of the NHS central register, as proposed in its consultation on amendments to the National Health Service Central Register (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Question reference: S4W-24658

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the responses to its consultation on amendments to the National Health Service Central Register (Scotland) Regulations 2006 will be published online.

Question reference: S4W-24659

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its consultation on amendments to the National Health Service Central Register (Scotland) Regulations 2006 did not include details of the legal instruments that would be used to ensure that any extension of the register complied with data protection legislation.

Data protection legislation requires data to be processed fairly and lawfully. The consultation sets out the detail of the amendments that would be made to the 2006 Regulations to provide the legal basis for sharing at the discretion of the Registrar General. Existing sharing arrangements under the 2006 Regulations are backed up by data sharing arrangements in line with data protection requirements and the consultation makes clear that similar data sharing arrangements are proposed for the amendments.

Question reference: S4W-24661

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-04026 by John Swinney on 19 February 2015 (Official Report, c.6), in light of the concerns raised regarding the proposed amendments to the NHS central register, what lessons it has learned from the decision of the UK Government in 2010 not to proceed with plans for either an ID database or ID cards.