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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: S5W-23045

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how frequently it has requested management information regarding carer's allowance from the DWP, under its agency agreement, broken down by the type of information.

Question reference: S5W-23032

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will incorporate reserved case law on disability benefits into regulation and guidance.

Question reference: S5O-03257

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will integrate the principle of non-regression into provisions on keeping pace with EU laws to ensure that no new measures inadvertently lead to a lowering of consumer and environmental standards.

Question reference: S5W-23069

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 15 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many Best Start Grant applications in the initial phase up to 28 February 2019 were from people with non-Scottish postcodes; what proportion of these were processed; for what reason they were processed, and how many staffing hours were spent carrying out this task.

Official statistics on the number of Best Start Grant applications received from people with non-Scottish postcodes to 28 February 2019, and the number of these applications that were processed, are available at: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfare/SocialSecurityforScotland/BSGFeb2019 . All applications received by Social Security Scotland are processed, to determine whether they will be authorised or denied. We do not hold information on the number of staffing hours spent processing applications with non-Scottish postcodes.

Question reference: S5W-22957

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many social security programme staff have recorded (a) short- and (b) long-term absences in the last year.

Question reference: S5W-22915

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much it will cost the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver welfare foods under agency arrangements in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-22945

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the bidder selected to run the advocacy service for the Scottish social security system (a) recruits and (b) trains sufficient numbers of advocates in time for the service go live.

Question reference: S5W-22947

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions and preparatory work it has conducted with advocacy providers in advance of the publication of the advocacy service for the Scottish social security system prior information notice (PIN) to aid their ability to respond to the PIN.

The Prior Information Notice (PIN) published on 3 April alerted interested parties to the Scottish Government's intention to establish an Advocacy Service for the Scottish Social Security system. Alongside the PIN, the Scottish Government published a "Request For Information" (RFI). The RFI sought information from the advocacy sector around contract options, capacity and outcomes to enable the SG to develop a suitable procurement strategy. Services were able to ask for further information and seek clarity while the RFI was open.

Officials have also been working with advocacy and other third sector organisations around the development of the advocacy service standards required by the Act. At meetings with these organisations, officials outlined the procurement options being considered.

Question reference: S5W-22962

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its social security (a) programme, (b) directorate and (c) agency staff have previously been employed by the DWP.

Question reference: S5W-22950

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the expected service delivery date is of the social security advocacy service, and whether the delivery will be aligned with the introduction of disability assistance for children and young people in summer 2020.