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 579 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4F-01955

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2014

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will take account of the findings of the Lloyds Bank Affordable Cities Review when allocating housing investment.

Question reference: S4W-19914

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 10 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on poverty in Scotland, what its position is on reports that the UK Government is considering charging people for appealing a decision to stop their benefits.

We have not been made aware of this proposal by the UK Government but, if implemented, it would present yet another challenge to vulnerable people in Scotland already dealing with welfare reforms that could potentially reduce welfare expenditure in Scotland by over £4.5 billion in the five years to 2014-15. The Scottish Government wants a welfare system that is simpler, makes work pay, lifts people out of poverty and ensures fair and decent support for all. The UK Government’s reforms are not the answer and risk undermining our efforts around tackling poverty.

Question reference: S4W-19913

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 10 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on its budget of the UK Government's decision to end the Local Welfare Assistance Fund.

The Scottish Government is responsible for its own local welfare provision called the Scottish Welfare Fund. As detailed in the budget, despite an 11.1% real terms reduction in our discretionary spending power over five years, the funding level for the Scottish Welfare Fund will be maintained at £33 million for 2014-2015, and 2015-2016. We recognise the challenges households face in the current economic climate and will maintain planned funding for the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2015-16 irrespective of any decisions taken by the Department for Work and Pensions. Its decision to end funding for local welfare provision in England will have no impact on the Scottish budget.

Question reference: S4W-18833

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities are independently inspected on the services that they provide for autistic children.

Local authorities are inspected on the range of services they provide for children and young people with additional support needs including autism. In terms of education, Education Scotland inspects both mainstream schools and special schools and units that make provision for children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders. Within Education Scotland’s reports, specific reference is made to the quality of provision for such units.

Question reference: S4W-18832

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it gives to local authorities to ensure that they apply the getting it right for every child principles when dealing with autistic children.

The Scottish Strategy for Autism supports the application of the Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) approach when public bodies and partners are considering a person centred approach to planning and addressing the wellbeing needs of children and young people with autism. To support this, the GIRFEC National Practice Model and other resources for practitioners are on the Scottish Government website and provide guidance on implementing the approach for all children and young people.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill currently progressing through Parliament proposes to put in statute key components of GIRFEC. There will be statutory and practice guidance issued to local authorities and partners to support the GIRFEC provisions, once commenced. This will include detail on how these new statutory provisions should be interpreted when considering children and young people with different conditions and in different circumstances, including children with autism.

Question reference: S4W-18830

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have autism strategies for (a) children and (b) adults.

The joint Scottish Government-COSLA Scottish Autism Strategy focuses on the whole life journey and so local authorities will want to consider both children and adults in their local strategies. 12 local action plans have been submitted to date and four local authorities have promised completed action plans early in 2014.

As part of our work to deliver the Scottish Strategy for Autism, the Scottish Government commissioned some work to map autism services and supports across localities. This work produced individual mapping reports for each council area and completed in October 2013. Some councils chose to wait for these reports to be available before completing their local autism strategy and action plans. But it means that some councils have been reviewing their drafts in light of the findings of the mapping reports, and these should be submitted to the Scottish Government, once ratified through the appropriate council committees, as a matter of urgency.

Question reference: S4O-02753

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to ensure that children with additional support needs who are educated in mainstream schools receive appropriate support.

Question reference: S4O-02671

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many times Police Scotland has found so-called legal highs cut with illegal substances but not seized them.

Question reference: S4O-02649

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many stop-and-searches Police Scotland has carried out.

Question reference: S4W-17780

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether shops or internet sites selling so-called legal highs and drug paraphernalia are subject to any licensing regime.

The subject matter of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is reserved to the UK Government, as is the regulation of internet services. Section 9A of the UK’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 makes it an offence to supply any article (often referred to as paraphernalia) used for administering a controlled drug unlawfully (i.e. without a doctor’s prescription). ‘Legal highs’ or Novel/New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) as they are also known, are substances which produce similar effects to illegal drugs, but they are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In response to the availability of NPS, the UK Government’s Home Office introduced a new temporary class drug order (15 November 2011). See UK Government website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/98006/temporary-class-drug-factsheet.pdf.

Some substances sold as NPS have also been found to contain drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act. There is no other specific legislation outwith the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and temporary class drug order that uniquely deals with the supply of NPS. However, Police Scotland together with partners are exploring other options, including Trading Standards powers. The Scottish Government will continue to work with the Home Office and the Police Scotland to understand more about the use and supply of these substances and options to tackle their supply.

The planning system in Scotland does not generally seek to control the types of goods and services sold from shops, offices and other premises. Where products or services have potentially negative health or social implications, their availability or sale is usually subject to other statutory controls, for example, licensing as in the case of the sale of alcohol or knives. There is no licensing that is specific to the sale of NPS and drug paraphernalia.