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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: S5O-01557

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group.

Question reference: S5W-12161

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of Dogs Trust’s report, Puppy Smuggling: A Tragedy Ignored, whether it will make it a requirement for animal health resources to be available at ports to record the age of dogs entering the country.

The Scottish Government has no plans to make it a requirement for animal health resources to be available at ports to record the age of dogs entering the country. There are no sea ports in Scotland that are approved under the Pets Travel Regulations to accept pets from other countries. Edinburgh and Glasgow airports do have approved travel routes but receive relatively few pets passing through. There is no legal requirement for checks on pets travelling within the UK to Scottish ports.

Question reference: S5T-00748

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Child Poverty Action Group report, The Austerity Generation.

Question reference: S5O-01407

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to mark the Scottish Witch Trials during the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.

Question reference: S5W-11848

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 26 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle demand for the purchase of sexual access to women and girls, in light of the recent National Crime Agency figures suggesting that one-in-three victims are trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.

The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the harm associated with prostitution and currently provides funding of £38,000 a year to SACRO to undertake work to assist those engaged in prostitution who wish to no longer be engaged in prostitution and we are committed to consider other support that could be provided in this area.

As regards human trafficking, the Scottish Government provide annual funding of over £300,000 to TARA specifically to support female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Through implementation of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy we are strengthening protection for victims, improving detection and disruption of perpetrators, and working to address the conditions that foster trafficking. In June 2017 the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced that the Scottish Government will double the statutory period of support for trafficking victims to 90 days.

Research commissioned by the Scottish Government was published in February this year in relation to the evidence surrounding the impact changes to the criminal law would have in respect of prostitution. The research did not provide any conclusive evidence that changes to the law would reduce the overall harm associated with prostitution.

Question reference: S5O-01316

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what role NHS boards can play in ensuring that young people receive information at school that will reduce their risk of contracting HIV.

Question reference: S5W-11298

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the location of the new social security agency.

Today, the First Minister will announce that Scotland’s new social security agency will be configured over two locations with a headquarters located in Dundee and a second major site in Glasgow, and will be enhanced by a local presence across Scotland. I will provide more detail when I make a statement to Parliament on “Developing Social Security for Scotland's People” at 14.20 on Tuesday, 19 September.

Question reference: S5W-10338

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact was of the 2017 Scottish Open golf championship on the (a) Ayrshire and (b) national economy, and what (i) support and (ii) international promotion it (A) gave to the 2017 event and (B) will offer the event in future years.

The Scottish Open is one of the European Tour’s flagship events and showcases Scotland, The Home of Golf at its very best.

A full post-event Economic Impact report for the 2017 Scottish Open at Dundonald Links will be available in October. Pre-event estimates are noted in the following table:

	Direct Expenditure	Total Impacts*
North Ayrshire	£4,460,399	£6,163,136
West Coast	£296,402	£600,828
Elsewhere in Scotland	£198,978	£1,547,006
Total Scotland	£4,955,779	£8,310,970

The Scottish Government, through VisitScotland, provided £1.2 million support to the Scottish Open as joint-title sponsor, and worked with the tournament to secure extensive international broadcast, print and digital media coverage before and during the event, including live television coverage in the United States.

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining this level of support until 2020, as the Scottish Open rotates around the country.

Question reference: S5O-01156

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that creditors operating in Scotland are fully briefed on their legal obligations when dealing with clients on a Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Question reference: S5O-01099

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the teaching and studying of science in schools.