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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-12909

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been refunded through the Delay Repay Guarantee scheme for delayed train services in the last year.

Question reference: S5W-12908

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the journey time will be for the proposed Glasgow Airport Access Project tram link to connect to the rail network, and how this compares with the present bus service.

The Glasgow Airport Access Project is being taken forward jointly by Glasgow City and Renfrewshire Councils and it is for their project team to assess the future journey time of services. The recent independent audit commissioned by Scottish Ministers has highlighted that there are a number of factors that affect journey time when comparing the tram-train and bus, this includes the actual origin and destination of trips, the ease of access to either tram-train or bus, service frequency and journey times on the M8 and in Glasgow City Centre. These all vary over the course of the day.

A copy of the full audit report and executive summary can be found at:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/strategy/city-and-regional-growth-deals/#52913

Question reference: S5W-12907

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the economic impact of the proposed Glasgow Airport Access Project tram link.

The Glasgow Airport Access Project is being taken forward jointly by Glasgow City and Renfrewshire Councils therefore it is for their project team to undertake the economic analysis of the costs, benefits and impacts of their proposals. An independent audit of the Outline Business Case was commissioned by Scottish Ministers, which included a review of the economic case as presented. A copy of the full audit report and executive summary can be found at:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/strategy/city-and-regional-growth-deals/#52913

Question reference: S5W-12887

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s reported concerns that many emergency departments lack a clear governance framework, often due to the cost of software.

Question reference: S5W-12888

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on requiring Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) on all cars, given reports that exceeding the speed limit was a factor in 291 car crashes in 2017, representing a rise of 26% since 2013.

Requiring the use of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) – formerly known as Intelligent Speed Adaptation – on all cars would be a reserved matter, as it relates to the regulation of the construction and use of motor vehicles. However, Scotland’s Road Safety Framework contains a commitment to promote the voluntary use of ISA, which the Scottish Government is currently exploring.

Benefits
Challenges
Legislative barriers
Availability
Involvement (for example, manufactures, insurance companies and governments)

This work will help inform future ISA policy direction

Question reference: S5F-01800

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2017

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to improve the availability of organs viable for donation and transplant.

Question reference: S5W-12748

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the chair of the Scottish Police Federation’s reported comment that police officers are “not properly equipped” to deal with armed suspects, in light of the recent stabbing of an officer at Edinburgh College.

In line with current approved standard operating guidelines, all frontline officers are equipped with handcuffs, PAVA spray, a baton and body armour. Any changes to this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable who would take into account the latest risk and threat assessment. In addition, Police Scotland has published on its Intranet advice for officers on a range of safety issues.

Question reference: S5W-12746

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported five-fold increase in alcohol-related liver disease among 35 to 55-year-olds in the last decade.

The Scottish Government’s alcohol strategy, Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action, is well regarded internationally and contains over 40 measures to tackle alcohol misuse. The Framework has been shown to have a positive impact including 2.6 per cent reduction in consumption due to the multi-buy discount ban; increased delivery of Alcohol Brief Interventions; legislation to ban irresponsible promotions and the introduction of a lower drink drive limit. There is no doubt, however, that a key factor in alcohol related harm is affordability which is why we are delighted with the judgment from the UK Supreme Court, confirming unanimously the legality of our minimum unit pricing policy in Scotland. We have set out an implementation timetable which will see the measure brought in on 1 May 2018.

The latest statistics for alcohol liver disease are showing a worrying rise in hospital stays for the fourth consecutive year. This highlights the need for continued action to reduce alcohol-related harm in Scotland. We are in the process of refreshing our Framework and will consider what further action to take to reduce alcohol-related harm.

Question reference: S5W-12885

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported decrease in university graduates’ salaries, in light of reports that they only have 11% higher wages than non-graduates, down from nearly 40% 10 years ago.

Question reference: S5W-12743

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to invest further in mental healthcare to ensure that patients receive appropriate levels of care, in light of reported research by the Scottish Association for Mental Health, which suggests that almost half of mental health patients received poor quality care under the NHS.

The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, to support implementation of policy.

Care and treatment will be delivered in accordance with clinical and other relevant guidance and standards, for example SIGN guidelines for mental health and the standards for integrated care pathways for mental health. Developed through partnership and collaboration, Scotland’s new standards for health, social care and social work, formerly known as the National Care Standards, will also drive improvement in the experience of people who use care services. From 1 April 2018 the standards will be taken into account by the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and other scrutiny bodies in relation to inspections, and registration, of health and care services.