Chamber and committees

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: S5W-23812

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to hold the next meeting of the Scottish Nuclear Sites Group.

Question reference: S5W-23712

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment Scottish Enterprise has made of the suitability of a liquefied natural gas facility at Hunterston Port and Resource Centre.

Question reference: S5W-23711

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions Scottish Enterprise has had with train manufacturers regarding a potential development at Hunterston Port and Resource Centre.

Question reference: S5O-03457

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its China engagement strategy regarding respect for human rights and the rule of law, what discussions it has had with the Chinese consulate regarding the recent protests in Hong Kong.

Question reference: S5W-23706

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 19 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) secondary and (ii) primary schools in each year since 2007 have had an additional support needs unit attached to them.

A primary or secondary school is to be identified as having an integrated special unit or class if the sole or main purpose of any class or other unit forming part of the school is to provide education especially suited to the additional support needs of children or young persons selected for attendance at the unit or class by reason of those needs.

Integrated special units or classes are distinct from standalone units. Standalone units may be co-located next to a mainstream school but are recorded separately as special schools in Scottish Government statistics.

The number and percentage of primary and secondary schools with an integrated special unit for the period of 2015 to 2018 are detailed below. Data prior to 2015 are not available on a consistent basis due to changes in the reporting methodology of the School Establishments data collection.

Number and percentage of primary and secondary schools with an integrated special unit, 2015 to 2018

	Primary		Secondary
Year	Number of primary schools with integrated special units	Percentage of primary schools with an integrated special unit	Number of secondary schools with integrated special units	Percentage of secondary schools with an integrated special unit
2015	256	12.6	185	51.2
2016	249	12.3	180	50.1
2017	250	12.4	172	47.8
2018	254	12.6	171	47.9

Question reference: S5W-23614

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what was discussed at the meeting between of the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity and representatives of East Dunbartonshire Council on 29 May 2019.

The meeting was arranged to discuss East Dunbartonshire Council concerns regarding performance on the Milngavie line. The historic performance issues were acknowledged, however it was confirmed that the PPM for the day, 29 May was 92%, resulting from the changes made following the Donovan recommendations and recent timetable changes.

Further, since the introduction of the December 2018 timetable there has been a step-change improvement to PPM of around 15% in both arriving and departing services at Milngavie. The first week of the new May 2019 timetable saw on-time arrivals at Milngavie performing 20% better than at any other week in the past year.

The improvements were welcomed by the Council leaders with acknowledgement that further improvements were anticipated following the full implementation of the Donovan recommendations and the introduction of the new timetable developed by ScotRail for the North Electrics and Argyle line in 2020. Additionally Network Rail will be undertaking a review of the North Electrics & Argyle lines which will include considerations on forecast demand identified in the Scotland Route Study whilst taking cognisance of existing performance issues.

Question reference: S5W-23674

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise can turn down an application for enterprise funding following the outcome of a human rights due diligence check of the company under consideration for support.

Question reference: S5W-23673

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise can turn down the business support services that it provides following the outcome of a human rights due diligence check of the company under consideration for support.

Question reference: S5W-23686

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which non-governmental organisations were consulted on the development of the operational guidance on human rights due diligence checks.

Question reference: S5W-23456

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what human rights and equality checks are carried out by the SQA prior to it entering a (a) commercial and (b) other relationship with an international partner; whether these were followed in relation to its partnership with the Micronet International College in Brunei, and, if so, what steps it took to ensure the rights of LGBT students at that college are respected, including the right to life.

I have asked Dr Janet Brown, Chief Executive and Chief Examiner of SQA, to respond. Her response is as follows:

"While the reported treatment of the LGBT community in Brunei is to be condemned, education is a positive force for change on wider society, as well as the lives and economic mobility of learners.

"Micronet International College is a private college, and has been approved to deliver SQA qualifications since August 2016. Among a host of other courses, the college offers SQA qualifications in Computing and Mobile Technology at a range of SCQF levels.

SQA carries out a number of evaluations before working in a country, including an assessment of the risks, and seeking the latest advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

"SQA supports the principle of equal opportunities in employment, education and training and opposes all forms of unlawful discrimination on the grounds of disability, race, age, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity or sexual orientation.

"SQA approves all our centres to the same Scottish standard, no matter where in the world they are based. The approval process ensures that centres have appropriate systems, resources and expertise to deliver and assess SQA’s qualifications to the defined standard. This includes the need for the centre to have a number of documented policies and procedures in place, including a candidate equal opportunities policy, and a candidate complaints policy.

"Any centre offering SQA qualifications must ensure that everyone eligible to take a qualification has an equal chance of benefitting from the assessment services that the centre provides. There must be no discriminatory barriers in the way of any individual who wishes to take SQA qualifications.

"As a public body, SQA has a range of policies in place that adhere to all appropriate legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010, Bribery Act 2010, and the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

"SQA is committed to equality of opportunity and to a culture that respects difference. As an employer and a public body, we play a leading part in promoting equality and diversity more widely, including to members of the LGBT community. We do this through policy development, updates to our qualifications, and awareness-raising events for our staff. We are proud to be a Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champion, and to promote a workplace where all employees, including LGBT colleagues, can be themselves."