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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-02267

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how nutritious school meals impact on attainment.

It is well established that nutrition has a key role to play in children’s health and wellbeing and that the lack of a healthy, nutritious diet and enough to eat can impact on children’s ability to learn.

That is why this Government introduced nutrition standards for school lunches. A working group has recently reviewed those standards and new guidelines have been produced which are now being consulted upon.

Question reference: S5W-16949

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on including the A70 and the Bellfield Interchange as part of its transport infrastructure review of the south west of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is currently taking forward the South West Scotland Transport Study which will consider the rationale for improvements to road, rail, public transport and active travel on the key strategic corridors in the region, including the A75, A76, A77 and A701.

Inception discussions with study partners, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway Councils, have confirmed that the study will not consider the A70 or the A77 Bellfield Interchange. The scope of the study will consider the A77 south of Whitletts junction.

The Scottish Government recognise the importance of strategic routes within Ayrshire and these will be considered as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review.

Question reference: S5O-02219

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that school meals are of the highest quality and that the uptake of these is maximised.

Question reference: S5W-16883

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15778 by Shona Robison on 24 April 2018, whether it will provide an update on work to deliver the routine provision of Orkambi for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Question reference: S5W-16797

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to households and businesses using exchange only (EO) lines, particularly those with long or degraded EO lines, and what action it is taking to ensure that these households and businesses are included in the roll-out of superfast broadband.

The roll out of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme has seen around 222,600 EO lines upgraded since 2014.

With regards to the roll-out of superfast broadband, you will no doubt be aware that the delivery of telecoms services in Scotland is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

In spite of this, the Scottish Government has chosen to act, and is now working to build upon the success of the DSSB roll-out.

We have announced a substantial investment of £600 million in the initial phase of the Reaching 100% programme, as per our commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband access across the country.

Any home or business unable to access superfast broadband commercially, or through programmes such as DSSB, will be eligible for investment through R100.

Question reference: S5W-16846

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what discussions it has had with the UK Government on taking forward the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

The Scottish Government has been clear in its commitment to the Ayrshire Growth Deal for some time. The UK Government’s recent confirmation of support in March was very welcome. Since March, all partners have commenced formal tripartite dialogue. Two rounds of discussions in April and May on Ayrshire’s investment proposals have now taken place. We are currently engaged in partnership dialogue focused on providing detailed feedback from both governments to the Ayrshire regional partners on their proposals. Collaborative workshops involving all lead partners are planned for June. We are keen to make progress as soon as possible towards agreeing a Heads of Terms agreement for the deal, and continue to work with the UKG and Ayrshire regional partners to achieve this.

Question reference: S5O-02163

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how its environmental policy and its climate change commitments are informed by active travel.

Question reference: S5W-15639

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides regarding community consultation on new wind farm applications.

The consultation requirements for planning applications vary depending on the scale of the application. Smaller scale, known as local, applications are subject to a 21 day period of neighbour notification. Larger scale, known as major, applications are subject to enhanced engagement procedures including pre-application discussions in advance of neighbour notification. Scottish Government Policy on the requirements can be found in Circular 3 2013 – Development Management Procedures: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/planning-series-circular-3-2013-development-management-procedures/

Where the wind farm is consented through the Scottish planning system, we have published guidance: ‘Public engagement for sub-20MW wind turbine proposals – good practice guidance’: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/public-engagement-sub-20mw-wind-turbine-proposals-good-practice-guidance/ . This describes the statutory requirements for applications for planning permission for different scales of proposals involving wind turbines, including pre-application consultation requirements for those above 20MW.

Question reference: S5W-16203

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statements by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing in the Chamber on 27 June 2017 regarding mandatory cardiotocography (CTG) training that "The chief medical officer will ensure through medical directors that that happens" and that "It will be mandatory for midwives to attend a minimum of two sessions per annum, and the CMO will have oversight of that" (Official Report, c. 34), whether the mandatory CTG training has been fully implemented across all NHS boards.

Following the statement to Parliament, Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to review the currently suite of available training, and make recommendations on the approach to Core Mandatory Training, the methods of training and the frequency. This work concluded earlier this year and since then we have been working with midwives and obstetricians in Scotland to assess the additional time required to implement this training for the existing maternity workforce. We expect to finalise this work shortly and roll out the programme of core mandatory training, which will include CTG training before the summer. In the meantime, the CTG package remains a core part of MCQIC, the maternity, neonatal and paediatric strand of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme and Boards continue to implement improvements in this aspect of patient safety through the MCQIC programme. I will be happy to provide Mr Whittle with an update when the full package of Core Mandatory Training is rolled out.

Question reference: S5W-15865

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on increasing the use of sports and culture services as part of its preventative health strategy, and what analysis it has carried out of how this could impact on demand for acute care services.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of being active and that is why the sport scotland budget was not only protected, but we decided to further demonstrate our commitment by underwriting the loss of their National Lottery income by £3.4m.

Scotland's public health priorities will be published in spring 2018. The Public Health Reform programme’s aspirations will be the focus of our collaborative effort, nationally and locally, to improve the public's health and reduce health inequalities. Physical activity is emerging as one of the key themes within the priorities that are being identified as a way of reducing the impact on care services.