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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-03127

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on the justice system will be of a new age of criminal responsibility of 12 coming into force.

Question reference: S5W-22615

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the importance of quality home economics education to tackle Scotland's obesity crisis.

The Scottish Government is clear that home economics plays a key role in providing children and young people with the skills, knowledge and experience they need to make positive health choices and live longer, healthier lives.

Through Curriculum for Excellence, every child and young person in Scotland is entitled to a broad general education which includes learning about food and health. This learning can be delivered through a variety of classes including maths, home economics and science and can include activities like a visit from a chef or a visit to a farm. This helps to ensure that pupils develop a full understanding of food issues in their widest sense. For example, as well as learning how to cook, food education encompasses things like food choices, advertising and culture and the impact these have on overall health.

Our policy document ‘Better Eating, Better Learning’ asks pupils, parents, teachers, caterers and wider community to renew their commitment to school food provision and food education in school by working more closely together to prioritise health promotion in their school. This will help to ensure we are providing consistent messages to children and young people as they learn how to take responsibility for their health.

Question reference: S5W-22412

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22153 by John Swinney on 23 March 2019, whether it plans to record the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences.

The term adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was originally developed in the US in the 1990s in a survey of childhood adversity, current health status and behaviours. This question set has been adapted for use in many subsequent surveys across different countries to establish the prevalence of ACEs. Such ACE prevalence studies have been undertaken with adult populations to retrospectively ask them about experiences that occurred between 0 to 18 years, usually focusing on 10 commonly measured adversities, including: being the victim of abuse (physical, sexual and/or emotional) or neglect (physical and emotional), having separated parents, and growing-up in a household in which there are adults experiencing alcohol and drug use problems, mental health conditions, domestic violence or imprisonment.

In line with such ACE prevalence studies in other countries, the Scottish Government has incorporated questions about these adversities into the 2019 Scottish Health Survey undertaken with adults. The survey findings will establish the prevalence of ACEs amongst the Scottish adult population and the links with health outcomes and behaviours.

As well as these ten commonly measured ACEs, there are a range of other types of childhood adversity that can also negatively impact on children’s healthy development. These include bereavement, bullying, poverty, community adversities (e.g. area deprivation, neighbourhood violence) and other adversities. The Scottish Government is committed to addressing all types of childhood adversity, and this is anchored in our long-standing, national approach of Getting it right for every child.

In terms of understanding the prevalence of ACEs in the current population of children and young people, information is available from the Growing up in Scotland (GUS) study. GUS tracks the lives of 2 cohorts of approximately 10,000 children from across Scotland and collects information on a range of adversities, including: parental separation, childhood bereavement, maternal health problems, mental disorder in the family, domestic violence and parental imprisonment. This information from GUS will also be complemented by the new Health and Wellbeing Census which will ask some questions about childhood adversities appropriate for the age and stage of the pupil. It is anticipated that the Census will be operational in 2020.

Question reference: S5W-21975

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS boards recruit sufficient numbers of specialty doctors, staff grades and associate specialists (SAS Doctors) in ophthalmology to meet rising demand, in light of the recent Workforce Census for 2018, published by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, which showed that NHS boards in Scotland are recruiting two SAS posts compared with an "ideal" number of 10.

The National Ophthalmology Workstream developed in 2017 identifies mechanisms to determine that service capacity is adequate to meet clinical need. To promote long term sustainability, Scottish Government Officials are working with stakeholders on the future development of clinical training pathways, including proactively considering specialty training numbers.

The Scottish Government has announced investment of £4 million over the next three years on domestic and international recruitment for NHS Scotland. We have also set out measures, including significant increases in undergraduate medical places that facilitate the recruitment and retention of medical specialists across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-22258

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider undertaking a study, similar to that undertaken by the University of Glasgow in its report, Slavery Abolition and the University of Glasgow, to understand how Scotland benefited financially from involvement in the slave trade.

Question reference: S5W-22257

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the report, Slavery, Abolition, and the University of Glasgow, by the university, which acknowledges the ways in which it has benefited financially from slavery and estimates the present-day value of all monies given to it, which were fully or partly derived from slavery.

Question reference: S5W-22254

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report, Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow, by the university, how it will encourage other Scottish public institutions to undertake studies on Scotland's role in the slave trade.

In December 2017 we published the Race Equality Action Plan outlining more than 120 actions we will take over the course of this Parliament to secure better outcomes for minority ethnic communities in Scotland. One of the commitments made is to mark the International Decade for People of African Descent over 2018-2019 with an innovative programme of events.

We have noted the publication of the report by Glasgow University, “Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow”, and the interesting approach it takes to quantifying and addressing the historic implications of slavery for the institution. While we have no plans to directly replicate this for the whole of Scotland, we will consider how the report, and the approach it sets out, can inform our plans for the International Decade as we take these forward.

Question reference: S5O-03104

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it proposes to improve transport links to Kirkliston.

Question reference: S5W-22256

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether education about Scotland’s role in the slave trade is part of initial teacher training or continuing professional development for history teachers.

Initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in Scotland are offered at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. For undergraduates aspiring to become history teachers, the University of Stirling offers a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) degree programme. This allows students to study the practice of teaching (pedagogy) and two specialist subjects simultaneously. History is included in the suite of subjects offered and Scotland’s role in the slave trade is covered within the course content.

The universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde offer ITE programmes at postgraduate level for history graduates. These focus on developing theoretical and practical knowledge in how to teach rather than subject knowledge, given the degree level requirement that is set for entry to these programmes.

In relation to the professional development of history teachers, I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22255 on 27 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx ”.

Question reference: S5W-22255

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21243 by Christina McKelvie on 24 January 2019, how it supports local authorities and schools to incorporate the study of Scotland’s role in the transatlantic slave trade into school history curricula.

As set out in the answer to S5W-21243, it is up to teachers and schools to determine what is taught in classrooms. Curriculum for Excellence provides opportunities for young people to learn about current and past attitudes and values and historical events and their impact on society today. This can include learning about Scotland’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. Learning about the transatlantic slave trade is an option in both the National 5 and Higher History national qualification courses. Education Scotland has published resources for teachers on slavery and human trafficking. These includes resources to support teaching and learning about the transatlantic slave trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with an emphasis on the Scottish perspective and impact.