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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: S5W-07240

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 9 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in the light of recent reports that the number of still births at NHS Forth Valley has risen above the national average during the first half of 2016.

NHS Forth Valley has taken action locally to internally review all of their cases of stillbirth. The Board has also commissioned an independent external review to look into their 2016 stillbirths.

The Scottish Government supports the action that NHS Forth Valley is taking to understand and learn from this unexpected rise in the number of stillbirths locally, and expects them to act on the findings of the reviews. The Board has agreed to share the outcomes of both internal and external reviews, when complete, with the expert Scottish Government Stillbirth Group, to ensure that learning is shared across Scotland to improve outcomes and help drive down stillbirth rates.

Question reference: S5O-00774

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place to assist people who have had a stroke with their recovery and in becoming as independent as possible.

Question reference: S5O-00731

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what measures it takes, especially during inclement weather, to ensure that the Garden Lobby floor is as safe as is possible for staff and visitors.

Question reference: S5O-00666

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of the figures suggesting that 95% of pupils identified as having additional support needs are in mainstream schools.

Question reference: S5O-00548

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported real-terms reduction in revenue allocations for local authorities in the draft budget will have on the provision of services.

Question reference: S5W-05678

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to recent figures released under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which show that 22 bladed weapons have been recovered from prisoners by staff at Perth prison since April 2016.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The figures highlighted under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 request reflect the continued vigilance of staff in detecting improvised weapons in HMP Perth.

The safety and well-being of prisoners and staff is and will continue to be a key concern for the Scottish Prison Service. In order to ensure prisons are safe for all, SPS will continue to invest in staff training and technology to aid staff in their duties.

All establishments will continue to undertake robust searching of prisoners and areas which supports the identification and recovery of illicit or unauthorised articles, including weapons. Any individual found in possession of such weapons will be reported to Police Scotland and prison managers will put in place an appropriate management plan for the individuals involved.

Question reference: S5W-05505

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 10 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can provide that the UK's decision to leave the EU will not result in the erosion or weakening of existing legal protection of bats in Scotland.

All bat species in Scotland are given protection under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 as a European Protected Species.

The Scottish Government remains determined to protect and conserve bats in Scotland. Our membership of the European Union has driven up environmental standards and the Scottish Government is not prepared to see these benefits lost as a result of the UK Government's decision to leave the EU.

Question reference: S5W-05674

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to engage further with pupils in secondary schools to provide more education regarding psychoactive substances.

The recent SALSUS report (published 25 October 2016) shows that drug taking among young people in Scotland remains low.

Education and prevention is a key strand of Scotland’s drug strategy, the ‘Road to Recovery’, and is integral to our approach to reducing the number of people with problem drug use in Scotland. Our ambitious substance misuse education programme already ensures that all young people have credible and accessible information and advice, and through our ‘Know the Score’ website and ‘Choices for Life’ secondary school education programme we have expanded our education campaign to include new psychoactive substances (NPS).

We are now assessing current education and prevention activity across Scotland, including the findings from our recently published literature review, to understand what interventions are most effective. This will help us develop advice and guidance on effective substance misuse education and prevention activity for our stakeholders, practitioners and policy makers. We also commissioned the Scottish Drugs Forum to undertake research aimed at furthering our understanding around the prevalence, motivations and harms associated with NPS use amongst vulnerable groups within Scotland, including young people, and we are currently working with stakeholders to take forward recommendations from the report.

Question reference: S5W-05538

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04917 by Shona Robison on 7 December 2016, whether it will publish the guidance that suggests there is insufficient evidence regarding the use of MRI scans to detect metastatic disease in these cases, and what its response is to this practice being made available in England.

Question reference: S5W-05133

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of recent Information Services Division (ISD) figures, which show that nurse and midwife vacancies have risen by 200% across Tayside and Fife.

While the Scottish Government works in close partnership with all NHS boards to provide the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality healthcare in Scotland, it is the responsibility of each board to plan their workforce to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable services to meet the needs of its population.

In NHS Tayside, Nursing and Midwifery vacancies have increased from 1.4% in September 2007 to 5.0% in September 2016. However, the Nursing and Midwifery Establishment increased by 8.5% during the same period, to 5,499.7 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE).

In NHS Fife, Nursing and Midwifery vacancies have decreased from 4.2% in September 2007 to 2.2% in September 2016. The overall Nursing and Midwifery Establishment increased by 2.7% during the same period, to 3,603.1 WTE.

Fluctuations in Nursing and Midwifery vacancies reflect the creation of new posts in NHS boards, mainly as a result of information from our innovative workload and workforce planning tools which help boards plan for the number of staff they require.

In order to reduce the reliance on agency staff, the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland have launched a nationally coordinated programme for the effective management of all temporary staffing. The team are working with NHS Tayside to establish Regional and National Staff Banks to allow boards access to a high quality, flexible, workforce of appropriately qualified, experienced and competent staff when required, who work on NHS contracts and provide better value for money than alternative methods of filling the gaps.