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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-13665

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the increase in the number of people attending A&E over the winter months, particularly regarding orthopaedic treatments, what data is collected on the cause of visits, and whether they relate to falling or slipping on icy pavements.

During the week ending 17 December 2017 the weekly A&E statistics show that more than 29,000 people attended Scotland’s emergency departments. That was the highest since weekly reporting began in 2015. It was 12% higher than the previous week, and 15% higher than the comparable week last year. The rise being largely attributed by NHS Boards to slips and trips. Statistics will be available in March 2018 on orthopaedic procedures carried out by hospitals in an inpatient, day case or outpatient setting during December.

Question reference: S5W-13930

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Andy Wightman on 25 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many Cross-Party Groups there are, and whether consideration will be given to an audit of the number of MSPs attending each meeting.

As of 22 January 2018 there are 95 approved Cross-Party Groups. Cross-Party Groups are regulated by Section 6 of the Code of Conduct which falls within the remit of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee. 11-13 months after a Group’s initial meeting, and each 11-13 months thereafter, Groups are required to hold an AGM. Within 30 calendar days of the AGM, Groups are required to submit an annual return form. The Group meetings and activities section of the annual return requires Groups to provide details of each meeting of the Group, including the date of the meeting, a brief description of the main subjects discussed and the MSP and non-MSP attendance figures. This is publicly available on the Groups’ webpages on the Parliament website. Groups are also required to provide minutes of each meeting and the minutes must list the MSP and non-MSP attendees. The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee reviews on an annual basis whether Groups are complying with the Code.

Question reference: S5W-13256

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2017
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide information on accessing and engaging with the Parliament in Japanese.

Question reference: S5W-12790

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland’s call centre at Bilston Glen has been required to deal with calls from police forces elsewhere in the UK due to them being unable to cope with demand; if so, which police forces, and how many such calls there have been in the last six months.

The delivery of Police Scotland's contact, command and control function is an operational matter for Police Scotland with oversight from the Scottish Police Authority.

Every Police Force (and other Emergency Authority) has an established reciprocal arrangement in place to assist each other at times of high demand or exceptional need called the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) Code of Practice. This applies only to emergency 999 calls and not those calls which are received on the 101 platform.

During the month of July Police Scotland received requests from British Telecom to assist the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) which resulted in Police Scotland dealing with a total of 29 MPS calls during the month. This equates to 0.0001% of the total call volume for the month which was 211,468.

Full details of what happens within Police Scotland service centres (call handling centres) are outlined in the Police Scotland statement issued 14 October by Nelson Telfer, ACC Service and Protection, Police Scotland, available at http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2017/august/c3-message-from-acc-nelson-telfer.

I would encourage you to contact Police Scotland directly for further detail.

Question reference: S5F-01841

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2017

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government understands by the term "Regulatory Alignment", and what this means for commerce between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5W-12777

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 29 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much public funding was spent in response to the legal action taken by the Scotch Whisky Association on minimum unit pricing of alcohol.

Question reference: S5W-12265

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provided details of each NHS PPP/PFI contract, including where it acts as a rental agent for the third party for GP and dental practice premises.

The following link provide project details which include the actual/estimated annual unitary payment charges paid/to be paid by public sector procuring bodies in Scotland to private sector consortiums for services agreed over the length of NPD, hub and PPP/PFI contracts:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/12308

The Scottish Government does not hold centrally any information relating to contracts where NHS Boards acts as a rental agent for the third party for GP and dental practice premises.

Question reference: S5F-01688

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2017

To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government can put in place to curtail tax avoidance.

Question reference: S5W-11266

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many live animals were exported to Europe for consumption in each of the last five years, broken down by breed.

Question reference: S5W-11267

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement a ban on the export of live animals for consumption after the UK leaves the EU.

The Scottish Government is committed to the welfare of all animals during transport, whether within the UK, or for export purposes. Animals should only be exported in line with strict welfare standards, ensuring freedom from harm and sufficient rest and nourishment to ensure that transport welfare rules are fully complied with. There are no current plans for the Scottish Government to ban this legal, and well regulated, trade.