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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: S5F-02192

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2018

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the role of food banks.

Question reference: S5W-14484

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement regarding banning the use of electric shock collars on dogs, what its position is on the (a) view that it cannot do so on the basis that it may be subject to judicial review and (b) judgement in the action between The Queen on the application of Petsafe Ltd and The Electronic Collar and Manufacturers Association and the Welsh Ministers of 8 October 2010, where a challenge to regulations in Wales was rejected.

Question reference: S5W-14485

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-00925 by Fergus Ewing on 6 February 2018 (Official Report, c. 7), in light of the cabinet secretary's comment that "the export of live animals from Scotland is done for other reasons—breeding and production. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has indicated that the value of that totals £50 million a year", what information it has regarding how HMRC calculated the figure, including how much of this represents exports for (a) breeding and production and (b) slaughter.

Question reference: S5W-14474

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-00925 by Fergus Ewing on 6 February 2018 (Official Report, c. 7), in light of the cabinet secretary's comment that "the export of live animals from Scotland is done for other reasons—breeding and production. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has indicated that the value of that totals £50 million a year", how many animals have been exported for (a) slaughter and (b) breeding and production in each year since 2015, broken down by breed.

Information supplied by the Animal and Plant Health Agency lists 48,883 animals as having been exported for slaughter, breeding and production from Scotland to Northern Ireland and countries outside the UK for 2017. Information is not held for 2015 and 2016. Data broken down by breed is not available.

2017 Live Exports	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs	Goats
Breeding	2,663	9,703	763	25
Fattening / Production	5,705	997	1	0
Slaughter	6,068	5738	17,220	0

Question reference: S5W-14765

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the economic impact of the Borders Railway has been in each year since its opening.

The full economic impact of the Borders Railway will be assessed at the Stage 2 Evaluation, which typically takes place 5 years on from project completion (in line with our Rail Evaluation Guidance ).

To date, a Stage 1 evaluation was carried out after year 1 and repeated after year 2; and these high level assessments have confirmed that key objectives of the Borders Railway are being met through improved connectivity and access to new opportunities, enhancing social inclusion and modal shift from road to rail.

Question reference: S5T-00925

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it does not support a ban on the export of live animals.

Question reference: S5T-00908

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on concerns regarding the occurrence of stop-skipping by ScotRail.

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.