Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 2242 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-20669

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 16 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that everyone engaging in the bowel screening programme receives an appropriate diagnosis following an initial positive test result.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland sets clinical standards for the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme to ensure the delivery of a quality-assured, safe and effective service. This includes a specific standard for diagnostics to ensure that safe and effective investigation is available to people with a positive bowel screening test. More information can be found at: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/cancer_care_improvement
/programme_resources/bowel_screening_standards.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-20668

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 16 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for treatment following a positive result from a bowel screen test.

Cancer waiting times statistics for the period July to September 2018 were published on 18 December 2018 by Information Services Division. https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Publications/index.asp

For this period, the median wait from a referral from the bowel screening programme to first treatment was 74 days. For bowel screened patients, the median wait from a decision to treat to first treatment was 13 days.

Question reference: S5O-02768

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 16 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the transition to low-carbon emissions will have on lower-income families.

A combined Equality Impact Assessment, Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment and Fairer Scotland assessment on socio-economic inequalities was produced for the Climate Change Bill. Poor and deprived communities were one of the main groups identified as likely to be impacted by climate change and action to reduce emissions.

This is one reason why we have established a Just Transition Commission to advise Minsters on the move to a carbon-neutral economy. I anticipate that the impact of the transition on lower-income families will form part of its considerations. We are committed to a carbon-neutral, inclusive economy.

Question reference: S5T-01438

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the reported increasing number of people who are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.

Question reference: S5W-20791

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 January 2019

To ask the Scottish what its position in on building companies signing off their own building warrants.

Kevin Stewart : The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 sets out that the verifier is responsible for granting a building warrant. The thirty two local authorities in Scotland are appointed by Scottish Ministers as the verifiers of the building standards system for their own geographical area.

When a building warrant is required, it must be granted by the local authority before work can start. The local authority must have accepted a completion certificate before a new building can be occupied. Building companies do not sign off building warrants.

Question reference: S5W-20792

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review legislation on building warrants.

The Scottish Government has no plans to review the legislative process for the requirement of a building warrant.

Following the outcomes of the public consultation on “Building Standards Compliance and Fire Safety – a consultation on making Scotland’s buildings safer for people” that ran from July to September last year, the Scottish Government has plans to amend the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and guidance.

Question reference: S5W-20258

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many high court trials in each year since 2008 have been subject to an extension of (a) at least 140 days to 12 months and (b) over 12 months due to a lack of court accommodation.

Question reference: S5F-02819

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2018

To ask the First Minister whether the same funding that was provided last year to tackle rough sleeping, as part of the recommendations of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group, will be provided this year.

Question reference: S5O-02574

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information sheriffs are given regarding the availability of secure unit places when disposing of a case involving a young offender.

Question reference: S5W-19127

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support for (i) loft, (ii) cavity wall, (iii) room in roof, (iv) solid wall and (v) other forms of insulation from area-based energy-efficiency schemes in each of the last 10 years.

The Scottish Government only holds information about the area-based energy efficiency schemes that it has funded since 2008.

Copies of the detailed information requested for the HEEPS Area Based scheme and Warmer Homes Scotland have been lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 60121).

We do not hold complete information about the number of households that may have applied for these schemes. Eligibility usually reflects the areas targeted for project delivery by local authorities as part of their Area Based Schemes, as well as individual households circumstances and ability to self-fund improvements.

We do not hold detailed information about the number of households benefitting from each of the five insulation measures identified. Local authorities provide returns about the number of measures provided under the scheme, some households benefit from more than one of these measures. Due to the accrual financing of our Area Based Scheme with local authorities the 2017/18 report is not yet available.

The number of households applying for a loan through the HEEPS Area Based scheme is published on the Energy Saving Trust website. This information is not available for each of these measures by individual local authority.

Information about the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) and the Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS), as well as other data for a variety of Scottish Government grant schemes, is available from the Energy Saving Trust website.

The data can be found under the Download Reports and Statistics about our activities, specifically the Home Energy programmes Detailed Report 2009/13. A link to this data will be included with the information lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.