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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-08335

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many council houses have been built in each year since 1997.

The following table is based the most recent quarterly official statistics on local authority new build housing completions to end December 2016, that were published on 14 March 2017 and are available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/NewBuild.

Year	Number of Council Houses Built (units completed)
1997-98	114
1998-99	120
1999-00	69
2000-01	112
2001-02	65
2002-03	94
2003-04	0
2004-05	0
2005-06	0
2006-07	6
2007-08	28
2008-09	336
2009-10	413
2010-11	614
2011-12	1,114
2012-13	963
2013-14	1,140
2014-15	1,157
2015-16	1,138
2016-17 (to Dec)	817

Source: Scottish Government Housing Statistics for Scotland, quarterly new build housing tables. Data provided by Local Authorities in NB1 Returns.

The next quarterly official statistics release, covering local authority new build completions across the period from January to March 2017, is due to be published in June 2017.

Question reference: S5O-00856

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 30 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how mental health can be affected by unemployment.

We recognise that there is strong and well established evidence on the impact that unemployment can have on the mental health of those affected. Employment is important to people, not just in providing an income to live on, but also helps to give an individual a sense of worth and a social context.

Mental health and wellbeing can decline with prolonged unemployment and make return to work more difficult. Unemployment can also exacerbate underlying mental health conditions, again presenting challenges to return to work.

Our newly devolved employment programmes, which begin in April this year, will offer access to support including skills, training and help with physical and mental health conditions. We are aiming to reach those who are harder to help, to meet their needs and help them achieve sustained employment which we know can help improve health and wellbeing, as well as income levels.

Question reference: S5F-01131

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2017

To ask the First Minister what further initiatives the Scottish Government will take to boost tourism, in light of a 15.6% increase in attendance at Scotland’s visitor attractions in 2016.

Question reference: S5O-00824

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact air pollution is having on human health, flora and fauna in Scotland.

Although emissions of air pollutants have fallen significantly over recent years, poor air quality continues to have an impact on the health of vulnerable individuals and on sensitive ecosystems.

The sensitivity of individual plant species to nitrogen pollution is variable and the critical loading is not known for all species. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is currently undertaking a project, in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage and others, to gain a better understanding of the contributions from different sources of air pollution to enable us to develop a more strategic approach to minimising the impacts of air pollution on sensitive habitats.

The Scottish Government's wider strategy for delivering further air quality improvements over the coming years is set out in 'Cleaner Air for Scotland - The Road to a Healthier Future', published in November 2015.

Question reference: S5O-00788

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in North Ayrshire pay no rates because of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, and how many will be exempt in 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-07355

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that warns that Scotland could face substantial budget reductions following the renegotiation of the fiscal framework in 2021.

Scottish Ministers will, in re-negotiating the Fiscal Framework, seek to achieve a funding settlement which maximises the resources available to deliver Scottish Government priorities and is fair to the people of Scotland.

The Fiscal Framework is clear that the method for adjusting the block grant will be agreed as part of the review and that the method adopted will deliver results consistent with the Smith Commission's recommendations, including the principles of no detriment, taxpayer fairness and economic responsibility.

Question reference: S5O-00696

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 23 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding the impact on employees in Scotland of the proposals to reduce the pensions of workers in the nuclear decommissioning estate.

Question reference: S5W-06541

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been registered with an NHS dentist in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area in each year since 2007.

The following table shows the number of people registered with an NHS dentist in NHS Ayrshire and Arran in each year since 2007.

Number of registrations in NHS Ayrshire and Arran in each year² since 2007.

NHS Board	Year²	Number of Registrations
Ayrshire and Arran	2007	214,712
Ayrshire and Arran	2008	244,344
Ayrshire and Arran	2009	266,487
Ayrshire and Arran	2010	281,845
Ayrshire and Arran	2011	296,592
Ayrshire and Arran	2012	312,394
Ayrshire and Arran	2013	323,229
Ayrshire and Arran	2014	332,877
Ayrshire and Arran	2015	338,618
Ayrshire and Arran	2016	347,118

Background notes

Source: ISD Scotland, Dental Statistics – NHS Registration and Participation publication, January 2017.
Statistics provided at a snapshot date of 30 September for each year.

Question reference: S5O-00650

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it will provide to North Ayrshire Council in 2017-18 to improve educational attainment.

Question reference: S5O-00626

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK Government’s welfare reforms have had on North Ayrshire's economy.

The UK Government’s welfare changes are impacting across the whole of Scotland. By 2019-20, the cuts are expected to take £1 billion per annum out of the Scottish economy. This inevitably has a major impact on low income households and a knock on impact on local economies. The Scottish Government continues to do what it can with the resources it has to mitigate the impact of UK welfare changes, including the Scottish Welfare Fund (£38million); mitigating the Bedroom Tax (£35million); and the council tax reduction scheme (£23million).