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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-21034

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the planning process followed in the A9 dualling project adequately protects the interests of local communities and wider communities concerned with the historic and natural environments, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The projects that make up the A9 dualling programme are being promoted through the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and assessed in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations which protects the interest of those who have concerns, including concerns relating to the historic and natural environments.

The environmental impact assessment process has informed decision-making throughout the design development process to address potentially significant effects where practicable, such as by refinement of the route alignment or by the incorporation of measures to avoid or prevent, reduce, remedy or offset any potential adverse environmental effects.

Working with those affected by the A9 dualling programme is at the heart of our planning and we have been engaging extensively since 2012. This has included undertaking numerous engagement events on each project to consult local communities, road users, businesses and individuals, and take into account feedback received as plans are developed.

As part of the statutory process Transport Scotland has published an Environmental Statement for each project which presents the findings of the environmental impact assessment and also includes the approach taken to consultation. A copy of each Environmental Statement published to date on the A9 dualling programme is available from the Transport Scotland website at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/a9-dualling-perth-to-inverness/ .

Question reference: S5W-20374

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many operations undertaken outside the UK in each of the last five years have been part funded by the NHS as a result of NHS boards not meeting the 12-week treatment target.

Question reference: S5O-02758

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the regulation of private parking.

In June 2018, the Scottish Parliament approved a Legislative Consent Motion(LCM) to enable the Rt. Hon. Sir Greg Knight MP private member's Bill entitled the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill to extend to Scotland. The Bill aims to regulate the practices of the private parking industry by seeking to provide motorists with a fairer, more transparent and consistent parking with an appeals service that operates across the UK by imposing a single code of practice on the industry. The Scottish Government is continuing to work with the UK Government and the private parking industry to ensure that Scotland's interests are fully represented in the development of the proposed Code of Practice.

Question reference: S5W-20375

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent by each NHS board in each of the last five years on reimbursing patients who have had operations abroad as a result of waiting list delays.

Under the European Cross-border Healthcare Directive (“The Directive”), UK citizens, including Scots, have a right to travel in the European Economic Area (EEA) for planned healthcare.

Patients may choose to travel using the Directive for treatment in EEA countries that is the same as or equivalent to state treatment available at home. They must pay the costs upfront to the healthcare provider in the country concerned and are reimbursed by their local healthcare provider (in Scotland their local NHS Board) up to the amount the treatment would have cost the NHS.

Around 30 people a year travel from Scotland to other EEA countries for treatment using the provisions in the Directive. The cost of reimbursements will vary depending on the procedures received and is a matter for local NHS Boards.

Individuals are exercising their EU rights and do not have to indicate why they have chosen to be treated elsewhere in the EEA.

There are no arrangements whereby patients who choose to travel outside the EEA for treatment can be reimbursed by the NHS on their return to Scotland.

Question reference: S5T-01371

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on ScotRail's performance.

Question reference: S5T-01299

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Tayside regarding staff numbers and future workforce planning.

Question reference: S5O-02441

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what efforts it is making to improve international transport connectivity.

Question reference: S5O-02366

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when Transport Scotland will announce its preferred route for the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section of the soon-to-be dualled A9.

Transport Scotland has been working closely with the local community since Autumn 2016 as part of a co-creative process to identify a preferred option for the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section of the A9 Dualling.

Transport Scotland is currently taking forward further design and assessment work on the recently identified community preferred route. This will create an opportunity to further develop those proposals with a view towards identifying a preferred route option by the end of the year.

Question reference: S5W-18483

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many residential appeals there have been to the Scottish Assessors Association in each calendar year since 2007, also broken down by local authority area, and how many of these were successful.

Question reference: S5W-18324

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) ambulances, (b) patient-transport vehicles, (c) small vans, (d) cars, (e) 4x4 vehicles and (f) specialist support vehicles has each Scottish Ambulance Service division had in service in each year since 2007.

Scottish Ambulance Service Fleet numbers and vehicle descriptions change periodically as a result of vehicle replacement programmes and developing strategy. The data requested is not held in the summary format requested from 2007 but extracts from fleet declarations in recent years is given in the following table:

	A&E	Rapid Response Vehicles 4x4	PTS - Van Conversion	PTS - Car	Specialist Vehicles (Island/NeoNatal/Training etc.)	Admin/ Support	Cars	Total
2014	446	65	455	70	123	86	194	1439
2015	448	65	446	66	127	100	197	1449
2016	437	62	441	61	129	102	209	1441
2017	453	67	433	53	122	109	218	1455
2018	444	77	431	49	128	113	201	1443

Information cannot be provided in the format requested as this would be a resource intensive task for the Ambulance Service, however, a breakdown of fleet numbers, by Division, for 2018 is provided in the following table:

March 2018 - Operating Division	North East	North West	East Central	West Central	South East	South West	National	Total
A&E
Total A&E	46	57	74	99	66	98	4	444

Rapid Response Vehicles 4x4
Total Rapid Response 4x4	8	2	14	18	13	14	8	77

PTS
PTS Car		2	10	26	4	7		49
PTS Van Conversion	41	23	94	88	71	110	4	431
Total PTS	41	25	104	114	75	117	4	480

Specialist Vehicles
Total Specialist Vehicles	24	17	1	0	4	16	66	128

Admin / Support
Total Admin / Support	2	2	11	17	6	7	68	113

Staff Car Scheme
Total Car Scheme	6	10	20	10	7	17	131	201

Grand Total	127	113	224	258	171	269	281	1443