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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: S4F-02222

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2014

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to remarks made by the chief executive of the NHS regarding the movement of emergency patients.

Question reference: S4W-21646

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the home report system.

<>Prior to the introduction of the home report, Scottish Ministers gave a commitment to carry out a full policy review after five years of its operation. This review began with a public consultation on 5 December 2013. This consultation, which formed the first stage of the review, closed on 27 February 2014. All responses have now been analysed and the report published on the Scottish Government website on 7 May 2014. The report can be found at the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/05/2311

The second stage of the review will take the form of a research study and focus groups. A research company has been appointed and this phase is now under way. The review is due to be completed by the end of 2014.

Question reference: S4W-21473

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 17 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the volume of oil that is recoverable from Scottish territorial waters up until 2015.

Oil and Gas UK estimate that there are up to 24 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves remaining under the North Sea. Recent research by Professor Alex Kemp of the University of Aberdeen has suggested that around 98.8 per cent of North Sea oil production and around 60 per cent of gas production in the 30 years from 2011 will come from Scotland's geographical share of the current UK continental shelf.

The Oil and Gas UK Economic Report 2013 is available at:

https://publ.com/N6D1Taa#8

The Scottish Government published the third Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin on
28 May 2014; this focuses on the outlook for the industry over the next five years.

It is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0045/00451335.pdf

Question reference: S4W-21577

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when the transport plan for the Armed Forces Day National Event in Stirling will be signed-off at ministerial level.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with Stirling Council to support their preparation of the transport plan and other aspects of the various events across Stirling's 'Big Weekend'. The most recent draft of this transport plan, as prepared by Stirling Council, was received by officials on 6 June 2014.

The Armed Forces Day National Event is an event bid for and organised by Stirling Council. As such, signing-off a robust transport plan is a matter for Stirling Council rather than Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S4W-21354

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on (a) repairing and (b) maintaining speed cameras in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

The eight Safety Camera Partnerships across Scotland provide the Scottish Safety Camera Programme Office with a projection of costs associated with maintenance for the following financial year. The partnerships are then allocated funding based on this projection, which may not reflect the actual cost of maintenance in that year. If the partnership does not spend its full allocation, funding can be recovered by the Scottish Government and reinvested in other safety camera activity.

The following table sets out the financial projections for maintenance costs for the eight Safety Camera Partnerships over the last five years:

Safety Camera Partnership	2009-10 (£)	2010-11 (£)	2011-12 (£)	2012-13 (£)	2013-14 (£)
Central	500	500	750	1,000	3,000
Dumfries and Galloway	14,700	7,500	775	2,400	2,400
Fife	6,600	5,000	2,325	1,580	2,080
Lothian and Borders	92,000	81,000	97,172	98,866	70,340
North East	18,551	18,332	20,740	22,912	12,744
Northern	5,000	5,000	5,631	5,981	3,700
Strathclyde	179,836	171,550	82,100	90,744	57,140
Tayside	20,000	20,000	20,800	16,750	8,500

Question reference: S4W-21355

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many speed cameras have been (a) replaced and (b) repaired due to vandalism, and at what cost, in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

In the last five years, three of the eight Safety Camera Partnerships across Scotland have recorded incidents of vandalism to speed cameras. These are logged with the Safety Camera Programme Office on a partnership rather than a local authority basis. The number of incidents and associated costs are set out in the following table.

Safety Camera Partnership	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
Lothian and Borders	1 incident £2,633	1 incident £2,200	5 incidents £12,668	1 incident £1,444	4 incidents £9,381
North East	-	-	-	4 incidents £20,395	1 incident £3,965
Tayside	-	-	-	1 incident £4,064	-

Question reference: S4W-21238

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recently-published research in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine, which suggests a connection between increasing levels of childhood vaccination and (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) autism.

The paper in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine is authored by a private individual who has no wider organisational affiliation. The paper reviews a selection of previous publications, many of which are by the same author. The paper does not publish any new findings and does not present any new evidence.

The alleged associations between vaccination and autism and type 1 diabetes have been extensively researched through population studies, and there is no evidence linking vaccination to increases in type 1 diabetes or autism. The World Health Organisation’s Global Advisory Committee on vaccine safety supports this view.

Question reference: S4W-21057

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what scientific evidence has been used to support the vaccination of primary school children with the nasally ingested Fluenz drug.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine Fluenz should be the vaccine of choice for the childhood flu immunisation programme. Arrangements are in place to offer alternative authorised vaccines for the small number of children who are unable to receive the Fluenz vaccine.

The new childhood vaccination programme was introduced in October 2013, and will be rolled out over the next few years on a phased basis, offering protection to those aged 2-17. Advice from Health Protection Scotland was that maximal public health benefit was anticipated through introducing the programme in the youngest age groups initially and progressively rolling the programme out to older children over coming seasons. The rationale for this choice reflects the maximal risk from influenza and its complications arising in the youngest children. It additionally takes into account the maximal anticipated impact on lowering transmission of influenza in the community by vaccination of the youngest children and as a consequence indirectly protecting other unvaccinated children and adults.

Vaccination is voluntary, and it is always our aim to ensure that people are able to make informed choices about whether or not to accept the offer of vaccination for themselves or those for whom they make decisions. The Scottish Government will raise awareness of the childhood flu vaccination programme to inform and educate parents, children, healthcare professionals and others about the programme.

Question reference: S4W-21082

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on bulk purchasing flu vaccines in the last five years and how much it has saved by entering into joint-procurement contracts with the rest of the UK.

A new childhood influenza vaccination programme was introduced in October 2013, which is being rolled out over the next few years on a phased basis, offering protection to those aged 2-17 years. The new nasal vaccine being used for the childhood programme is purchased centrally by Public Health England under a UK contract for all four countries including Scotland. The contract price is confidential.

The Scottish Government spend on the new immunisation programmes in 2013-14 was around £10 million (this includes vaccine and central costs such as surveillance, lab costs etc.). This will rise to around £16 million in 2014-15. This incorporates costs of the rotavirus, shingles and childhood flu programmes.

Seasonal flu vaccines are purchased in Scotland by community pharmacies on behalf of individual GP practices and this has been the case for many years, including the last five years.

However, this winter, the Scottish Government will be purchasing centrally all injectable flu vaccines required for children. Those vaccines are for the small number of children for whom the live attenuated vaccine is not suitable. Community pharmacies will still purchase adult flu vaccines on behalf of GP practices. The Scottish Government also buys a small contingency stock of vaccines centrally each year. The cost of this is around £150,000.

Question reference: S4O-03225

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 14 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, which suggests that there were statistically significantly lower levels of numerical attainment at both P4 and P7 in 2013 compared with 2011.

I refer the member to my earlier answer to Iain Gray. We announced a range of measures to ensure a clear focus on numeracy across Scotland’s schools.

In addition to the extra £1 million funding over three years committed to the local authority numeracy hubs programme, Education Scotland are building a range of further activities and resources into the support they provide to local authorities, teachers and schools on numeracy. This includes further professional learning resources for teachers based on the survey findings.

We are also incorporating a specific numeracy strand into our ground-breaking work on Pathfinder schools and building a specific focus on numeracy into the forthcoming Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development review of Curriculum for Excellence.