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 1943 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-00790

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 28 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions regarding consumer energy bills it has had since 5 May 2011 with (a) Ofgem and (b) power companies with customers in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-00792

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 28 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gave to the potential impact on (a) local communities and (b) the environment when deciding to raise the renewable electricity target to 100% of Scotland's electricity demand being generated from renewable resources by 2020.

The target to meet the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020 is included in the scope of the current Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Scottish Government’s forthcoming Renewables Roadmap and revised Electricity Generation Policy Statement. The scoping period is now coming to an end and an environmental report will be published alongside the Electricity Generation Policy Statement by the end of 2011.

As part of the SEA process, Ministers will giver full consideration to the requirements of the EC Habitats Directive.

The Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 brought forward enhanced opportunities for people to get involved at earlier stages in the planning process and online renewables advice reaffirms the importance of community engagement in deciding the most appropriate location of renewable energy developments.

Question reference: S4F-00096

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 June 2011

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce the number of attacks on ambulance and fire service crews.

Question reference: S4W-00818

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of smoking in the home has been in each of the last five years, broken down by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation area.

The following table identifies the proportion of adults living in a home where someone smokes inside on most days, broken down by SIMD quintile for 2008 and 2009.

This question was only introduced into the Scottish Health Survey in 2008 and therefore data is not available for each of the last five years. 2010 results will be published on 27 September 2011.

Table 1: Proportion of Adults Living in a Home where Someone Smokes Inside on Most Days (Age-Standardised) by SIMD Quintile:

SIMD Quintile

1st - Most Deprived

2nd

3rd

4th

5th - Least Deprived

2008	46	35	26	21	14
2009	47	35	28	18	13
Bases (weighted)
2008	1,264	1,325	1,193	1,502	1,181
2009	1,399	1,512	1,416	1,575	1,629
Bases (unweighted)
2008	1,132	1,226	1,348	1,651	1,106
2009	1,402	1,395	1,579	1,692	1,463

Source: Scottish Health Survey.

Question reference: S4W-00821

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many licensed premises have closed in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) postcode area and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation area.

Question reference: S4W-00820

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the figures for the incidence of smoking in the home among unemployed smokers in each of the last 10 years, broken down by length of time unemployed.

Information on smoking in the home is recorded in the Scottish Health Survey but cannot be linked to the employment status of the smoker.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-818 on 24 June 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-00822

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the figures for smoking in under 16s in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) sex and (b) NHS board area.

(a) Figures on smoking rates of 13 and 15-year-olds are published every 2 years, with the most recently available data for 2008 published at:

http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/salsus_national08.htm.

The following table, Table 2.2 from the 2008 SALSUS report, shows the percentage of 13 and 15-year-olds who were regular smokers from 1998 to 2008, by sex.

Table 1: Regular Smokers by Age Group and Gender, 1998-2008

13 Year-Olds

15-Year-Olds

Boys

Girls

Boys

Girls

1998	9	11	25	27
2000	5	10	15	24
2002	6	9	16	24
2004	5	7	14	24
2006	3	5	12	18
2008	3	4	14	16

Source: ONS 1998; NSCR 2000; SALSUS 2002-2008.

(b) SALSUS is designed to provide figures at a health board level every four years. The two years from which health board figures are currently available are 2002 and 2006.

Table 2: Regular Smokers by Age Group and NHS Board, 2002 and 2006

2002

2006

13 Years

15 Years

13 Years

15 Years

Ayrshire and Arran	9	21	4	17
Borders	4	15	5	14
Dumfries and Galloway	12	24	3	17
Fife	8	20	6	16
Forth Valley	10	19	5	15
Grampian	7	24	3	14
Greater Glasgow	6	15	3	14
Highland	9	22	5	12
Lanarkshire	7	20	4	20
Lothian	9	20	4	16
Orkney Islands	14	19	4	14
Shetland Islands	9	18	4	17
Tayside	6	22	3	14
Western Isles¹	-	-	7	13

Source: SALSUS 2002, 2006

Note: 1. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar did not participate in the 2002 SALSUS survey, as they had recently completed a similar local survey. There are therefore no comparable figures available for Western Isles Health Board area.

Question reference: S4W-00880

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it gives to NHS boards regarding their obligations to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities under the Equality Act 2010.

To prepare NHS boards for the implications for the Equality Act 2010, including their obligations to LGBT people, a series of 13 one day sessions were held between January and March 2011 which were supported by NHS Health Scotland. The sessions were aimed at decision makers within NHS boards responsible for service design and delivery and for whom the implications of the Equality Act 2010 would be pertinent. A total of 180 staff attended.

In addition, NHS Health Scotland is currently managing, on behalf of the Scottish Government, the development of a new Gender Reassignment Services Protocol to improve the experience of transgender people when accessing gender reassignment services within NHSScotland.

Question reference: S4W-00823

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the prevalence of smoking was in 2010 among people aged 16 and over, broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) NHS board area.

The following table provides an age-sex breakdown of smoking prevalence among adults age 16+ for 2009. These data were published in the Scottish Household Survey annual report for 2009 which is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/08/25092046/0.

Data for 2010 are not due to be published until August 2011.

Table 1: Smoking Prevalence among Adults Age 16+, by Age and Sex, 2009

	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to 59	60 to 74	75+	Total
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Men	27	33	32	28	17	10	26
Women	23	25	27	26	20	11	23

Source: Scottish Household Survey.

The following table provides an NHS board area breakdown of smoking prevalence among adults age 16+ for the two year period 2007-08. The Scottish Household Survey recommends combining two years of data when analysing at NHS board level to ensure estimates are as robust as possible. The next two year period available will be 2009-10 in August 2011.

Table 2: Smoking Prevalence among Adults Age 16+, by NHS Board, 2007-08

NHS Board	%
Ayrshire and Arran	26
Borders	22
Dumfries and Galloway	27
Fife	26
Forth Valley	28
Grampian	23
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	27
Highland New	22
Lanarkshire	29
Lothian	23
Orkney	19
Shetland	17
Tayside	24
Western Isles	24
Scotland	25

Source: Scottish Household Survey.

Question reference: S4W-00794

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that renewable energy developments do not harm the natural environment.

In order to come to a view on the environmental impacts of a proposal, the Scottish Government consult the Local Planning Authority, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and any such other persons that are in their opinion likely to be concerned by the proposed development by reason of their specific environment responsibilities

The Scottish Government is promoting and developing best practice, by leading the European GP Wind Project. This EU-funded project identifies good practice in reconciling objectives on renewable energy with wider environmental objectives and in the active involvement of communities in planning and implementation.