- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 2 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the 13% rise in personal debt in the Eastwood constituency that has been reported by the UK Personal Debt Index.
Answer
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 2 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with the UK Government to reduce personal debt levels in the Eastwood constituency.
Answer
The Scottish Government is very concerned about those people who are forced into problem debt because their household income is not enough to sustain a basic standard of living, and is doing all it can to combat it. However, it must recognised that in many cases, people are being forced into debt because of the UK Government's programme of austerity and welfare cuts.
The Scottish Government is, nevertheless, doing a great deal to maximise household income for the most vulnerable, having developed a number of highly successful mechanisms to assist those with low incomes dealing with problem debt, including -
- a Debt Arrangement Scheme: the UK’s only statutory debt management scheme that protects debtor’s homes and prevents further action being taken by creditors, by freezing all interest and charges and these are written off on successful completion;
- a Minimal Asset Process bankruptcy: to provide streamlined and low cost access to debt relief for those with low incomes and assets;
- a moratorium (or ‘breathing space’) for those facing debt issues: allowing time for options to be considered without fear of further action; and
- the provision of high quality advice for those in debt, which is central to all statutory debt mechanisms in Scotland.
As part of its drive to reduce problem personal debt in Scotland, the Scottish Government has also been working closely with the UK Government on the devolution of the funding of debt advice to Scotland, as well as over the recommendations made in the Independent Review of the Funding of Debt Advice in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, by Peter Wyman in January 2018.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will hold an inquiry or set up a commission into assisted dying, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Stage 1 debate of the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill was held in the Scottish Parliament in May 2015. The views expressed were considered, sincere, and respectfully heard by all involved. Ultimately, the Scottish Parliament decided not to proceed with this legislation.
The Scottish Government respects the will of the Parliament on assisted dying, and is focussed on improving the care and support available to people at the end of life. As such there are no plans to set up an inquiry or commission into assisted dying at this time.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by James Wolffe QC on 27 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent decision to overturn the conviction against a husband who helped his terminally ill wife to die, whether the Lord Advocate will consider issuing guidance regarding the prosecution of cases involving assisted dying.
Answer
The Lord Advocate does not intend to issue guidance regarding the prosecution of cases involving assisted dying. In Scotland, such cases are considered according to the law of homicide. As in all cases, the first question is whether or not there is sufficient admissible evidence to justify commencing proceedings. Assuming that the report discloses sufficient admissible, reliable and credible evidence of a crime committed by the accused, the prosecutor must then consider what action is in the public interest. The factors which require to be taken into account in assessing the public interest will vary according to the circumstances of each case. Such a decision would be made in accordance with the published COPFS Prosecution Code.
It should be noted that in the recent appeal case referred to, the husband’s conviction for culpable homicide was not overturned; rather his sentence of imprisonment was quashed and he was admonished. Sentencing is a matter for the court and not for the Lord Advocate.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what review it has carried out of the Scottish Procurement Policy Note embedded in the statutory guidance under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
Answer
Scottish Procurement Policy Notes (SPPNs) provide public bodies with advice on a range of procurement policy issues. SPPN 04/2014, published in August 2014, provides advice to purchasers on the options available to them when dealing with companies active in illegal settlements. While the references to procurement Regulations within that SPPN relate to procurement exercises that have taken place before 18 April 2016, its key points remain applicable under procurement Regulations that came into effect on 18 April 2016.
The statutory guidance under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 published in March 2016 provides further guidance on the selection of tenderers and award of contracts and is available at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/03/8410/0. The final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) sets out our commitment to review implementation of this legislation. A copy of the BRIA is available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00435515.pdf.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact has been of locating its Dublin trade hub within the British Embassy.
Answer
The Dublin Hub has successfully created and strengthened relationships in areas such as culture, business and trade, and government between Scotland and Ireland. The Hub promotes a modern and progressive Scotland as an attractive place to live, work, study and invest.
Scottish Government will continue to assess the specific character of the markets in which it operates, and decide on that basis on the best location for its representatives in country. Our experience in Dublin has been that the location of our Hub in the Embassy has advantages and disadvantages. Operating off an embassy platform allowed the Hub to establish itself quickly and operate at comparatively low cost. Operating as a part of the UK wide platform confers diplomatic status enabling easier access to Irish government structures and buildings. However, given the nature of the property, access to the Embassy is constrained by security considerations, which tends to limit operational scope and flexibility.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 January 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what conversations it has had with BBC Scotland regarding the programming and content for the broadcaster's new digital channel.
Answer
I have met BBC officials several times since they announced the new Scottish channel, including Director-General Lord Hall. We discussed the need for the BBC to ensure the new channel is properly resourced so it can commission high quality programming that will help develop our creative sector and meet the expectations of Scottish audiences. Content has been discussed only at the level of genre, where long-running drama is clearly important for the development of the sector in Scotland. It is not appropriate for the Scottish Government to seek to influence specific programming and content of the independent BBC.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 December 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions NHS National Services Scotland has had with the drug manufacturer, BioMarin, regarding KUVAN, which is used in the treatment of phenylketonuria.
Answer
NHS National Services Scotland has confirmed that they have had no discussions with BioMarin, in relation to Kuvan.
BioMarin have been involved in communications with the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) and any decision over whether or not to make a submission to the SMC is purely one for BioMarin.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 December 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions NHS National Services Scotland has had with the Scottish Medicines Consortium regarding funding the use of KUVAN for the treatment of phenylketonuria.
Answer
NHS National Services Scotland has confirmed that they have had no discussions with the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) in relation to funding for the use of Kuvan.
Kuvan’s manufacturer, BioMarin, have been involved in communications with the SMC and any decision over whether or not to make a submissions to the SMC is purely one for BioMarin.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has been given evidence that the use of remote training collars, anti-bark collars and electronic boundary collars can be harmful to the health and development of dogs.
Answer
The public consultation on 'Potential controls or prohibition of electronic training aids in Scotland' asked for such evidence.
Responses to this consultation can be found at https://consult.gov.scot/animal-welfare/electronic-training-aids/consultation/published_select_respondent and an analysis of the responses at https://consult.gov.scot/animal-welfare/electronic-training-aids/results/potential-controls-or-prohibition-of-electronic-training-aids-in-scotland-analysis.pdf.
We are also aware of the relevant published scientific research on the subject.
