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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S4W-14584

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government about offering rebates on energy bills in exchange for local unconventional fossil fuel extraction developments.

Question reference: S4W-14226

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 3 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in light of reported concerns, it will bring forward a report on the operation of offences under section 11 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 in advance of the completion of the review period.

Section 11 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 requires Scottish Ministers, after having consulted such persons as they consider appropriate, to lay a report before Parliament on the operation of the offences at Sections 1 and 6 of the Act covering the period from 1 March 2012 until 1 August 2014. The Act requires the report to be laid no later than 12 months after the end of that period and the Government will bring forward a report in time to meet those statutory requirements.

Question reference: S4O-02089

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it is reducing the health impacts of poor air quality in cities.

Question reference: S4W-14304

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the (a) Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and (b) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to ensure that the relevance of Scotland's high latitude is considered in the review of vitamin D.

Officials from the Food Standards Agency in Scotland (FSAS) attend the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) Vitamin D Working Group meetings on behalf of the Scottish Government to ensure Scottish interests are fully represented. In doing so, the FSAS ensures that relevant research on vitamin D which relates specifically to the Scottish population is considered as part of the review.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing public health guidance on the implementation of existing recommendations to prevent vitamin D deficiency. In doing so, NICE do not intend to look at the relative contributions of cutaneous vitamin D synthesis to vitamin D status in the UK population as this issue is being considered as part of the SACN review on vitamin D. SACN is a stakeholder in the development of this guidance.

Question reference: S4W-14303

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what update it can provide on the review of vitamin D by the (a) Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and (b) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) Vitamin D Working Group held its eighth meeting in February this year, with the next scheduled for15 May 2013. It is anticipated that a draft report will be available for public consultation in March 2014, with the final report likely to be published in December 2014. Minutes of all SACN working group meetings are available on the SACN website at:

http://www.sacn.gov.uk/meetings/working_groups/vitamin/28032012.html.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has now set the scope for developing public health guidance on the implementation of existing recommendations to prevent vitamin D deficiency. The draft guidance is due to be issued for consultation in December 2013 with publication of the final guidance in June 2014. Further details, including the scope of the guidance, are available on the NICE website at: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byID&o=13795.

Question reference: S4W-14305

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether a cost-benefit analysis of interventions to reduce vitamin D deficiency in the population will form part of the review by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

The remit of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) Vitamin D Working Group is to review the Dietary Reference Values for vitamin D intake and make recommendations. In doing so, the review is considering the clinical evidence on vitamin D and will not include any cost-benefit analysis. The full terms of reference for the group are available on the SACN website at:

http://www.sacn.gov.uk/meetings/working_groups/vitamin/index.html.

In developing its guidance on the implementation of existing recommendations to prevent vitamin D deficiency, NICE will be considering the cost effectiveness of interventions to increase awareness and implementation of existing guidance on vitamin D amongst both health professionals and at-risk groups. Further details regarding the scope of the guidance are available at:

http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byID&o=13795.

Question reference: S4W-14288

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13897 by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 April 2013, whether it will provide a list of each helpline it supports that is operated by a private company and the name of each operating company.

Question reference: S4W-14239

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its guidance principle, Respect for Human Rights, as set out in its document, Working with China, what discussions it (a) has had and (b) plans with the Chinese Government regarding reports of people being forced into so-called organ harvesting in China.

The Scottish Government is committed to engaging the Chinese Government on human rights and this is articulated in Working with China: A Five Year Strategy for Engagement between Scotland and the People’s Republic of China, published in December 2012. We fully support action to combat the commercialisation of organs, tissues and cells and the trafficking of people for organ donation, all of which are illegal in the UK. We support the Declaration of Istanbul, which encourages all countries to draw up legal and professional frameworks to govern organ donation and transplantation activities. We understand that the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission is in the process of developing and implementing a nationwide system for voluntary organ donation, supported by a new national database.

Question reference: S4W-14240

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its aim for universities and further education establishments to develop more long-term, sustainable partnerships in China, as set out in its document, Working with China, what action it (a) has taken and (b) plans to ensure that medical courses in higher education institutions cover international aspects of medical ethics, including the reports of people being forced into so-called organ harvesting in China.

Whilst the Scottish Government does not have a locus to intervene in the course content of higher education institutions, we fully support action to combat the commercialisation of organs, tissues and cells and the trafficking of people for organ donation, all of which are illegal in the UK. We support the Declaration of Istanbul, which encourages all countries to draw up legal and professional frameworks to govern organ donation and transplantation activities. We understand that the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission is in the process of developing and implementing a nationwide system for voluntary organ donation, supported by a new national database.

Question reference: S4W-13928

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what proposals were submitted for national development status in the National Planning Framework 3.