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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: S3W-36404

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 30 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that dawn raids on asylum seeker families have ended.

This government has made very clear its opposition to dawn raids and to the enforced removal and detention of children. The Minister for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, wrote to Damian Green, the UK Government''s Minister for Immigration, on 9 September 2010 asking for urgent clarification of the UK Government position and urging him not to renege on the promise to end child detention. We will continue to pursue this issue with UK Government ministers until they deliver on this commitment.

Question reference: S3W-36102

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average saving has been for businesses in each savings band as a result of the introduction of the small business bonus in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Average savings under the small business bonus scheme (SBBS) in each local authority by savings band is shown in the following tables for the first two years of the scheme, 2008-09 and 2009-10. Figures for 2010-11 will be available after the end of the current financial year.

SBBS Average Saving by SBBS Band and Local Authority, 2008-09 in £

2008-09	RV Less Than 8,000- 80% Relief	RV Between £8,000 and £10,000 40% Relief	RV Between £10,000 and £15,000 20% Relief	Average Saving Over All Bands
Aberdeen City	1,333	1,462	1,078	1,312
Aberdeenshire	805	1,529	1,098	853
Angus	915	1,518	1,055	948
Argyll and Bute	655	1,550	1,080	686
Clackmannanshire	1,058	1,455	1,099	1,080
Dumfries and Galloway	753	1,503	1,086	791
Dundee City	1,213	1,509	1,089	1,222
East Ayrshire	1,180	1,503	1,125	1,197
East Dunbartonshire	1,407	1,537	1,121	1,385
East Lothian	1,021	1,598	1,084	1,056
East Renfrewshire	1,399	1,580	1,097	1,361
Edinburgh, City of	1,391	1,539	1,077	1,365
Eilean Siar	687	1,454	1,217	726
Falkirk	1,192	1,588	1,091	1,215
Fife	1,051	1,482	1,056	1,078
Glasgow City	1,448	1,375	913	1,372
Highland	711	1,536	1,091	749
Inverclyde	1,355	1,582	1,110	1,351
Midlothian	1,094	1,494	1,082	1,120
Moray	784	1,576	1,209	835
North Ayrshire	979	1,525	1,053	1,009
North Lanarkshire	1,386	1,580	1,095	1,376
Orkney Islands	559	1,525	1,054	593
Perth and Kinross	909	1,496	1,071	949
Renfrewshire	1,299	1,516	1,140	1,298
Scottish Borders	761	1,468	1,091	794
Shetland Islands	673	1,276	891	708
South Ayrshire	1,047	1,480	1,069	1,077
South Lanarkshire	1,334	1,520	1,088	1,328
Stirling	915	1,490	1,105	959
West Dunbartonshire	1,199	1,532	1,074	1,212
West Lothian	1,255	1,640	1,160	1,276
Scotland	1,022	1,508	1,068	1,056

SBBS Average Saving by SBBS Band and Local Authority, 2009-10 in £

2009-10	RV Less Than 8,000- 100% Relief	RV Between £8,000 and £10,000 50% Relief	RV Between £10,000 and £15,000 25% Relief	Average Saving Over All Bands
Aberdeen City	1,771	2,010	1,413	1,743
Aberdeenshire	1,055	1,998	1,455	1,117
Angus	1,222	2,007	1,410	1,267
Argyll and Bute	844	1,945	1,383	879
Clackmannanshire	1,433	2,063	1,358	1,466
Dumfries and Galloway	991	2,011	1,439	1,042
Dundee City	1,591	1,875	1,429	1,593
East Ayrshire	1,540	2,027	1,476	1,566
East Dunbartonshire	1,779	2,013	1,408	1,759
East Lothian	1,379	2,102	1,454	1,421
East Renfrewshire	1,780	2,099	1,398	1,749
Edinburgh, City of	1,832	1,994	1,417	1,797
Eilean Siar	939	2,451	1,488	1,015
Falkirk	1,553	2,106	1,446	1,586
Fife	1,373	1,982	1,400	1,410
Glasgow City	1,926	1,820	1,214	1,804
Highland	954	2,025	1,446	1,006
Inverclyde	1,757	2,091	1,453	1,757
Midlothian	1,430	2,026	1,391	1,467
Moray	990	2,058	1,594	1,058
North Ayrshire	1,264	1,984	1,413	1,310
North Lanarkshire	1,853	2,091	1,441	1,834
Orkney Islands	751	1,891	1,422	785
Perth and Kinross	1,271	1,921	1,453	1,318
Renfrewshire	1,626	2,033	1,484	1,641
Scottish Borders	1,108	1,934	1,381	1,149
Shetland Islands	877	1,657	1,128	913
South Ayrshire	1,362	1,970	1,400	1,404
South Lanarkshire	1,723	1,979	1,423	1,717
Stirling	1,212	1,953	1,442	1,271
West Dunbartonshire	1,613	2,010	1,423	1,632
West Lothian	1,651	2,158	1,506	1,681
Scotland	1,359	1,983	1,397	1,403

Question reference: S3W-35784

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration has been given to providing Mohs surgery for patients with dermatological cancers in the NHS Lothian and Borders areas.

All patients within the region covered by the South East Scotland Cancer Network (SCAN) have access to Mohs surgery for dermatological cancers, and this includes patients in the NHS Lothian and NHS Borders areas.

NHS Lothian are currently looking to employ a Surgical Dermatologist who will be trained in Mohs micrographic surgery, which will allow the Mohs service to be further developed and offered locally.

Question reference: S3W-34579

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 June 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has met or has plans to meet the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland or other interested parties to discuss further research on possible links between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and multiple sclerosis (MS).

The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Government Health Directorates has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. CSO has not met nor has any plans to meet the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland or any other interested parties to discuss specifically further research on possible links between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and multiple sclerosis. CSO would, however, welcome research proposals for research in this area which would be subject to the usual peer and committee review.

Question reference: S3W-34578

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 June 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any plans to conduct clinical trials in Scotland based on research that suggests possible links between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and multiple sclerosis (MS).

The Scottish Government is aware of the research into possible links between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and multiple sclerosis (MS) but is not aware of any plans at this stage to conduct clinical trials in Scotland based on this research. The Scottish Government will monitor research being carried out abroad in this area and will maintain an interest in the results of any such research which may be of potential benefit and may lead to advances in patient care.

Question reference: S3W-34595

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 June 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent in Scotland on research into motor neurone disease in each year since 2000.

One of the main agencies through which the UK Government funds medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Total direct expenditure in the UK by the MRC on MND since 2000 is as follows:

2000-01	Not available
2001-02	£2.0 million
2002-03	£2.0 million
2003-04	£2.5 million
2004-05	£1.5 million
2005-06	£2.8 million
2006-07	£6.4 million
2007-08	£5.5 million
2008-09	£5.5 million
2009-10	Not available

MRC are unable to provide separate figures for their spend in Scotland.

Within the Scottish Government the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and healthcare needs in Scotland. CSO supports projects of a sufficiently high standard initiated by the research community in Scotland. CSO has not funded nor received any research applications on motor neurone disease (MND) since 2000.

Expenditure made by research charities in Scotland on MND is not held centrally.

Question reference: S3W-34580

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 June 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds figures on the numbers of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who have undergone clinical tests or treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI).

Question reference: S3W-34596

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 June 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it collects information on how much is spent by each of the NHS Scotland territorial boards specifically on services for people affected by motor neurone disease and, if so, how much each board has spent in each year for which figures are available.

Question reference: S3W-33009

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 April 2010
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 29 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the PFI revenue costs as a share of gross local authority education expenditure for 2008-09, comparable to the figures given up to that year in Education Revenue Costs of PFI School Estate Schemes.

Question reference: S3W-32482

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 15 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, following its announcement on 17 March 2010 of almost 20,000 people starting a modern apprenticeship over the last year, whether it will provide a breakdown of these apprenticeships by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.