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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: S5W-05365

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it advised local authorities of its plan to abolish the board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Question reference: S5W-05391

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the statement in the Council of Economic Advisers: Annual Report 2015-16 that the Scottish Government could do more to incentivise greater participation in the Scottish Business Pledge.

Question reference: S5W-05384

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation in its publication, Enterprise and Skills Review: Report on Phase 1, which states that “it may be reasonable to seek certain attributions or contributions from companies seeking and receiving public sector [enterprise] support”, what attributes and contributions it is considering, and whether these include the company paying (a) its staff at least the living wage and (b) a fair level of tax.

Question reference: S5W-05418

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Scottish Consumer Insight Report 2016 from Which?, that 44% of households experienced broadband service problems in the last two years, and that two in five said that they took no action to try to resolve these.

The Scottish Government is committed to using its new powers on consumer advocacy and advice to ensure the interests of Scotland's consumers are protected, and we welcome Which's continued work to champion and protect those interests.

Earlier this year, Ofcom - which has responsibility for telecoms regulation in the UK - announced a range of measures designed to ensure that telecoms providers provide a quality of service that customers rightfully expect. These measures include automatic compensation when things go wrong, tougher performance rules for Openreach, and the introduction of performance tables on quality of service.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with Ofcom on the detail of how they test user experience in Scotland, across both mobile and fixed broadband, and we are currently developing options for how this can be enhanced. Ofcom is also currently conducting research which asks consumers if they have had reason to complain to their supplier in the last 12 months, with the results expected in March.

Question reference: S5W-05389

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) charges and (b) prosecutions there have been in Scotland for offences of forced marriage under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, broken down by year, including the current year to date, and how this compares with the use of forced marriage protection orders.

Question reference: S5W-05390

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of how effectively Section 122 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, regarding forced marriage, is operating.

The Scottish Government believes that everyone in Scotland who can marry or enter into a civil partnership has the right to do so freely and without coercion and the legislation in Scotland is there to ensure choice, safety and protection.

Section 122 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 is providing an additional layer of protection to people who may be affected by forced marriage. There have been no prosecutions under the Act. The 2014 legislation does not replace the Forced Marriage etc (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 but sits alongside it. The protection provided by and FMPO continues to exist alongside a new criminal offence. This means that a person could choose to take the civil route, or to go to the police (as they can now).

Note that if a person chooses to go to the police, and the police refer the case to COPFS, it will then be for the COPFS to decide whether or not to take any criminal proceedings against those involved in forcing a person into marriage.

Question reference: S5W-05387

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) criminal offences, (b) circumstances and (c) descriptions of offender it anticipates will cause a victim surcharge to be imposed.

Question reference: S5W-05385

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in establishing the victim surcharge fund, and when it expects the fund to (a) be operational and (b) issue its first payment.

Work continues to finalise arrangements for the establishment and administration of the victim surcharge fund. This work has included further detailed consideration of viable options for delivery and the potential role of third sector or other organisations in this process.

It is the Scottish Government’s intention to establish the fund in 2017 and to initially impose the surcharge on offenders given a court fine. Further details of how the fund will operate will be set out in subordinate legislation, which will be subject to parliamentary approval in due course.

Question reference: S5W-05386

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered using alternative providers for the victim surcharge fund.

Question reference: S5W-05197

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00370 by John Swinney on 23 November 2016 (Official Report, c. 6), what impact the abolition of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) board will have on HIE's budget, and whether savings will be made.