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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-24542

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the report required by section 29 of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016.

Question reference: S5W-24070

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many confirmed cases of Lyme disease there have been in each NHS board area since June 2014.

The table shows the number of laboratory confirmed cases of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria which causes Lyme disease , reported to Health Protection Scotland (HPS) between June 2014 and May 2019.

NHS Board	Laboratory confirmed cases of Borrelia burgdorferi June 2014-May 2019
Ayrshire & Arran	17
Borders	8
Dumfries & Galloway	28
Fife	18
Forth Valley	10
Greater Glasgow & Clyde	70
Grampian	140
Highland	469
Lanarkshire	26
Lothian	72
Orkney	2
Shetland	0
Tayside	90
Western Isles	41
Total	991

* data for 2018-2019 is still provisional

Question reference: S5W-24051

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 24 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) improvements have been made to, (b) progress has been made with the purchase of new vessels for and (c) planning it has carried out for the future provision of internal ferry services in Orkney since September 2018, and what action it has taken over this period to ensure that the Parliament has been informed of this.

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) are, and remain, wholly responsible for the inter-island ferry services which they provide. Consequently, OIC remain wholly responsible for the vessels and their maintenance.

However, the Scottish Government understands the significant financial challenges that can fall on individual local authorities. This government has made clear its commitment to Orkney internal ferry services with the provision of additional funding to OIC totalling £10.8m in the last two years, comprised of £5.5m in 2018-19 and £5.3m in 2019-20.

Transport Scotland, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, will continue to discuss long term solutions with both OIC and Shetland Islands Council (SIC) through the existing Working Group. The remit of this Group includes the preparation of Outline Business Cases (OBC) being prepared by both councils. I have received presentations of the emerging findings and the final OBCs are all expected to be completed by the end of this summer.

As the Minister with responsibility for the Islands, I have, along with other Ministers, held numerous meetings with OIC Council Leader James Stockan to discuss these issues, with the most recent meeting being held on 20 June 2019.

In setting Scottish Budgets the inclusion of funding for OIC (and SIC) for their internal ferry services has been made clear. This matter has also been debated in the Scottish Parliament.

As is normal practice, Transport Scotland Press Releases were issued which contained full details of the additional support that the Scottish Government has been able to find for both Councils over the past two years, despite the very real fiscal challenges flowing from the UK Government settlement.

Scottish Ministers will take a view on future revenue and capital funding requests from OIC going forward as part of the Scottish Budget setting for 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-24054

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 22 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the working group on internal ferry services in the Northern Isles has met over the last 12 months, and who chaired each meeting.

Question reference: S5W-24071

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to improve testing and treatment for Lyme disease and associated tick-borne diseases since June 2014.

The Scottish Government, through Health Protection Scotland (HPS) is committed to working with experts to keep evidence and guidance relating to the diagnosis, testing and treatment of Lyme disease under constant review to ensure patients in Scotland receive care tailored to their individual needs and circumstances.

In April 2018 the Scottish Lyme Disease and Tick-borne Infections Laboratory at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness was granted Reference Laboratory status which will provide additional funding for research and development into new tests for tick borne diseases and will help improve our understanding of this complex infection.

With regard to testing, it is acknowledged that there are gaps in the effectiveness of the tests which are currently available and work is underway to address the lack of sensitivity surrounding testing for the early stages of Lyme disease infection.

On 14 June 2019 the Chief Medical Officer wrote to all NHS Health Boards and GP practices highlighting the availability of a series of resources to staff. The letter shares current sources of public facing advice and information about Lyme disease as well as links to current guidance on diagnosis and management.

Question reference: S5W-23980

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when its new fuel poverty strategy will come into effect, and what provisions will be included to tackle extreme fuel poverty in rural and island communities.

Once the new fuel poverty strategy has been prepared, it must be laid in draft before the Scottish Parliament. In the case of the first strategy, that will be done within one year of section 3 of the Bill coming into force. There is then a standstill period of 40 days during which the Scottish Parliament can consider the draft strategy before Ministers are allowed to finalise it.

As we move forward, we will look at how we target our support for those who are in extreme fuel poverty, as is outlined in the Bill as passed. We will continue to ensure that the needs of households in rural and island communities are taken into account and reflected in our approach.

Question reference: S5W-23981

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to remediation projects in rural and island communities to help tackle fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty.

Since 2013 we have provided support every year for a wide range of local projects to tackle fuel poverty and improve domestic energy efficiency delivered by councils as part of our Area Based Schemes (ABS). For example, the overall amount of ABS funding allocated to the six island local authorities in 2019-20 was £9.6 million. In 2018-19, we awarded £9.5 million in grant to these authorities.

We also recognise that the costs of delivering energy efficiency measures are higher in remote rural and island areas. The maximum grant-in-kind available to households in very remote rural areas through our Area Based Schemes (ABS) has risen since 2013 to £9,000 compared with a maximum grant of £7,500 elsewhere in Scotland.

In addition, the Scottish Government provides targeted help to individual households in need through our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland. This includes a wide range of insulation and heating measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel bills for those households living in extreme fuel poverty.

Question reference: S5W-23918

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20601 by Jeane Freeman on 7 January 2019, what data on waiting times and standards for people in prison has been published.

People who are in prison are subject to the same waiting times standards as those in the community. Their waiting times are included in the figures published routinely by ISD Scotland, including the Treatment Time Guarantee, New Outpatient Standard and 18 Weeks Referral to Treatment. However, it is not always possible to identify from all the waiting times data ISD has, if a person is in prison or not.

In addition to this on 4 July 2019, ISD published a prison health dashboard. This brings together previously published data and will report on the standards and indicators for those in prison:

National Drug Related Deaths
National Naloxone Programme
Smoking Cessation Services
National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times
Alcohol Brief Interventions

Question reference: S5W-23836

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government in how many instances children have been used as covert human intelligence sources in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

The authorisation of covert human intelligence sources, including any under 18 years of age, is an operational matter for the relevant public authorities.

The Scottish Government has not authorised the use of any person under 18 years of age as a covert human intelligence source. This information covers Marine Scotland, the Accountant in Bankruptcy and Transport Scotland, these being the areas of the Scottish Government provided for under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000.

Question reference: S5W-23811

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages probationer teachers to consider teaching in islands and rural communities.

Probationer teachers are allocated to local authorities through the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) primarily on the basis of student choice.

The TIS includes a Preference Waiver Payment (PWP) system whereby students taking up this option waive their right to express a preferred local authority and are prioritised for allocation to remote and rural authorities during their probationary year. Student who choose this option receive a payment of £8,000 if they are a secondary school teacher or £6,000 if they are a primary school teacher.

Islands and rural communities continue to receive the highest proportion of allocations of probationary teachers who have chosen the PWP option.