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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-24231

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2015
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 30 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to enhance the provision of unscheduled care.

Today (30 January 2015) we are establishing new best practice guidance to be rolled out across Scottish health boards to help maintain and improve unscheduled care. This new approach, which has been developed in partnership with the Academy of Royal Colleges, is to ensure the whole health and social care system works effectively.

In addition to this work we have also commissioned a review of primary care out-of-hours services in order to promote sustainable, safe and effective care for the people of Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-03988

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote the IT industry as a career choice.

Question reference: S4W-23526

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 31 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on the health of pregnant women, what estimate it has made of the financial impact of the discontinuation of the Health in Pregnancy Grant in 2011.

Question reference: S4W-23525

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 31 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on employment, what estimate it has made of how much statutory maternity pay would be in 2015-16 if it had been uprated by Consumer Price Index inflation since 2011-12 and how this compares with the actual amount.

The move to uprating by 1% means that in 2015-16 statutory maternity pay is estimated to be £139.56 per week. If statutory maternity pay had been uprated by Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation it is estimated that it would have been in the region of £144.73. By 2015-16 a mother claiming statutory maternity pay would therefore be approximately £170 worse off than if maternity pay had been uprated by the CPI measure of inflation.

Question reference: S4O-03856

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4T-00877

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on devolving the power to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in Scottish parliamentary elections.

Question reference: S4W-23570

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 December 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the outcome of the recent summit meeting of the British-Irish Council.

On 28 November 2014, the twenty third meeting of the British-Irish Council was held in Douglas, Isle of Man. The summit was attended by ministers from all eight member administrations. The Scottish Government was represented by the First Minister and myself.

The British Irish Council remains an important forum and provides an opportunity for members to meet and discuss the future direction of change in these islands. Scotland’s relations with the other members becomes even more important as the powers of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government increase.

The meeting began with a significant discussion on the economy where the First Minister informed the Council that the economic picture in Scotland is increasingly positive. Scotland’s economy has grown continually for two years, GDP is above pre-recession levels and the economic outlook is the strongest it has been in the post-crisis period. Against a back drop of events like the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup, this year has been a remarkable one for the Scottish economy, showcasing Scotland to the world. The First Minister also advised the council of the improving picture in the labour market in Scotland, but stressed that challenges remain. Many Scottish jobs depend upon our membership of the EU and the uncertainty of a possible EU exit is causing widespread concern.

The council also had a very interesting discussion on digital inclusion, during which all Members agreed the importance of ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to share in the benefits of technology and the internet. I informed the council about Scotland’s Digital Participation Strategy called ‘A National Framework for Local Action’ highlighting some of the projects where we have made important progress including £300k for wifi in public libraries and £1.5 million for free wifi in key public buildings.

The communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council, after the meeting, can be found on the website at: http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/. I am also arranging for a copy the document to be placed in SPICe (BIB number 56500).

Question reference: S4F-02459

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 December 2014

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle in-work poverty.

Question reference: S4O-03668

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the value of the food industry is to the Scottish economy.

Question reference: S4O-03625

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has offered employees affected by Tata Steel's sale of its Long Products division, which has operations in Dalzell and Clydebridge.