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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: S5O-02384

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the number of free-to-use ATMs reducing at a record rate, whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support communities on this issue, particularly those in remote and rural areas.

Question reference: S5O-02318

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with banks and the UK Government regarding branch closures.

Bank branch closures are a matter of great concern, affecting communities across Scotland with no constituency unaffected.

Whilst the regulation of banking services remains a reserved issue, Scottish Government ministers have been in regular contact with both the UK Government and Scotland's banking community to ensure that the high street banks' future strategy for Scotland takes into account the needs of customers, local communities and staff.

Specifically, the then Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, Keith Brown, together with Paul Wheelhouse in his role as Minister for Business, Innovation and Industry raised the matter at meetings of the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB). They convened a round table meeting with representatives of Scotland's retail banks to discuss the future of banking in Scotland.

Mr Wheelhouse spoke with and wrote to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, setting out the Scottish Government's concerns and asking what action the UK Government would take to preserve access to essential banking services and to mitigate the impact of these branch closures on individual customers, communities and business affected.

Question reference: S5O-02244

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Parkhead should be the location for a new health and social care hub for the east end of Glasgow.

Question reference: S5O-02086

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether the next local government elections are still planned for May 2022.

The date of the next Local Government Elections remains on the first Thursday in May 2022 as set out in legislation.

In the interests of the voter, Local Government Elections in Scotland should be held on a dedicated polling day when no other electoral event is taking place.

The Scottish Government has no plans to move the date at this time but will keep the matter under review until there is greater clarity around the date of other elections, and in consultation with local government partners.

Question reference: S5O-02006

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to assisting fathers gain access to their children in situations where courts have granted access but mothers refuse to comply.

Question reference: S5O-01995

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to a new railway station at Parkhead Forge on the Airdrie line, which would also serve Celtic Park and the Emirates Arena.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving connectivity across the rail network but have no plans for a new rail station at Parkhead Forge. However, the Scottish Government has recently published the Local Rail Development Fund and the Rail Enhancements and Capital Investment Strategy. The Strategy sets out the approach to investment in our railways and underlines that we will focus firstly on maintaining and renewing the existing core network, then exploiting all reasonable service based opportunities to deliver service and capacity improvements and to meet key strategic objectives, before considering any infrastructure-led solutions. It also introduces a new ‘pipeline’ approach for rail enhancement projects which will ensure that decisions are made following industry engagement with local stakeholders, when business cases are fully developed and both price and affordability are certain. The £2million Scottish Government fund will allow stakeholder organisations with a responsibility or interest in local transport issues, including local interest groups, to commission appraisal work to evaluate very specific, local rail connectivity issues.

Question reference: S5O-01957

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council, Police Scotland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding the Bellgrove Hotel.

Question reference: S5O-01818

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Glasgow Centre for Population Health and Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, Building Connections: co-locating advice services in general practices and job centres.

We welcome this report from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We are aware of the benefits of co-locating advice services with other services to ensure people are given all of the support they need in one location. There is good evidence that embedding welfare advisers in general practice contributes significantly to improvements in incomes and benefits claimed as well as enabling GPs to make better use of their time and to focus on delivering primary healthcare.

We have provided funding to support the Improvement Service to promote the benefits of placing welfare advisors in health and social care settings and we plan to co-locate the Social Security Agency’s local services with other organisations. This means that if a person is looking to apply for a benefit administered by the agency, they will be supported to complete the forms and advised on the evidence needed to support their application. And where a person is already receiving benefits from the agency, they will be able to get advice on their payments, on notifying a change in their circumstances, on other benefits they may be entitled to or on making a complaint where their expectations have not been met.

Question reference: S5W-13308

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Keith Brown on 11 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the location, lead partners and funding for the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland.

The National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) will be an industry-led international centre of manufacturing expertise where research, industry and the public sector work together to transform skills, productivity and innovation to attract investment and make Scotland a global leader in advanced manufacturing.

NMIS will be located at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire, a key part of Scotland’s manufacturing and industrial heartland and close to Glasgow International Airport, the M8/74 and the River Clyde. It will be hosted by the University of Strathclyde which has a strong track record in manufacturing and engineering and in delivering translational research with economic impact, including the Advanced Forming Research Centre at Inchinnan.

The Scottish Government is providing £48 million towards NMIS over 2018-19 and 2019-20. This is in addition to the £8.9 million announced in June 2017 for the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre which will open in 2018 as a first step towards the wider NMIS facilities. Additional funding of £39.1 million will be provided through the Glasgow City Region Deal to support wider site infrastructure work at Inchinnan

I wrote to Greg Clarke, UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on 26 September seeking a UK Government commitment of £40 million towards NMIS.

Question reference: S5O-01596

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding European Structural Funds and regional policy after Brexit.