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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-00838

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to boost the economy and create jobs in Coatbridge and Chryston.

Question reference: S5O-00806

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of the findings in the report, Shifting the Curve, that people in minority ethnic groups are often the most disadvantaged and can face additional barriers when trying to get out of poverty.

Question reference: S5W-07402

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing a returnable deposit scheme on cans and bottles in order to reduce littering and increase recycling.

Question reference: S5W-07544

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist nurses there are caring for people with multiple sclerosis in (a) Lanarkshire and (b) Scotland, and whether it will consider increasing these numbers.

Information on the number of specialist nurses who are responsible for the delivery of Multiple Sclerosis care is published by ISD Scotland and is available at the following link:-

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2016-12-06/Clinical_Nurse_Specialists_S2016.xls

From our additional investment of £2.5 million in specialist nursing and care, NHS Boards were asked to employ additional clinical nurse specialists by 31 December 2015. NHS Boards are responsible for determining how best to target this general investment and specialisms have included Rheumatology, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s Disease and Paediatric Allergy. NHS Lanarkshire also elected to recruit specialist nurses in the fields of Perinatal Mental Health and Care of Older People.

Question reference: S5W-07339

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what research has been carried out on the health effects of electronic cigarettes.

Question reference: S5W-07379

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of newly-qualified teachers are in employment following their probation period and how this compares with 2006-07.

Question reference: S5W-07512

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 24 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what funds it is making available to NHS boards for 2017-18.

Territorial Boards have been given a general allocation increase of £186 million for 2017-18, an overall average increase over 2016-17 total allocations of 2.1 per cent. This supports additional investment of over £100 million to be directed to Integration Authorities, which will deliver our commitment on the Living Wage and support sustainability in the care sector.

In addition to the figures outlined below, further in-year investment of £128 million will support delivery of service reform.

Special Boards have been given a general allocation increase of 1.1 per cent.

Details of Boards’ revenue resource and capital allocations for 2017-18 are provided in the following tables:

Revenue Resource:

Territorial Boards	2017-18 uplift (£m)	2017-18 uplift %	2017-18 General allocation (£m)	Other baseline transfers (£m)	2017-18 total %
Ayrshire and Arran	11.5	1.7%	680.6	3.0	2.3%
Borders	2.9	1.5%	196.8	0.9	2.1%
Dumfries and Galloway	4.2	1.5%	283.6	1.3	2.1%
Fife	17.6	2.9%	621.8	2.9	3.5%
Forth Valley	9.3	1.9%	494.4	2.2	2.5%
Grampian	16.2	1.8%	898.6	3.9	2.4%
G. Glasgow and Clyde	31.1	1.5%	2,110.3	13.1	2.3%
Highland	9.4	1.6%	586.9	5.6	2.2%
Lanarkshire	22.6	2.0%	1,129.6	6.3	2.6%
Lothian	38.6	3.0%	1,342.0	13.9	3.7%
Orkney	0.7	1.5%	43.8	2.9	2.5%
Shetland	1.4	3.2%	44.0	3.2	4.2%
Tayside	18.5	2.6%	717.6	3.8	3.3%
Western Isles	1.1	1.5%	67.7	4.0	2.3%
NRAC to be allocated	0.5	-	0.5	-	-
Total	185.6	2.1%	9,218.2	66.9	2.7%

Special Boards
National Waiting Times Centre Board	0.5	1.0%	47.1	4.9	1.0%
Scottish Ambulance Service	3.4	1.5%	226.9	2.4	1.5%
NHS National Services Scotland	3.2	1.0%	296.6	28.1	2.7%
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	0.2	1.0%	15.7	9.0	59.4%
The State Hospital	0.3	1.0%	34.6	-0.2	1.0%
NHS 24	0.6	1.0%	65.2	0.0	0.9%
NHS Education for Scotland	4.1	1.0%	412.8	7.2	2.5%
NHS Health Scotland	0.2	1.0%	18.4	0.0	1.1%
Total	12.5	1.1%	1,117.3	51.3	2.9%

Capital Resource:

Territorial Boards	£ m
Ayrshire & Arran	8.3
Borders	2.4
Dumfries & Galloway	3.5
Fife	7.4
Forth Valley	6.1
Grampian	12.8
Greater Glasgow & Clyde	37.4
Highland	6.6
Lanarkshire	12.4
Lothian	23.5
Orkney	1.0
Shetland	1.0
Tayside	9.5
Western Isles	1.2
Total	133.1

Special Boards
National Waiting Times Centre	2.7
Scottish Ambulance Service	1.8
National Services Scotland	3.4
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	0.2
The State Hospital	0.3
NHS 24	0.3
NHS Education for Scotland	-
NHS Health Scotland	0.6
Total	9.3

In addition to the resource allocations, there will be recurring allocations of
£3.3 million which will be applied to Boards’ baseline budgets in 2017-18.

Further to the capital allocations above, a further £265.7 million held centrally will be used to support infrastructure investment across the sector. This includes the non-profit distributing programme to support the new Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and the replacement Balfour Hospital in Orkney.

Question reference: S5W-06546

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle hate crime in schools.

All forms of hate crime and prejudice are completely unacceptable. In schools, we want all children and young people to learn tolerance, respect, equality and good citizenship to address and prevent prejudice. Whilst not specifically about tackling hate crime, promoting positive attitudes amongst children and young people is key to long term prevention.

The Scottish Government takes bullying very seriously, and we are currently refreshing our national approach to anti-bullying (including prejudice based bullying). ’Respect for All’ will help everyone involved in the lives of children and young people to identify and address bullying, including racist, homophobic and abusive behaviour whether it happens online or offline. Teachers, schools, local authorities, youth organisations and sports organisations will be able to draw on this advice when refreshing their anti-bullying policies. The guidance will be published later this year.

In addition, Relationships sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education is an integral part of the health and wellbeing area of the curriculum in Scotland. In 2014 we published guidance on RSHP education in schools that clearly states how important it is that RSHP education addresses diversity and reflects issues relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people or children with LGBTI parents, such as same sex marriage and hate crime.

Question reference: S5W-06517

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04629 by Annabelle Ewing on 29 November 2016, whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to tackle sectarianism.

Further to the range of activities set out in my answer to S5W-04629, I announced an independent review of hate crime legislation in Scotland which will consider whether all existing hate crime law, including that which tackles sectarianism, represents the most effective approach for the justice system to deal with criminal conduct motivated by hatred, malice, ill-will or prejudice.

Dr Duncan Morrow's Review of the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Advisory Group on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland will be published shortly and this will be instrumental in helping to shape funding decisions going forward, which I will announce in due course.

Question reference: S5W-06506

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the average lifetime increase in wages is for a degree level graduate in Scotland, and what the resulting increase in expected tax contribution is.