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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: S5W-16906

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04448 by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2016, whether it will outline the average Housing Association Grant (HAG) subsidy levels approved for housing association new development tender approval activity in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last three years, broken down by type of tenure.

The following table sets out the average Housing Association Grant (HAG) subsidy levels approved for housing association new development tender approval activity in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last three years, broken down by type of tenure:

Grant per unit

Edinburgh	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
HA Rent	£59,066	£59,063	£62,836
HA Low Cost Home Ownership	£29,558	£47,174	£31,821
Other Rent (Mid Market Rent)	£33,070	£39,882	£36,138

Glasgow	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
HA Rent	£66,221	£63,031	£74,659
HA Low Cost Home Ownership	n/a	n/a	£67,556
Other Rent (Mid Market Rent)	£33,713	£49,367	£31,240

Information for 2017-18 is not available yet and will be published within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme Outturn Report 2017-18 later in the year.

Question reference: S5W-16922

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06577 by Kevin Stewart on 2 February 2017, what the average (a) Housing Association Grant (HAG) and (b) non-HAG subsidy level per unit was expressed as a percentage of total costs for housing association new development tender approval activity in (i) Edinburgh and (ii) Glasgow in each of the last three years.

The following table sets out the average Housing Association Grant (HAG) and non (HAG) subsidy level expressed as a percentage of total costs for housing association new development tender approval activity in Edinburgh and Glasgow in each of the last three years:

Grant percentages

Edinburgh	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
HA Rent	48.36%	46.36%	49.89%
HA Low Cost Home Ownership	20.00%	28.49%	19.60%
Other Rent (Mid Market Rent)	26.72%	30.72%	27.29%

Glasgow	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
HA Rent	56.43%	63.79%	58.82%
HA Low Cost Home Ownership	n/a	n/a	43.30%
Other Rent (Mid Market Rent)	29.00%	39.6%	28.68%

Question reference: S5W-16205

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide meals to children outwith school term times.

Local authorities have the flexibility to provide meals and activities for children during school holidays where they think this is needed. We know that some local authorities such as East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire are already doing good work to support children in their areas.

We have committed £1 million over the next two years to provide new practical support for children experiencing food insecurity during school holidays.

Question reference: S5O-02028

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what role the Education Maintenance Allowance plays in encouraging young people to stay on at school.

Question reference: S5F-02247

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2018

To ask the First Minister how many Syrian refugees have been resettled in Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-01953

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the renewable energy industry.

The ambitious targets set out in our new Energy Strategy show how seriously we take our commitment to supporting and growing Scotland’s renewable energy potential.

We have pioneered unique legislative changes and made funding available to support the growth of offshore wind and marine renewables in Scottish waters. We have made crystal clear our view that onshore wind and other low cost renewable technologies will continue to play a major role in powering Scotland’s low carbon future. And our £60 million Low Carbon Innovation Funding call is currently inviting bids from projects which will advance our renewable heat and transport ambitions. We have also provided £35 million through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme, or CARES, to support 600 operational community and locally owned projects.

Low Carbon and Renewable energy already supports almost 50,000 jobs across Scotland, and generates a turnover £11 billion. The sector is not without its challenges, but we remain determined to work with our stakeholders to overcome these, and to continue its increasing contribution to sustainable economic growth.

Question reference: S5W-15036

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all patients diagnosed with bowel cancer are tested for Lynch syndrome, in light of evidence suggesting that the condition can dramatically increase a person’s chance of developing bowel cancer by up to 80%.

It is current protocol for all NHS Scotland Health Boards to ensure appropriate referral and testing for Lynch syndrome, for all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 60.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recommended extending referral and testing for Lynch syndrome to all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The impacts of this recommendation are currently being reviewed by NHS Scotland’s Molecular Pathology Consortium (MPC).

Question reference: S5W-14786

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 22 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what proposals the Scottish Law Commission has for future law reform projects.

I have agreed with the Scottish Law Commission its Tenth Programme of Law Reform, which covers the work to be undertaken by the Commission for the five year period from 2018 until the end of 2022. The Programme was presented to Parliament today and is also being published today. The Programme is also available online from the Scottish Law Commission website.

The projects which will be undertaken under the Tenth Programme have been selected following consultation by the Commission. The Programme includes existing projects which began under the Ninth Programme, such as work on contracts law, heritable securities and aspects of leases. A joint project with the Law Commission on surrogacy will also be undertaken. In addition, the Commission expects to undertake new projects which will cover the homicide, aspects of family law and some aspects of the law on damages for personal injury.

I welcome this Programme, which represents a varied and relevant set of proposals, and look forward to receiving reports from the Commission in due course. We will continue to work with the Commission over ways of taking forward the proposals in those reports, and will continue with the system introduced last year of providing initial responses to reports within 3 months of publication.

The Scottish Law Commission also has a general remit to keep the law of Scotland under review for the purpose of promoting reform and development of the law. In addition to the Programme of Law Reform agreed with Ministers, the Commission also receives from Ministers references on specific issues and provides other advice on specific areas of the law.

Question reference: S5W-14470

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 8 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether the First Minister plans to publish a new edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

The 2018 edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code will be published today. The Code, which was last revised in August 2016, provides a code of conduct and guidance on procedures for members of the Scottish Government and Junior Scottish Ministers. A copy of the 2018 edition of the Code may be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781788515757. As well as some minor updates, the Code has been amended in line with the January 2018 edition of the UK Ministerial Code: in particular, there are explicit references to: inappropriate, bullying or harassing behaviour; the requirement on Ministers to report meetings to their Private Offices, including meetings held overseas; and the role of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. In addition, a new paragraph 4.25 reflects the provisions of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016.

Question reference: S5O-01772

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the finance secretary will ensure that the Budget supports local businesses.

The Budget delivers the most attractive system of business rates in the UK, a new £150 million Building Scotland Fund and investment of over £4 billion of infrastructure. We will be allocating £600 million of investment in our R100 programme to extend superfast broadband access to every home and business across Scotland. And the budget provides a 64 per cent uplift in funding for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work portfolio, including £2.4 billion for our enterprise and skills bodies.

These major investments will underpin our focus on innovation, infrastructure and investment, internationalisation and inclusive growth.