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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-14530

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the Edinburgh City Region Deal will drive inclusive growth in the Mid Fife and Glenrothes constituency.

The £300m of investment from the Scottish Government in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal will have a transformative impact on the region’s economy and inclusion and will deliver growth, new jobs and new opportunities as well as key transport infrastructure and new housing. Fife will benefit directly from specific financial support for its economic infrastructure which will ensure that its businesses and communities are fully able to engage and benefit from the data-driven innovation opportunities and investments being made into the Universities.

Additionally, Fife will be supported through the regional housing infrastructure programme and the integrated regional employability and skills programme. As we move forward through the delivery of the Deal the Scottish Government will be working with the regional partners to ensure that the entire region will see benefits from the significant investments being made.

Question reference: S5T-00955

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what minimum price it recommends setting for a unit of alcohol.

Question reference: S5W-14185

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of what the £35.15 million expenditure for the A92 trunk road between April 2007 and September 2017 was spent on.

We are committed to maintaining the trunk road network in line with international best practice. We invest in essential road maintenance schemes, bridge strengthening programme and ancillary assets. This also increases the resilience of the network to unplanned events such as flooding and high winds.

The Scottish Government’s investment in trunk road maintenance is disaggregated by five categories: Routine Maintenance, Structural Maintenance, Structures (including Bridges), Minor Improvements and Strategic Road Safety.

Category	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Routine Maintenance	£1,955,928	£1,879,693	£985,648
Structural Maintenance	£297,227	£251,204	£4,352,069
Structures	£91,247	£129,203	£296,632
Minor Improvements	£494,857	£784,767	£213,021
Strategic Road Safety	£324,275	£111,939	£92,149
Total Spend	£3,163,533	£3,156,805	£5,939,518

Category	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Routine Maintenance	£1,357,980	£1,355,254	£1,368,208
Structural Maintenance	£273,241	£416,470	£524,523
Structures	£441,490	£828,611	£53,539
Minor Improvements	£605,989	£42,797	£642
Strategic Road Safety	£61,799	£168,135	£183,022
Total Spend	£2,740,500	£2,811,267	£2,129,936

Category	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Routine Maintenance	£1,493,406	£1,037,403	£1,414,088
Structural Maintenance	£2,236,450	£1,344,137	£1,412,293
Structures	£88,488	£53,073	£60,042
Minor Improvements	£5,044	£45,817	£22,952
Strategic Road Safety	£367,843	£336,680	£257,223
Total Spend	£4,191,232	£2,817,110	£3,166,597

Category	2016-17	2017-18*	Total
Routine Maintenance	£1,348,375	£623,344	£14,819,327
Structural Maintenance	£1,999,121	£124,938	£13,231,675
Structures	£155,203	£185,438	£2,382,965
Minor Improvements	£31,350	£9,095	£2,256,331
Strategic Road Safety	£460,793	£93,676	£2,457,533
Total Spend	£3,994,842	£1,036,492	£35,147,830

* up to and including September 2017

Question reference: S5O-01709

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what proposals it has to reduce waiting times in hospitals during next winter.

Question reference: S5O-01669

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Glenrothes new town in summer 2018.

Question reference: S5W-13306

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the increased costs to the NHS associated with a rise in the number of people with dementia, and what reforms to health services are required to meet the challenge of the ageing population.

The Scottish Government estimates that the overall annual cost associated with people with dementia is around £2.2 billion.

We estimate that two thirds of this cost is met by people with dementia and their families, including unpaid care and privately funded care homes costs and the balance, of around £900 million, is the overall cost to Integration Authorities for providing health and social care services. People with dementia account for around 1.4% of the Scottish population, and account for at least 10% of most expensive 100,000 recipients of health and social care services.

It is commonly assumed that the number of people with dementia is likely to double between 2010-2025. Last year, we published a document giving the first ever estimate of annual dementia diagnosed incidence in Scotland, projecting this number to rise to around 20,000 per year by 2020 and breaking the estimate down to NHS Board level. The document gives service planners useful estimates on the annual demand on services, particularly in the area of post-diagnostic support. We plan to commission a refresh of this document in the future, with estimates broken down to Integration Joint Board level.

The integration of health and social care is designed to support the whole-system planning and delivery of health and social care services, to enable more people – including those with dementia – to stay living well at home or in a homely setting for longer. The Scottish Government’s 2017-2020 National Dementia Strategy supports this, with key action on extending post-diagnostic support and improving integrated home care and palliative and end of life care. To support Integration Joint Boards in planning dementia services, we have commissioned a more detailed assessment of the cost and utilisation of services by people with dementia and we expect this to be complete by early in the new financial year. Integration Joint Boards are responsible for planning, commissioning and delivering dementia services. The actual costs associated with dementia would be difficult to compile given the diverse spend associated with the illness.

Question reference: S5W-13538

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the recent visit to India by the Deputy First Minister.

The Deputy First Minister visited India between 2 and 6 December attending events and meetings in Mumbai and New Delhi. The Deputy First Minister was accompanied by a delegation of principals and vice principals from 11 Scottish universities and one college.

The strategic aims of the visit were focussed on education and trade and investment.

The Deputy First Minister spoke at four major events focused on academic collaboration.

Connections with Scotland promoted Scotland as a welcoming country and celebrated Indian students’ contribution to Scottish life, and brought alumni from Scottish universities together to look for opportunities to promote Scotland in the future;
a Research and Innovation Seminar organised by the British Council showcased many existing research partnerships between Scottish and Indian universities and encouraged new ones. The event looked at how more students from India can be attracted to Scotland and featured the announcement of the £200,000 scholarship programme for Indian students to be match funded by the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish universities;
a speech at the Water Impact Summit to highlight Scotland’s contribution to major Indian water programmes including the campaign to clean the Ganges;
a Fashion Show delivered through the partnership between Glasgow Kelvin College and the Women’s Government Polytechnic at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The collaboration explored the iconic Paisley pattern, reinvented through modern design. The participation of civil society organisations for acid attack and domestic abuse survivors underlined Scotland’s commitment to progressive values and experience in skills development for disadvantaged groups.

The Deputy First Minister highlighted Scotland’s expertise in social enterprise, launching the Indian franchise of the (Scotland-based) Social Enterprise Academy in Mumbai.

The Deputy First Minister also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Smart Cities between Strathclyde University and the Tata Institute for Social Sciences.

As well as supporting international collaboration and partnership the visit was an important step forward in cementing collaboration between Scotland’s own higher education community in order to maximise our collective reach and impact in overseas markets.

The Deputy First Minister held a one-to-one meeting with Suresh Prabhu, the Minister for Commerce and Industry. The Deputy First Minister highlighted Scotland’s strengths in clean energy and innovation, with particular emphasis on the opportunities around renewables, including tidal and wind power generation.

During the trip the Deputy First Minister met with current and potential new investors into Scotland to encourage the growth of their operations in Scotland.

The Deputy First Minister undertook a cross-sectoral discussion identifying new opportunities for business collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), one of the major umbrella associations for Indian business.

The visit also highlighted cultural collaboration and developed bilateral relations.

The Deputy First Minister was guest of honour at a St Andrew’s Day reception at the British High Commissioner’s residence showcasing Scotland’s food and drink as well as promoting Scotland as a place to visit. The entertainment provided highlighted Indian-Scotland cultural collaboration.

The Deputy First Minister also took the opportunity to raise the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, with both the UK and Indian Governments.

The programme included a number of other activities to support cultural, academic and business links. The visit generated positive media coverage in both Scotland and India.

Question reference: S5O-01577

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Transport Scotland's plans for road safety improvements to the A92.

Question reference: S5O-01522

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the adequacy of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal's consultation with communities regarding identifying priority projects.

Question reference: S5O-01549

Asked by: Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Fife.