Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 956 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-25490

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reintroduce the Flexible Workforce Development Fund for colleges.

Question reference: S6W-25489

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to ensure that the provision of traditional building skills (a) college courses and (b) apprenticeships is available across the south of Scotland.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) continues to champion traditional skills and is working with stakeholders across the country to address traditional skills gaps to help ensure Scotland’s historic buildings can thrive as part of the country’s sustainable future.

Colleges are responsible for their own operational decisions, including course provision, as they are best placed to respond flexibly to emerging trends at local and regional level. Apprenticeships continue to be based on demand and Scottish Government work closely with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council to support those who are looking to take on apprentices.

Scottish Government has been exploring the workforce demand for skilled stonemasons through engagement with the stonemasonry short life working group led by HES. The working group was set up to look at stonemasonry and traditional skills provision in Scotland with a view to identifying sustainable models of stonemasonry training for future delivery, and they have since provided their report of findings and recommendations to Ministers for their consideration.

The former Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development and I met HES in recent months to discuss stonemasonry and we await their proposals to address the skills issues in the sector.

Question reference: S6O-03212

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the accessibility for disabled people of train stations in Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S6F-02904

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce waiting times for children referred for a neurodevelopmental assessment.

Question reference: S6W-25737

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to brachycephalic dog breeds, what steps it has taken to enforce the condition in Annex B of its publication, Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021: guidance for dog breeders, which states that "No dog may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, conformation, behaviour or state of health, that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring".

Enforcement of The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 is the responsibility of local authorities in Scotland. The Scottish Government has provided detailed guidance to local authorities to assist them to deliver this enforcement function, including guidance on the checks required when a licence application is received from a breeder breeding, or proposing to breed, a category 3 breed as recognised by the Kennel Club, which includes brachycephalic breeds such as Pugs and Bulldogs. Where an inspector appointed by a local authority is not satisfied that a breeder has sufficient knowledge of the breed and/or is failing to apply robust selection and health screening procedures to minimise the risk of extreme conformations, then the local authority can refuse to license the breeder.

Question reference: S6W-25738

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the condition in Annex B of its publication, Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021: guidance for dog breeders, which states that "No dog may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, conformation, behaviour or state of health, that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring", has noticeably improved the welfare of brachycephalic dog breeds in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any targeted work to assess if the welfare of brachycephalic breeds has improved following the introduction of The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (the 2021 regulations), however this is something that we do intend to investigate further with local authorities and relevant stakeholders.

Meantime, the Scottish Government continues to engage regularly with local authorities on the enforcement of the 2021 regulations and work with key stakeholders to promote and encourage ethical and responsible breeding of dogs.

Question reference: S6W-25492

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the concerns of BMA Scotland regarding the proposal that the General Medical Council rather than the Health and Care Professions Council should regulate anaesthesia associates and physician associates.

The Scottish Government is aware of the BMA Scotland’s views that anaesthesia associates (AA) and physician associates (PA) should be regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) rather than the General Medical Council (GMC).

The Scottish Government is satisfied with the suitability of the GMC as the regulator. AAs and PAs are educated in curricula aligned to the medical model and work complementary to and under the supervision of doctors, a common regulator ensures consistent standards, providing doctors with better assurance when delegating clinical tasks. It also ensures a consistent approach across professional groups in relation to adverse events, particularly where fitness to practise concerns arise.

Furthermore, the Department of Health and Social Care published a UK-wide consultation in 2017 which clearly demonstrated a majority preference for the GMC as the regulator (59% in comparison to 20% for the HCPC).

With regard to the BMA Scotland’s concerns that GMC regulation will confuse patients as to a practitioner’s professional status, current guidance issued to Health Boards by the Scottish Government stipulates that patients should always be told when they are being treated by an AA or PA, rather than a doctor. Once regulated, the roles will also become subject to the principles in Good Medical Practice to always be open and honest about their role and ensure that they are working within the limits of their qualifications and experience.

Question reference: S6W-25491

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes of meetings of the medical associate professions implementation programme board.

Question reference: S6W-25493

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the membership is of the newly established medical associate professions implementation programme board.

The proposed membership for the Medical Associate Professions (MAPs) Programme Board is indicated below.

As arrangements are still being finalised ahead of the first meeting at the end of April, membership may be subject to change.

Head of Recruitment and Capacity Building, Health Workforce Directorate, Scottish Government (Co-Chair)
Medical Director, NES Education for Scotland (Co-chair)
Deputy Chief Executive and Director of NMAHP, NHS Education for Scotland
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Government
Chief Nursing Officer Directorate, Scottish Government
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Scottish Government
Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, Scottish Government
Scottish Association of Medical Directors (SAMD)
Scottish Executive Nurse Directors Group (SEND)
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland
Faculty of Physician Associates
Association of Anaesthesia Associates
General Medical Council
Workforce Planning Lead, West of Scotland Regional Planning
Head of Workforce and Development, North of Scotland Regional Planning
Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD)
Health Improvement Scotland
Directors of Human Resources, NHS Scotland
British Medical Association

Question reference: S6W-25204

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 29 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether consideration will be given to allow local authorities to provide discounts in Council Tax for households whose homes have been damaged by flooding but remain occupied.

The Scottish Government has not received a request from any Councils to introduce a Council Tax discount for properties damaged by flooding that remain occupied.

The Council Tax system in Scotland provides for a 100% exemption from Council Tax for homes that are not habitable, and are undergoing major repairs, which lasts for up to 12 months. Further, local authorities have the discretion to apply a Council Tax discount of up to 50% to an unoccupied property at any time. As there is no time limit to this discretion there is no date at which any discount must expire.