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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-20464

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) process and (b) timescale is for the public to be notified when an NHS board moves up a stage in the board escalation process.

Question reference: S5W-20466

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be periodic review points during the new three-year financial period that NHS boards will follow.

As announced in October, the new planning and performance cycle for NHS Boards will support longer-term planning by providing increased financial flexibility, requiring Boards to break-even over a 3-year period, rather than each year as has previously been the case.

All NHS Boards are currently reviewed regularly by the Scottish Government. This includes reviews of monthly financial reporting, annual reviews, and in-year meetings covering finance and wider performance. These periodic reviews will continue under the arrangements for the new planning and performance cycle.

We will work with Boards at a national, regional and local level to ensure that they continue to work towards a balanced and sustainable financial position whilst ensuring that there is no impact on patient care. Where any board cannot deliver the requirements of the new planning and performance cycle, a full assessment will be undertaken as part of our Board Performance Escalation Framework. This considers financial management, operational performance and quality of care as well as indicators around leadership and governance.

Question reference: S5W-20463

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what checks it undertakes when reviewing settlement business cases for employees leaving NHS boards, and within what timescales.

Question reference: S5W-20431

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the evidence given by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 5 December 2018 (Official Report, c. 29), whether it will confirm the date that the cabinet secretary was initially advised of (a) the ongoing and (b) further potential delays to the completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR); what these issues are, and what action he and his officials are taking to ameliorate them.

As I outlined in my statement to Parliament on 1 November, ARL first reported concreting issues at the River Don Crossing in May 2018. I was fully briefed on these issues when I assumed office in June 2018.

On 26 October 2018, Transport Scotland was informed that a greater scope of works would be necessary to repair the defects and ARL intimated that December was a more realistic date for opening this final section. As advised during my appearance at the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 5 December 2018, it would be prudent to treat ARL’s timescale with caution.

My officials and I have been involved in a series of high-level meetings with ARL, designed to remove any obstacle to the road being opened while remedial works at the Don progress. I am pleased to confirm that the 31.5km section from Craibstone to Stonehaven and Charleston opened on the morning of 12 December, bringing immediate benefits to road users.

Question reference: S5O-02730

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecast for economic growth in Scotland over the next four years compares with that for the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S5W-20465

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed a medium-term financial plan with NHS Tayside.

All NHS boards submit financial plans to the Scottish Government each year and report throughout the year on performance against plan. The latest position for each Board is available on the Scottish Government’s website at the following location: https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhsscotland-and-integration-authorities-consolidated-financial-reporting-2018-2019/

NHS Tayside expects to submit a draft three-year plan to be formally considered for approval by the Board in February 2019. The plan will be discussed with the Scottish Government ahead of this.

The Scottish Government continues to provide tailored support to NHS Tayside to help the Board work towards a balanced and sustainable financial position, whilst ensuring that there is no impact on patient care.

Question reference: S5W-20467

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the Assurance and Advisory Group’s report on NHS Tayside's progress on implementing the recommendations in its staging report will be published.

Question reference: S5W-20432

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the evidence given by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 5 December 2018 (Official Report, c. 29), whether it will confirm the date that the cabinet secretary’s predecessor was initially advised of potential delays to the completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR); what these issues were; what action he and his officials took to ameliorate them, and what the outcome was.

My predecessor, Keith Brown MSP, the then Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, made an appearance at the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 23 May 2018 to provide an update on the AWPR/B-T project.

Furthermore, Keith Brown also met with Bill Hocking, Chief Executive of Construction & Investments of Galliford Try, one of the construction partners of Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL) to discuss the progress of this project on 29 May 2018. This was the start of a series of meetings with ARL which continued when I assumed office in June 2018.

Officials worked closely with ARL to ensure everything that could reasonably be done was being done to ensure a timely opening.

Question reference: S5W-20190

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments regarding technology by the (a) chief constable that "officers and staff deserve better and it is therefore critical that [we] give them the right equipment to do their jobs properly" and (b) vice-chair of the Scottish Police Federation that officers "are spending hours of time double and triple-keying information into crime systems when [they] should be investigating the crimes instead".

Scottish Government welcome the work underway to increase the operational capacity of Police Scotland, including through the introduction of more efficient ways of working and the recruitment of additional civilian experts to meet the changing demands faced by the service. It is for the Scottish Police Authority to prioritise its resources, in line with guidance contained within the Scottish Public Finance Manual, to ensure that police officers are provided with the appropriate equipment and tools to do their jobs efficiently and effectively.

Additional investment has been made available in the 2019-20 budget to fund further improvements to ICT infrastructure and to support Police Scotland’s efforts to introduce mobile working to police officers across the country – building on early progress to deliver the service’s Digital, Data and ICT Strategy.

This year almost £5m of the £31m reform budget is being invested in modernising the core systems used by frontline officers every day.

Question reference: S5W-20048

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by an employment judge that Police Scotland is operating at "the minimum level of staffing for safety", as reported in The Herald on 20 November 2018.

The management of resources, including staffing levels, is a matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government is supporting Police Scotland by protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of this Parliament – a boost of £100 million by 2021. We have also ensured that policing will fully benefit from being able to reclaim VAT of around £25 million a year, previously paid to the UK Government.

As of 30 September 2018 Police Scotland had 17,147 police officers, 913 more than the figure inherited in 2007 (+5.6 per cent). This contrasts with a decrease of 19,588 (-13.8 per cent) from March 2007 to March 2018 in England and Wales.