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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5T-00578

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to comply with freedom of information requests.

Question reference: S5O-01093

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect low- and middle-income earners from negative growth.

Question reference: S5W-09178

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent review by the property adviser, Ryden, which suggests that the possibility of a second independence referendum is undermining investor confidence in the housing market.

Question reference: S5W-09113

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest projection is of the outlook for the oil and gas industry.

During what has been a challenging time for the industry, the recent Oil and Gas UK Business Outlook and Scottish Chambers of Commerce reports demonstrate that confidence is slowing returning to the sector. We have seen first oil from the Flyndre field come on stream, exciting developments taking place in the West of Shetland region, and the recent licensing round which saw 25 licenses awarded. These announcements highlight that this is an important time for the industry, with the focus firmly on maximising economic recovery, efficiency and sustainability of extraction and cost reduction.

The North Sea still holds significant potential with up to 20 billion boe remaining available for potential extraction. With the key economic levers currently reserved at Westminster, the Scottish Government is however doing everything within its devolved powers to support the industry and its workforce through these challenging times and ensure that the North Sea remains open for business and will continue to encourage the UK Government to take necessary steps to stimulate exploration, promote maintenance of infrastructure and help sustain late life assets and future develop Scotland’s decommissioning capability.

Question reference: S5W-09180

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle so-called fake news and its impact on people in Scotland.

It is important that all news organisations do all they can to ensure that their reporting is as accurate as possible. Platforms through which news is accessed - including print, broadcast and online media - should consider how they can ensure that intentionally inaccurate reporting is not disseminated through their platforms.

An inquiry was launched into the issue of fake news in January 2017 by the Westminster Culture, Media and Sport Committee. We look forward to seeing any published findings from that inquiry.

Question reference: S5W-09110

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the economic impact would be of a so-called hard border between Scotland and England.

Question reference: S5W-08709

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that, in the last quarter, Scotland's economy contracted by 0.2% compared with the UK figure of 0.7% growth, and that construction output contracted by 0.9%, and, in light of this, whether it will bring forward a proposal for a parliamentary debate on the economy.

The Scottish economy grew by 0.4% in 2016 despite the continued challenges posed by the slowdown in the oil and gas sector, but contracted by 0.2% in the fourth quarter reflecting, in part, lower consumer confidence in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK, as a result of the Brexit vote. Construction sector output contracted by 0.8% in the fourth quarter following exceptionally fast growth during 2015, however, output in the sector remained significantly higher than it was in 2014.

The Scottish Parliament debated Scotland’s Economy on 19 April 2017.

Question reference: S5W-09111

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that 8% of people with cancer live in the NHS North Ayrshire and Arran area, whether it will provide the NHS board with additional support.

The Scottish Resource Allocation Formula (known as NRAC) is used to assess NHS boards’ relative need for funding to promote equity of access to services across Scotland. One of the main components of the formula is the morbidity and life circumstances adjustment (MLC) which takes account of national variation in need for all types of healthcare including cancer treatment.

In 2017-18 NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s resource funding will increase by £11.5 million (1.7%) to £680.6 million. This includes an additional £1.5 million in additional NRAC parity funding to bring the board within 1% of their target share of funding.

In March 2016, to further improve cancer outcomes nationally, we launched our cancer strategy, ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’, accompanied by
£100 million of investment over the coming years. This strategy serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, aimed at improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, aftercare and ultimately the survival, of all people affected by cancer, regardless of where they live.

Question reference: S5W-09179

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 12 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it (a) has taken and (b) will take to respect purdah rules for the 2017 (i) Local Government Elections and (ii) General Election.

The Scottish Government published guidance for civil servants on their role and conduct during the local government election campaign on 18 January 2017. This guidance was in operation between 13 April and 4 May 2017. Similar guidance on the UK general election campaign was published on 20 April and will be in operation from 22 April to 8 June 2017. Both guidance documents have been actively drawn to the attention of all Scottish Government staff, and also to national devolved public bodies.

These guidance documents are available on the Scottish Government website at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-election-guidance-2017/ and https://beta.gov.scot/publications/uk-general-election-2017/.

Question reference: S5W-09112

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 11 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact membership of the common fisheries policy has on Scotland's GDP.