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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: S5W-05379

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Beef Efficiency Scheme.

An important milestone has been reached this week with BES scheme members being notified of the animals that have been selected for genotyping analysis. As of today the animals selected will be visible for the applicants to see on the BES data base. Following on from that the first tissue sample kits will go out to applicants by the end of next week, with all applicants receiving the kits by the end of 2016.

We have also issued an email directly to scheme members informing them that the selection process has taken place, and reminding them that there will be no penalties for famers who have already sold their animals.

Question reference: S5W-04994

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with its plans to increase the presence of Scottish Development International in Europe.

Question reference: S5F-00581

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2016

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update following her visit to Dublin.

Question reference: S5O-00400

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the establishment of a respiratory task force to help tackle lung disease.

Question reference: S5W-04591

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in reducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to negligible risk status.

Question reference: S5O-00349

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last met the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S5F-00337

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2016

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the proposed deadline of March 2017 for the triggering of Article 50.

Question reference: S5O-00219

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the construction of the new district general hospital for Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S5O-00197

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to widen university access.

We have already delivered substantial progress on access: in 2014-15 there were 1,000 more university entrants from our 20% most deprived communities than there were in 2006-07.

However we recognise that there is more to do. That is why we established the Commission on Widening Access and have committed to working with partners to implement its recommendations in full.

In the meantime we continue to invest more than £51 million every year to support around 7,000 places targeted on disadvantaged learners and those progressing from college.

Question reference: S5W-03066

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the removal of CTS links in Scotland and whether there be any cross compliance implications for farmers in Scotland.

CTS links will cease to operate in Scotland at the end of 2016. The Scottish Government has been working with the joint industry working group and invested in ScotEID to develop a new and innovative system, ‘ScotMoves’ which allows the use of an online holding register to record moves within a farm business. To encourage uptake of the ScotMoves system first time breaches incurred by farmers in 2017 will not incur a financial reduction to their direct payments.