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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-22521

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 24 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the number of babies born with Down syndrome is recorded and, if not, for what reason, and whether NHS boards will be instructed to collect this data in the future.

NHS Information Services Division (ISD) recently began work on a project setting up a congenital anomaly register. The project is called the Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration and Information System Scotland (CARDRISS). CARDRISS is at the beginning of a 3 year project; actively looking to do a complex linkage to produce best estimates of all anomaly types (including Down’s Syndrome) from existing data but the timescale for the results of this are not confirmed yet.

If you want to keep up to date with CARDRISS you can find out more on the ISD Website - https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Maternity-and-Births/CARDRISS/ .

Question reference: S5W-22401

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will announce details of the Wave 4 capital spending for Edinburgh's schools.

The Wave 4 Programme is the City of Edinburgh Council's school infrastructure investment programme. However, through our Scotland's Schools for the Future Programme, the City of Edinburgh Council has been awarded over £63 million towards the construction of four school projects.

In spite of the good work of the programme, which completes in March 2020, there is still more to do. This is why the Deputy First Minister announced the new £1 billion schools investment programme at the end of November 2018. The Scottish Government are engaging with COSLA, and other key stakeholders, to agree a new Learning Estate Strategy and an outcomes based funding model for future schools investment.

The 2019-20 Local Government Finance settlement provides the City of Edinburgh Council with £110.6 million Capital funding, an additional £20.1 million (22.3%) compared to 2018-19.

Question reference: S5W-22520

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when plans for the implementation of non-invasive prenatal testing will be published, and whether the plans will be open to public consultation.

The UK National Screening Committee undertook a three month public consultation in 2015 which informed its subsequent recommendations on Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) in 2016 and endorsed by the Scottish Screening Committee in March 2018. Given that the Scottish Government is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee, we do not plan to run any additional public consultation.

The implementation plans for NIPT are not held by the Scottish Government, they are held by National Services Scotland (NSS); the organisation which is leading on the implementation of NIPT on behalf of NHS Scotland. Request for access to any plans should therefore be made to NSS.

Question reference: S5W-22519

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have had fetal anomaly screening in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S5W-22261

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the roll out of 5G across Scotland will not result in the removal of healthy trees from the urban landscape.

Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) sets out that the planning system should support digital connectivity, in particular infrastructure provision which is sited and designed to keep environmental impacts to a minimum. SPP also sets out policy protection for trees and the wider environment. We will carry out a wide review of the National Planning Framework and SPP following on from the current Planning Bill.

Question reference: S5O-03089

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle air pollution in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S5O-03009

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kezia Dugdale on 21 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it plans to recruit more disabled people.

The SPCB is committed to building a diverse and talented workforce that reflects the people of Scotland and we firmly believe in using positive action in the recruitment of disabled people.

We have taken steps to ensure our recruitment processes are fair and inclusive of disabled people. For any disabled person who wants to work at the Parliament, the experience must be positive and rewarding, and the positive experience must continue throughout their career. In order to support this we look to remove barriers in the workplace and enable our staff to fulfil their potential, utilising their skills and talent.

Question reference: S5O-03064

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it took the decision to delay the roll-out of the second wave of social security benefits.

Question reference: S5O-03035

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Transport Scotland requires disabled people to renew their National Entitlement Card every three years, including when their disability is permanent or progressive.

Question reference: S5W-21761

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, where the full funding allocation requested by local authorities is not being fulfilled, which areas of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan it will prioritise, or whether such decisions would be at the discretion of individual councils.