Chamber and committees

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: S5O-03699

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £1.37 million allocated to the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland will be spent on the recruitment of its members.

Question reference: S5O-03647

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to engage with culture and heritage.

Question reference: S5O-03493

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent SQA exam results and whether they reflect the strength of the education system.

Question reference: S5O-03443

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what reviews it has carried out of the cost of delivering and implementing wave 2 benefits.

Question reference: S5O-03280

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help boost Scotland’s exports.

The Scottish Government has embarked on an ambitious course of action to deliver export growth for Scotland. A Trading Nation represents the most comprehensive analysis of Scotland’s export performance alongside market opportunity ever undertaken by the Scottish Government. We seek to grow the value of Scotland’s exports as a percentage of GDP from 20%-25% over the next ten years.

Resources will be directed towards delivering export growth and forcing a step change in performance to deliver a resilient, internationalised and inclusive economy. We are bolstering our existing support with an additional £20 million of investment over three years. This investment will be maximised by focusing on the sectors, markets and businesses where our efforts and those of our delivery partners can have the most impact. We will monitor progress and keep our actions and evidence under review.

Question reference: S5O-03129

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S5W-22415

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 10 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-03082 by Ash Denham on 28 March 2019, what its response is to the reported concerns regarding the consequences for sole-practitioners should the proposed model for the levy be adopted, including the impact of the 28% rise for partners/managers in private practice.

As set out in my answer to question S5O-03082, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission operates independently of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is, however, currently undertaking an analysis of the recommendations of the report of the independent review of legal services regulation in Scotland, and will issue a formal response in due course.

As part of this work, the funding relationship between the Scottish Legal Complaints Committee and the legal profession will be considered. The Scottish Government has listened carefully to the views already expressed, which will be reflected upon as we continue our analysis of the report.

We are working with the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission to identify and consider improvements that may be made to the complaints system in the interim.

Question reference: S5O-03082

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission regarding its proposed budget and levy for 2019-20.

Officials met with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission on 19 th February to discuss the background to its proposed budget.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is an independent statutory body and operates independently of both the Scottish Government and the legal profession. It is for the Commission to determine the annual levy to be paid by the legal profession, in accordance with legislation. Scottish Ministers have no statutory powers regarding the Commission and cannot intervene in operational matters.

Question reference: S5W-21937

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources it will provide to Police Scotland should the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill come into force, in light of evidence submitted on the Bill by the force, which states that the proposed legislation will have potential cost and resource implications.

The Scottish Government has established an Implementation Group to consider what action needs to be taken to implement the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill, if it should be enacted by Parliament. Police Scotland are members of this Implementation Group. The Scottish Government will consider carefully any points on resources and on other matters made by Police Scotland in this Implementation Group and in evidence to Parliament, with any funding considered as part of the annual Scottish Government budget process.

Question reference: S5W-21932

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the recent study by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which suggests that the NHS in Scotland is facing problems in recruiting paediatric doctors, with numbers have to rise by a quarter, and whether it agrees with the college's analysis.

We have worked closely with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) to agree the appropriate and sustainable paediatric trainee supply. As the report highlights, we have acknowledged the need to increase the number of paediatric trainees.

We have provided 18 additional paediatric posts since 2014, achieving a 100% fill rate in a recent recruitment round.

We introduced a new broad-based training programme to help retain trainee doctors last year. The post foundation programme involves 6 months in each of Psychiatry, Medicine, General

Practice and Paediatrics.

The report also points out that trainees want to train in Scotland where there is twice the UK average applicants for each available post.