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-02381

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what improvements it can make to learning support in further education colleges and universities to make it more effective.

Question reference: S5W-17116

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 19 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to the children of armed forces personnel.

We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people in Scotland are given every chance to fulfil their potential. We continue to support education authorities in meeting their duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act to identify, provide for, and review the additional support needs of their pupils. This includes pupils who need additional support to overcome barriers experienced because a parent or family member is in the Armed Forces. The revised Supporting Children's Learning Code of Practice, published in December 2017, includes specific references to Armed Forces children.

We chair the Scottish Service Children Strategy Group. This stakeholder group provides a Scotland-wide perspective enabling us to identify and work together to address challenges that children from Armed Forces families may face. Also, along with the Scottish Funding Council, we are engaging with stakeholders to explore the barriers to higher education which may exist for children of military families.

Question reference: S5O-02226

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Public Petitions Committee's call for child rights and wellbeing impact assessments of all armed forces' visits to schools.

We will consider the recommendations from the Public Petitions Committee report, on Ensuring greater scrutiny, guidance and consultation on armed forces visits to schools in Scotland, and will respond to the Committee in due course. As part of this we will consider the recommendation that the Scottish Government carries out a child rights and wellbeing assessment in relation to armed forces visits to schools.

Question reference: S5W-16857

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners on remand there are in each prison, also broken down by how many have mental health issues.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of people held in our care across each Scottish prison who are untried.

Prison	Number of Individuals on Remand
Addiewell	104
Barlinnie	293
Cornton Vale	16
Dumfries	17
Edinburgh	129
Glenochil Prison	1
Grampian	82
Greenock	37
Inverness	28
Kilmarnock	68
Low Moss	120
Open Estate	0
Perth	151
Polmont	83
Shotts	0

The prevalence of mental health issues among the remand population is confidential medical information that is not currently held centrally. The Health and Social Care in Prisons Programme is reviewing what data around health and social care in prisons is collected and reported upon.

Question reference: S5W-16908

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 5 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been undertaken on the impact that the Barclay review recommendations on non-domestic rates may have on golf clubs, and how many will be affected.

The Barclay Review of non-domestic rates recommended that "Sports club relief should be reviewed to ensure it supports affordable community-based facilities, rather than members clubs with significant assets which do not require relief."

The implementation plan in response to the Barclay Review accepted the recommendation and committed to further engagement with sector stakeholders and the Barclay Implementation Advisory Group to inform how best to specify any change.

I have met with, and written to, Scottish Golf to confirm that the reforms will have no impact on 95% of golf clubs in Scotland. It is anticipated that only a very small number of very affluent, exclusive clubs are likely to be affected and, in those cases, the local Council will have discretion to continue to provide relief under the Community Empowerment Act 2015.

In parallel with the work of the Implementation Advisory Group, I have committed to a formal consultation and the sector should be encouraged to engage fully with that process as no final decisions have been taken on the legislation ahead of the consultation or the final report of the Advisory Group.

Question reference: S5W-16856

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 5 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports prisoners on remand who have mental health issues, including how it ensures that they are receiving appropriate treatment.

Every person entering prison is assessed by an NHS health care professional on admission. Those who are identified as having complex mental health issues have access to the multi-disciplinary mental health teams that work in prisons. Addressing mental health needs also requires the participation of Prison Officers, as they have more frequent contact with prisoners, and the SPS ensures that staff have access to relevant training.

Question reference: S5W-16810

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to widen the distribution of A Scottish housing guide for people leaving the armed forces and ex-service personnel, and when the guide (a) was last refreshed and (b) will be updated.

Question reference: S5W-16598

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16279 by Shona Robison on 9 May 2018, whether being a veteran is one of the circumstances considered when a mobility needs assessment is carried out.

Question reference: S5W-16594

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16271 by Shona Robison on 9 May 2018, whether its refreshed drug strategy will include a section on the issues facing veterans and the steps needed to tackle these, and whether these will include commissioning research on the issue.

Question reference: S5W-16597

Asked by: Maurice Corry, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16272 by Shona Robison on 9 May 2018, for how long the funding for the Veterans First Point Network is guaranteed.

The Scottish Government allocated £825,000 in 2017-18 to support the Veterans First Point network and help Partnerships responsible for the delivery of local services make the transition from funding originally provided under the UK Government Armed Forces Covenant (LIBOR) Fund, which has now come to an end, to more sustainable long-term local funding.

The Scottish Government will provide a further £1.6 million over the next two years to March 2020 to support the six local services in Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, Fife Lanarkshire, Lothian and Tayside. This is on the understanding that funding will be matched by local areas and that Partnerships will be responsible for sustainability thereafter. This includes full funding for the Veterans Scotland central team which will play a lead role in influencing and helping local Partnerships to make longer term decisions on the future of the local services .