Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Dec 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce zone cards for public transport in rural areas.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is supportive of multi-operator ticketing arrangements being available across all areas of Scotland. As such, we work with local transport authorities who are responsible for ensuring their public transport services meet passenger need…
3 Dec 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) longest and (b) average waiting time has been in each year since 2010-11 for a bowel screening appointment, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: There is no backlog or waiting times in the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. Bowel screening involves taking a simple test at home. Eligible men and women, who are registered with a Community Health Index (CHI) number, are sent a letter and test kit in th…
3 Dec 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have a backlog for bowel screening examinations, broken down by length of backlog.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20338 on 13 December 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
3 Dec 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have a backlog for diagnosis following a positive result from a bowel screening, broken down by length of backlog.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The new simpler bowel screening test ‘FIT’ was introduced in November 2017 and is helping to increase participation in the programme. The increase in uptake of bowel screening and in the proportion of returned bowel screening kits testing positive has placed …
3 Dec 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what each NHS board’s recommended frequency is for bowel screening appointments, and how this compares with the actual frequency.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Bowel Screening Programme invites all men and women in Scotland between the ages of 50 to 74 for bowel screening every two years. This is in line with recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) an independent expert advisor…
28 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with cystic fibrosis have died since Orkambi became licensed on 16 November 2015.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information on the numbers of people with cystic fibrosis who have died since Orkambi became licensed on 16 November 2015 is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
27 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the level of excess winter death informed the drafting of the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We recognise that living in an underheated home can have potential negative impacts on health, particularly for the elderly and people with pre-existing underlying conditions. That is a key reason why the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotla…
27 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the link between fuel poverty and excess winter deaths, and what action it is taken to address the issue.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The National Records of Scotland caution that winter mortality can fluctuate significantly from one year to the next, and there can be a number of underlying factors behind this. Nonetheless, we recognise that living in an underheated home can have potential …
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what value of debts has been repaid to the Accountant in Bankruptcy by (a) businesses and (b) individuals in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Corporate insolvency is largely reserved – although the Agency records numbers of receiverships and liquidations, the Agency does not deal with such cases itself. Details of the returns to creditors from the statutory debt management and relief products over…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many individual cases the Accountant in Bankruptcy has dealt with in each of the last five years, broken down by type of debt action, such as bankruptcy or protected trust deeds.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to answer to question S5W-20134 on 4 December 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff the Accountant in Bankruptcy (a) currently employs and (b) has employed in each of the last five years, broken down by salary banding.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: FTE Staff Numbers are provided in the annual reports published by Accountant in Bankruptcy on its web-site – www.aib.gov.uk For ease of reference, the collated information is set out in the following table - the numbers quoted relate to the position as at …
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many debt cases the Accountant in Bankruptcy has dealt with for (a) businesses and (b) individuals in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Corporate insolvency is largely reserved – although the Agency records numbers of receiverships and liquidations, the Agency does not deal with such cases itself. Personal insolvency debt cases include the three statutory debt management and debt relief opti…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the Accountant in Bankruptcy has charged in fees in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The amounts are set out in the following table. Year Amount (£m) 2017-18 12.3 2016-17 12.5 2015-16 12.7 2014-15 13.4 2013-14 11.7 A detailed breakdown of the Agency’s income is publicly available in the annual reports published by Accountant in B…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) older people's and (b) rural households would no longer be classified as being in fuel poverty under the proposed change to the definition of that term in the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) for the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill, estimated that in 2016 approximately 137,000 fewer older households and 55,000 fewer rural households, would have been categorised as fuel poor und…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether investment decisions regarding rail infrastructure are made jointly by ScotRail and Network Rail in the ScotRail Alliance.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In line with the Rail Enhancements & Capital Investment Strategy, published in March 2018, the Scottish Government generally makes rail infrastructure investment decisions. Such decisions take account of comprehensive advice from the Scottish rail industry, …
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is in place for each of the next three years to alleviate fuel poverty.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: This Government has always prioritised tackling fuel poverty and is committed to ensuring that everyone in Scotland lives in a warm home that is affordable to heat, no matter where they live. We are on track to deliver our 2016 Programme for Government commi…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who the managing director is of the ScotRail Alliance.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to S5W-20125 on 6 December 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.a…
22 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances ScotRail and Network Rail work in formal partnership in the ScotRail Alliance.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The ScotRail Alliance is a collaborative working relationship between Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland. The Alliance was included in Abellio’s bid for the ScotRail Franchise, which commenced on 1 April 2015. The purpose of the Alliance is to improv…
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many women are employed in the retail sector, and, of these, how many are in senior, not shop floor, managerial positions, and how many are retail business owners, also expressed as a percentage of total employment in retail.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: In July 2017 to June 2018 it is estimated: 146,000 women are employed in the retail sector in Scotland, accounting for 59.5% of all employment in the sector. Of the 146,000 women employed in retail : 12,000 women are employed as ‘Managers, directors and sen…
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) female and (b) male retail apprenticeships there have been in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The number of (a) female and (b) male retail apprenticeships over each of the last five years are detailed in the following table: Year Female Male Total 2017-18 906 750 1,656 2016-17 1,078 940 2,018 2015-16 1,139 892 2,031 2014-15 1,094 90…
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its policy to reduce fuel poverty to 5% by 2040, and the current level of fuel poverty being around 24%, whether it considers that an improvement of less than 1% each year in removing people from fuel poverty is sufficiently ambitious.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland is one of only a handful of European countries to define fuel poverty, let alone set a target relating to its eradication. Achieving the target set out in the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill will place Scotland amongst …
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes were made to its fuel poverty definition in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2014 and (d) its proposed Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill, and whether this has resulted in more or less people being in fuel poverty following each change, and what percentage…
Answer · Kevin Stewart: There have been no changes to the fuel poverty definition since it was introduced in 2002. The definition set out in the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill is the first proposed change. Using the current definition the 2016 Scotti…
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its forthcoming retail strategy will include encouraging women's employment throughout the industry.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We are currently working in partnership with the Scottish Retail Consortium to develop a national retail strategy and, as part of that process, will be considering action on a wide range of issues, including what measures could be taken to encourage more wome…
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times its definition of fuel poverty has been changed since 2007.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: There have been no changes to the fuel poverty definition since it was introduced in 2002. The definition set out in the Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill is the first proposed change.
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking with the retail sector to encourage the promotion of women to senior levels of retail.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is committed to gender equality and to ensuring that women have equal opportunities and access to power and resources as men. Evidence shows that having more women at senior levels and in the boardroom is good for business and contribu…
21 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides for mentoring programmes for women in retail.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government recognises that mentoring can be valuable in supporting women into leadership positions. The First Minister mentors a young woman and has encouraged other women in leadership positions, across all sectors including retail, to consider …
19 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to legislate for compulsory sale orders and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We are committed to bringing forward proposals during the course of this Parliament to introduce a Compulsory Sales Order mechanism to help tackle the blight of abandoned buildings and small plots of land in our towns and communities.
19 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19483 by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 November 2018, how much vaccine will be provided for the 2018-19 flu season.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Over 1.6 million vaccines have been procured for this year’s seasonal flu programme – 200,000 additional flu vaccines more than last year. This is enough vaccine for 80% of all eligible age groups.
16 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) people over 65, (b) two- to five-year-old children and (c) people with an eligible health condition (i) have received and (ii) are yet to receive the 2018-19 flu vaccine.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The most recent Scottish data available on uptake of flu vaccination is available at https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/resp/influenzareports.aspx
16 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19483 by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 November 2018, how much flu vaccine has been purchased using the additional funding and when this will be made available for use.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: In order to meet increased early demand for quadrivalent vaccine, recommended for patients in the 18-64 age group an additional 101,500 doses were ordered which have already been made available to GPs.