Parliamentary questions

Mary Scanlon

4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

12 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it gives to each mountain rescue service.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government provides annual grant funding to Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) of £312,000 and is the only Government in the UK to do so. The Scottish Government has provided £300,000 or more, in grant funding, direct to SMR, every year for this admi…

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of the recommendations from the June 2013 report, Instrumental Music Tuition in Scotland, have been implemented and which remain to be addressed.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Four recommendations from the June 2013 report have already been implemented as follows: Recommendation 1 – National Vision Statement – this was adopted on 29 October 2014 as: ‘Music: Enhancing Learning, Enriching Living’; Recommendation 5 – charges for in…

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to address the 18% of schools in a poor or bad condition, as noted in the June 2014 Audit Scotland report, School education.

Answer · Michael Russell: Through the £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme the government is fully committed to tackling poor condition schools across the country in partnership with local authorities. The recently announced fourth phase of the programme will spec…

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the increasing number of primary school pupils, how many additional teachers will be recruited to maintain the pupil teacher ratio.

Answer · Michael Russell: The 2014 pupil and teacher censuses, the results of which are scheduled to be published on 10 December 2014, will confirm the scale of any increases or decreases in pupil and teacher numbers.

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason music instructors in school are paid less than classroom teachers.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Pay and conditions of service for instrumental music instructors are matters for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers to determine. There are separate arrangements in place for instrumental music instructors due to the fact that they do not undert…

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has held back funding from local authorities for not maintaining teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers for 2013-14.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government’s statistical bulletin, Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland, No.4: 2013 Edition, published on 11 December 2013, confirmed that the pupil-teacher ratio in all publicly funded schools remained the same as in 2012 at 13.5.

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the agreement with COSLA to "maintain teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers" remained its policy for 2013-14.

Answer · Michael Russell: Yes.

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there are eight whole-time Duty System Station Manager vacancies, 34 whole-time Duty System Watch Manager vacancies and 338 Retained Duty System Firefighter vacancies across the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and what impact these vacancies have on performance and resp…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The recruitment of firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). The SFRS is under a statutory duty to ensure adequate arrangements for fire and rescue services in all 32 of Scotland’s local authority areas.

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to assess any reduction in driving speeds on the A9 and increased travel time between Perth and Inverness following the implementation of average speed cameras on the road.

Answer · Keith Brown: Average speed cameras have already proven effective in reducing excess speed whilst having a limited impact on overall journey times. The Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) speed limit pilot, which raises the limit from 40 mph to 50 mph on the single carriageways betw…

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider whether average speed cameras are located a suitable distance from dual carriageways to allow drivers the opportunity to adapt their speed.

Answer · Keith Brown: The average speed camera system was designed to cover the single carriageway sections between Perth and Inverness, with drivers having clear and unrestricted site lines of all camera locations as they approached them. The design was based on best practice dev…

4 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a review of signage in relation to speed limits on the A9 between Perth and Inverness, in light of the implementation of average speed cameras on the road.

Answer · Keith Brown: The A9 Safety Group runs extensive publicity campaigns to heighten speed limit awareness on the A9. The A9 between Perth and Inverness is subject to the national speed limit, with the standards for signing contained within the Traffic signs manual published b…

30 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money will be saved when Dingwall Court closes in January 2015 and what future plans it has for the building.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

27 Oct 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much Registers of Scotland has spent on IT since April 2014.

Answer · John Swinney: Registers of Scotland spent £5.5 million on IT between 1 April 2014 and 30 September 2014. £4.9 million of this was operational expenditure and £600,000 was capital expenditure. Last month, Registers of Scotland successfully launched new digital products thro…

3 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22383 by Kenny MacAskill on 10 September 2014, what input it has had to plans to reduce the number of divisions in Police Scotland.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: As I stated in my previous reply to your question I meet regularly with Police Scotland to discuss a range of issues, including local policing. I understand that Police Scotland regularly reviews and checks whether its approaches and structures provide the m…

24 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22510 by Alex Neil on 22 September 2014, what is being done to fill the 50.2 whole time equivalent consultant psychiatrist vacancies.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS boards are responsible for filling vacant consultant posts, and the Scottish Government expects boards to actively utilise national, European and international recruitment options in filling their vacancies. Action being taken by boards to recruit in the …

24 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional staff are being recruited to meet the (a) current waiting time target for child and adult mental health services and (b) proposed target of 26 weeks for adult mental health patients from December 2014.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Funding is provided for NHS boards to increase the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinical workforce. Significant investment (£13.5 million from 2009-2014) was provided to deliver faster access to specialist child and adolescent mental he…

15 Sep 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what issues it discussed when it last met NHS boards.

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the benefits are of the single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to (a) staff and (b) the public.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has identified three benefits to fire reform. First, to safeguard and improve local services while reducing costs, second, to create more equal access to specialist fire and rescue services across the country, and third, to strengthen …

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been carried out of the (a) training, (b) IT support, (c) response times and (d) other outcomes resulting from the establishment of the single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As outlined in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Governance and Accountability Framework, the Scottish Government assesses the performance of the SFRS on a continuous basis and undertakes a formal review at least twice a year. The criteria for appr…

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average, (b) minimum and (c) maximum response time is to attend fire and rescue incidents in (i) Inverness, (ii) the rest of the Highlands, (iii) Shetland, (iv) Orkney and (v) the Western Isles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The information requested is not held centrally. However, response time information by Service Delivery Area can be found on the draft Quarterly Performance Report published by SFRS among the papers f…

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many fire stations are sufficiently crewed to respond to fire and rescue incidents in the Highlands and Islands.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), however information on the availability of Retained Duty System crews can be found on the draft Quarterly Performance Report published by SFRS among the papers for the September board meeting a…

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many fire engines in the Highlands are no longer on call due to lack of trained staff.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The information requested is not held centrally.

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trained fire and rescue personnel have been available to be called out in each of the last five years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The information requested is not held centrally.

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been employed in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in each of the last five years, broken down by staff category.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Statistics on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service workforce can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubFireRescue. Data for 2013-14 will be published in due course.

6 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether every firefighter is trained in the use of breathing apparatus.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The information requested is not held centrally.