Murdo Fraser

15 Sep 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how frontline services would be affected if the reported £400 million reduction in NHS funding is implemented.

21 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans the NHS has to introduce the anti-pneumonia drug, Solithromycin.

Answer · Alex Neil: There is no marketing authorisation in the UK for solithromycin. It is a decision for a manufacturer whether to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority or to the European Medicines Agency for a marketing authorisation providing ev…

18 Aug 2014 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Bank of England in relation to a currency union.

28 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications it received for the Welfare Reform Resilience Fund 2014-15.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Welfare Reform Resilience Fund received 33 applications from 29 local authorities. These applications were considered by a panel of representatives from the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Improvement Service, wit…

28 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, following the European Court of Justice ruling in the case, Alands Vindkraft AB v Energimyndigheten [the Swedish Energy Agency], how an independent Scotland will fund (a) existing and (b) planned renewable energy schemes and what impact this will have on consumers.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As detailed in the answer to question S4W-22205 on 26 August 2014, this decision does not affect the proposals for funding renewables set out in Scotland’s Future. The report by the independent Expert Commission on Energy Regulation argues that the market a…

28 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the European Court of Justice ruling in the case, Alands Vindkraft AB v Energimyndigheten [the Swedish Energy Agency] will have on the Scottish Government's plans for renewable energy in an independent Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The European Court of Justice ruling in this case does not prohibit EU member states from paying subsidies for renewables generated in other member states, if they choose to do so. The UK Government has already indicated, in a document published on 4 August …

23 Jun 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to remarks made by the chief executive of the NHS regarding the movement of emergency patients.

13 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what materials and publications (a) it and (b) Education Scotland has approved or recommended to teach about same-sex marriage in primary schools since the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 came into force.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government and Education Scotland do not approve materials or publications for the teaching of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education. It is up to local authorities and schools to determine what are the best resources to use in the…

13 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of the books recommended by Stonewall Scotland for use in primary schools (a) it and (b) Education Scotland has approved since the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 came into force.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government and Education Scotland do not approve books or texts for the teaching of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education. It is up to local authorities and schools to determine what are the best resources to use in their circumst…

5 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the home report system.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Prior to the introduction of the home report, Scottish Ministers gave a commitment to carry out a full policy review after five years of its operation. This review began with a public consultation on 5 December 2013. This consultation, which formed the first …

2 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the transport plan for the Armed Forces Day National Event in Stirling will be signed-off at ministerial level.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has been working closely with Stirling Council to support their preparation of the transport plan and other aspects of the various events across Stirling's 'Big Weekend'. The most recent draft of this transport plan, as prepared by Sti…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the volume of oil that is recoverable from Scottish territorial waters up until 2015.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Oil and Gas UK estimate that there are up to 24 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves remaining under the North Sea. Recent research by Professor Alex Kemp of the University of Aberdeen has suggested that around 98.8 per cent of North Sea oil production and…

27 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many speed cameras have been (a) replaced and (b) repaired due to vandalism, and at what cost, in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Keith Brown: In the last five years, three of the eight Safety Camera Partnerships across Scotland have recorded incidents of vandalism to speed cameras. These are logged with the Safety Camera Programme Office on a partnership rather than a local authority basis. The num…

27 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on (a) repairing and (b) maintaining speed cameras in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Keith Brown: The eight Safety Camera Partnerships across Scotland provide the Scottish Safety Camera Programme Office with a projection of costs associated with maintenance for the following financial year. The partnerships are then allocated funding based on this project…

20 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recently-published research in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine, which suggests a connection between increasing levels of childhood vaccination and (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) autism.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The paper in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine is authored by a private individual who has no wider organisational affiliation. The paper reviews a selection of previous publications, many of which are by the same author. The paper does not publis…

8 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on bulk purchasing flu vaccines in the last five years and how much it has saved by entering into joint-procurement contracts with the rest of the UK.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A new childhood influenza vaccination programme was introduced in October 2013, which is being rolled out over the next few years on a phased basis, offering protection to those aged 2-17 years. The new nasal vaccine being used for the childhood programme is …

7 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what scientific evidence has been used to support the vaccination of primary school children with the nasally ingested Fluenz drug.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine Fluenz should be the vaccine of choice for the childhood flu immunisation programme. Arrangements are in place to offer alternative authorise…

2 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, which suggests that there were statistically significantly lower levels of numerical attainment at both P4 and P7 in 2013 compared with 2011.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I refer the member to my earlier answer to Iain Gray. We announced a range of measures to ensure a clear focus on numeracy across Scotland’s schools. In addition to the extra £1 million funding over three years committed to the local authority numeracy hubs …

28 Apr 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the implications of independence are for the oil and gas industry.

Answer · John Swinney: Unlike successive UK Governments, an independent Scotland will provide industry with the necessary fiscal and regulatory stability and predictability for it to innovate and thrive in a globally competitive environment. With independence, Scotland would have t…

22 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S4W-17346 and S4W-20321 by John Swinney on 10 October 2013 and 1 April 2014 respectively, who the “range of stakeholders” are that it has met regarding the postal service in an independent Scotland; on what dates the meetings took place, and whether i…

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials held informal initial discussions with representatives from the Communication Workers Union on 28 August 2013, the National Federation of Subpostmasters on 7 October 2013 and 7 March 2014, and Post Office Ltd on 17 March 2014. Di…

17 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to new research that shows there to be “no good evidence” that the Tamiflu vaccine reduces flu-related hospital admissions or the complications of influenza.

14 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to farmers adversely affected by severe flooding.

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the overall megawatt capacity for (a) onshore and (b) offshore windfarms has been in each year since 2003.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Onshore Windfarms Consented Capacity (MW) Onshore Windfarms Consented Cumulative Capacity (MW) Offshore Windfarms Consented Capacity (MW) Offshore Windfarms Consented Cumulative Capacity (MW) 2003 No records held No records held 216 216 …

31 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what planning guidelines it will use to regulate new house building on flood plains.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) sets out the Scottish Government’s policy on planning and flooding. Current SPP, published in 2010, provides a risk framework and outlines an appropriate planning response to provide a basis for decision-making. SPP is currentl…

31 Mar 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether Police Scotland has been subject to sufficient public accountability in its first year of operation.

24 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on businesses of a Scottish postal service in the event of independence.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: With independence, the regulation of mail in Scotland will give the Scottish Parliament powers to address the way the market functions and deliver fair prices for Scottish businesses.

24 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the additional cost of running a separate postal service in an independent Scotland if it renationalised the Royal Mail.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20323 on 1 April 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s web site, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

24 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any additional cost to businesses in Scotland of a separate postal service in an independent Scotland and no UK-wide universal service obligation.

Answer · John Swinney: On independence, stamp prices will be the same as they are at the time in the rest of the UK. A Scottish postal service in public ownership would not need to generate profits for shareholders and so should be in a better position to ensure that postal prices …

24 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the UK-wide universal service obligation would be maintained if it renationalised the Royal Mail in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will look to work with the remainder of the UK to ensure continuity of postal services.

24 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Royal Mail regarding its proposals to renationalise the company in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to questions S4W-17348 and S4W-17346 on 10 October 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s web site, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament…