Parliamentary questions

John Pentland

146 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

5 Jan 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to protect NHS staff in light of recent reports of high levels of injuries at work and sick leave due to stress.

1 Dec 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to NHS Lanarkshire with recruiting medical staff for emergency and general medicine services.

13 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which hospitals have or are developing plans on how to carry out a complete evacuation, and which have decided that such a plan is not required.

Answer · Shona Robison: All NHS boards would deal with an evacuation, as with any disruption to their activities or buildings, as part of business continuity management arrangements. Strategic business continuity management guidance has been issued to NHS boards in Scotland and is a…

13 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances a hospital should consider carrying out a complete evacuation and what guidance it provides on this.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are a number of incidents that may require the evacuation of hospital premises. These can include a fire, structural damage or collapse, but any disruptive incident that impacts on the safety of staff and patients could result in evacuation. All NHS bo…

12 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police (a) officers and (b) civilian staff have been absent due to sickness in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) length of absence and (ii) sickness.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The recording and management of sickness absence for police officers and staff is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland. Sickness absence is reported to the SPA board regularly, with papers published on the SPA website. Example…

19 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of police civilian staff salaries and wages has been for Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Scottish Police Services Authority, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, police joint boards and local authority staff whose posts transferred to th…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally. Prior to 1 April 2013, responsibility lay with the Scottish Police Services Authority, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, the joint police boards and unitary authorities. From 1 April 2013 this bec…

19 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff were employed by police joint boards and by local authorities on work that has now been taken over by the Scottish Police Authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: As at 31 March 2013 there were 6,790 (full time equivalent) police staff employed by the ten legacy organisations. Staff were transferred on 1 April 2013 to the employment of the Scottish Police Authority, to be either under the direction and control of the C…

19 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual expenditure has been on police salaries in each year since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This was a matter for the eight legacy police forces of Scotland, and since 1 April 2013 is a matter for Police Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

19 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers there have been at each rank in each year since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The latest Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland released on 5 August 2014, provides the overall number of officers in each quarter, from March 2007 to June 2014; it can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-…

4 Aug 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Cabinet Secretary for Justice is taking to address the reported delays in the development of a unified IT system for Police Scotland.

28 Jul 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the quarterly increase in unemployment between March and May 2014 was represented by women.

9 Jun 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing last met the chief executive of NHS Lanarkshire and what was discussed.

5 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) legal and (b) administrative costs have been incurred in relation to compensation paid by the NHS in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information sought is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

5 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many compensation claims and how much compensation the NHS has paid in each year since 2007-08, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.

Answer · Alex Neil: The following table details the total number of clinical negligence cases that settled for each NHS board since 2007-08. A break down per hospital cannot be provided as this could lead to the identification of individual cases. Health Board 2007-08 2008-09…

22 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with the monitoring and regulation of tyre recycling and disposal.

24 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued regarding cases in which demand for neonatal intensive care facilities exceeds available resources.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework, published in 2013, acknowledges that the transfer and admission of babies from other neonatal units’ networks may occur to deal with peaks of demand or requests for specialist care not available elsewhere. …

24 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is its policy that more than one nurse should always be assigned to a neonatal special care side room containing more than four babies and that registered nurses and non-registered clinical staff should always work under the direct supervision and responsibility of a qualified…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework, published in 2013, states that babies requiring special care should be cared for with a minimum of 1:4 staff to baby ratio at all times by either a registered nurse or non-registered staff with the appropria…

24 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is its policy that all babies (a) in intensive care should be treated on a one-to-one basis and (b) requiring high dependency care should be treated on a one-to-two basis by a qualified in speciality neonatal nurse and, if so, what monitoring it undertakes to ensure that this …

Answer · Michael Matheson: Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework, published in 2013, states that all babies requiring intensive care should be cared for by staff who have completed accredited training in specialised neonatal care or who, while undertaking this training, are wo…

17 Apr 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to local authorities that take on duties being given up by Police Scotland.

17 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a full analysis of its childcare policy, including in an independent Scotland, will be included in the report by the Council of Economic Advisers.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Council of Economic Advisers considered the importance of improving childcare provision in Scotland at their meeting last August 2013. Their discussion was informed by a presentation by Professor Ailsa McKay on the economic and social importance of access…

3 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in the last year to assess and address the incidence of plagiocephaly.

17 Feb 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth last met the Chancellor of the Exchequer and what was discussed.

27 Jan 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last met the Chief Constable and what was discussed.

6 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-civil servants it has contracted since 2007 to (a) engage in work and (b) advise on independence, broken down by (i) job title, (ii) role, (iii) remuneration and (iv) start and end dates.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18197 on 3 December 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…

6 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18758 by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 December 2013, how many people who were not Scottish Government civil servants (a) worked in any capacity, and (b) advised on the white paper, broken down by (i) job title, (ii) role and (iii) start and end dates.

16 Dec 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent contact the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has had with EU officials in relation to tuition fees.

Answer · Michael Russell: As I outlined to your colleague Drew Smith, earlier, ministers and officials have raised the question of student mobility with the EU Commission and other European leaders on a range of occasions since 2010. These have been useful discussions that will contin…

10 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend in each constituency on (a) bulk-delivered and (b) directly-mailed (i) newsletters, (ii) leaflets and (iii) other publications related to the white paper on independence.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The total cost of Scottish Government public information activity related to Scotland’s Future will be £450,000. This is a national figure and a breakdown by constituency is not available. Costs for publications will be announced in due course. I refer the m…

10 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend in each constituency on (a) billboard and (b) other localised display advertising related to the white paper on independence.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The total cost of Scottish Government public information activity related to Scotland’s Future will be £450,000. I refer the member to the Official Report of the Meeting of the Parliament on Tuesday 26 November 2013 at column 24856. The official report is a…

5 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours of Scottish Government staff time have been taken up with (a) the development of the white paper on independence and (b) other Scottish Government work in relation to independence.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Officials from across the Scottish Government have, as part of their normal duties, contributed in some way to the development of the white paper and the Scottish Government’s constitutional reform policy. Officials do not record the number of hours they spen…

5 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18197 by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 December 2013, how many people from outwith the Scottish Government (a) worked on the white paper on independence and (b) assisted with other Scottish Government work in relation to independence and what information it …

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As highlighted in the answer to S4W-18197, no temporary workers from outwith the Scottish Government have been hired to work on the white paper on independence. All staff who worked on the content of the white paper are either employed by or contracted by the…