Parliamentary questions
Margaret Mitchell
550 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
24 Jan 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of North Lanarkshire Council.
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure adequate lighting at the Raith Interchange, in order that new and temporary routes are clearly visible, during the current period of works.
Answer · Keith Brown: Whilst works continue to complete the permanent lighting system at Raith Interchange, a combination of temporary and permanent lighting is in place. Scottish Roads Partnership, the contractor responsible for the works, has dedicated staff who regularly monito…
19 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure adequate signage at the Raith Interchange during the current period of extensive works to ensure that road users have a clear understanding of the alterations to turn-offs and transitions in road layouts.
Answer · Keith Brown: The M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project is a very significant investment in the Central Scotland motorway network which will greatly reduce congestion and boost the economy. Transport Scotland works closely with the contractor, Scottish Roads Partnership…
17 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the improvement works at the Raith Interchange will be completed.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Raith Interchange works being undertaken as part of the £500 million M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project are scheduled to open in Spring 2017.
10 Jan 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help identify and support children with dyslexia.
Answer · John Swinney: Education authorities have a statutory duty to identify, meet, and review, the additional support needs of all pupils, including those with dyslexia. To help all teachers address the needs of pupils with dyslexia, the Scottish Government supported the devel…
8 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many urban foxes there have been in each year since 2011.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Urban Fox Populations in Scottish Towns and Cities (2006) report is the most recent survey to have been carried out. The full report can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/06…
6 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to notifications of personal details, how many people on the sex offenders register in each of the last five years have failed to (a) make an annual notification to the police, (b) notify the police three days after their release from prison and (c) notify police of a change.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government holds information on the number of convictions for failure to notify by people on the sex offenders register as offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Sex Offenders Act 1997. The available information is given in the following…
6 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people on the sex offenders register are listed as missing or whereabouts unknown.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Police Scotland's National Offender Management Unit is responsible for collating and publishing statistics in respect of Registered Sex Offenders and includes statistics on missing registered sex offenders. The details of which are found on the Police Scotlan…
6 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times people on the sex offenders register in each of the last five years have failed to notify the police that they plan to (a) leave the UK and (b) be away from their usual home address, and what sentence was imposed for such failure.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government holds information on the number of convictions for failure, by people on the sex offenders register, to notify the police of travel outside the UK. The available information is given in the following table. Information on failure to n…
6 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the value of property is within the justice estate that is not in use on a day-to-day basis.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
6 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings within the justice estate are not in use on a day-to-day basis, broken down by (a) police stations, (b) courts, (c) young offenders institutions and (d) offices.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
22 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many defendents represented themselves at justice of the peace courts in each of the last five years, also broken down by sheriffdom.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
22 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many defendents represented themselves at sheriff courts in each of the last five years, also broken down by sheriffdom.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
22 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many defendents represented themselves at the high courts in each of the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
8 Nov 2016 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Dyslexia Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: My officials meet regularly with Dyslexia Scotland through the ‘Dyslexia Making Sense’ and the ‘Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit’ Working Groups. They last met on 4 October and due to meet again on 13 December. I met with and Sir Jackie Stewart and Cathy Magee of…
17 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met local government representatives from the Central Scotland parliamentary region.
30 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many outpatients in NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 1999 did not attend appointments.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of new outpatient consultant appointments in NHS Lanarkshire where the patient did not attend in each calendar year since 1999 is provided in the following table. It is every patient's responsibility to keep their NHS appointment an…
23 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02245 by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2016, if full details of criminal convictions, including with regard to sentencing and the charges that led to the conviction, are not routinely a matter for the public record, whether (a) access to these ca…
Answer · Michael Matheson: As noted in answer to S5W-02245, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) are required to handle the release of conviction information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988 and other relevant legislation. I am advised by the SCTS that they a…
23 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02245 by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2016, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding how the public can access full details of criminal convictions, including with regard to sentencing and the charges that led to the …
Answer · Michael Matheson: As noted in answer to S5W-02245, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) are required to handle the release of conviction information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988 and other relevant legislation. I am advised by the SCTS that they a…
2 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to ensure the successful implementation of the duty in the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 to invite unpaid carers to be part of the hospital discharge process, and whether this duty will be piloted.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: There are currently some very good examples of successful carer involvement in the discharge process however, this local good practice needs to be Scotland-wide. As part of the wider pre-commencement programme for the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, we have comm…
2 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what date the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 will be commenced.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 will be commenced on the 1 April 2018. Certain provisions may be commenced before 1 April 2018 to facilitate full commencement of the Act on that date.
2 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether existing carer services will receive funding from April 2017 to continue providing support to unpaid carers.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Scottish Government funding for NHS board carer information strategies provides direct support to adult carers and young carers. Subject to spending review decisions, this funding is expected to continue in 2017-18.
31 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all criminal convictions are a matter of public record and, if so, how the public can access full details of these, including with regard to sentencing and the charges that led to the conviction.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Our criminal courts are open courts with access available to the public and the media to observe court proceedings. The only exceptions to this rule relate to where the court rules that restrictions on reporting should operate and/or where the law expressly p…
1 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of NHS Lanarkshire.
Answer · Shona Robison: Ministers and government officials regularly meet with representatives of all health boards, including NHS Lanarkshire.
24 Feb 2016 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Professor Neil McKeganey's statement that Police Scotland’s decision to issue on-the-spot recorded warnings for the possession of cannabis rather than report people to prosecutors is a “massive white flag to Scotland’s drug problem.”
27 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with local authorities in relation to the commissioning of third sector services.
12 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Transport Scotland.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Transport Scotland is part of the Scottish Government and meetings with ministers occur regularly in the course of normal business.
16 Dec 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Medicines Consortium's ruling against co-careldopa and for what reason it is deemed not to be cost effective in Scotland when it has been ruled cost effective in England and reportedly in over 40 other countries.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides advice to NHSScotland on newly licensed medicines. The independence of SMC decisions on individual drugs is well established. The SMC’s full decision can be found at: http://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/SMC_Ad…
15 Dec 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of NFU Scotland.
16 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Independent Living Fund Scotland will open to new users.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The first phase of work to transfer the Independent Living Fund (ILF) to Scotland is now complete, with the establishment of ILF Scotland from 1 July 2015, and the regular payment of ILF support to 2,800 existing Scottish users. The second phase of work to op…