Parliamentary questions
Kezia Dugdale
1,684 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
28 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to replicate the Office for Budget Responsibility’s independent fiscal sustainability analysis in Scotland providing annual statistics, as recommended by the Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government routinely publishes analysis relating to the long term outlook for public finances. For example, the Scottish Government published the report Outlook for Scottish Government Expenditure in July 2010 which set out the long term funding …
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what expenses claims special advisers have made since May 2011.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: The total amount claimed in expenses by all special advisers since May 2011 is £2,302.46. This includes accommodation and meals as well as travel and personal incidental expenses. The expenditure was incurred by the advisers and claimed back through the Scott…
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which special advisers have legal qualifications.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02891 on 6 October 2011. 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/Apps2/MAQASea…
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which special advisers provide legal advice to ministers.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: Special Advisers provide policy, political and presentational advice and support to ministers. They do not provide legal advice.
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many overnight stays in hotels special advisers have charged for since May 2011.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: The total number of overnights stays in hotels claimed by all special advisers since May 2011 is six. The costs were either incurred by the adviser and claimed back through the Scottish Government Travel and Subsistence system or the rooms were booked through…
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-00282 by John Swinney on 1 July 2011, whether there have been changes to its appointment of special advisers or their (a) job titles, (b) responsibilities and (c) salary bandings.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: Since 1 July 2011 there have been two changes to the special adviser team. Malcolm Fleming was appointed on 25 July 2011 as Communications and political spokesperson. Jennifer Erickson resigned on 2 August 2011. The current Special Adviser Pay Bands and Ran…
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to each of the recommendations in the health care needs assessment for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) published in 2010.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is generally supportive of the Scottish Public Health Network’s needs assessment on ME-CFS and its recommendations. We recognise, however, that the report makes a number of recommendations which involve the development of services and…
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will implement (a) consultant-led, multidisciplinary teams across Scotland and (b) managed clinical networks involving key stakeholders to provide a broad range of medical and therapeutic inputs locally and regionally and, on a national level, to ensure sharing of experience and e…
Answer · Michael Matheson: It is for individual NHS boards to plan and deliver healthcare services to ensure that the needs of their local population are met. This includes the provision of consultant led multidisciplinary teams. Although Scottish Government pump prime funding is avai…
21 Sep 2011 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many of its staff, including those employed through agencies, are paid less than the living wage of £7.20 an hour.
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the revised date is for the launch of the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: We established the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service earlier this year, bringing together partners to create a more joined-up approach including greater cross-referral. Elements of this are already happening, such as planning of co-hosted events…
21 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service will do to reduce the time that SMEs spend offsite on reducing their carbon emissions.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service (SERES) will help to reduce the time spent by SMEs seeking information on emissions reduction by providing a single portal, through the Business Gateway website, where relevant information on the services pr…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) standards and (b) response times it has set for its directorates for responding to (i) correspondence from members and (ii) parliamentary questions and what the (A) top performing and (B) least well performing directorates have been in each of the last three years.
Answer · Brian Adam: Ministerial Correspondence The Scottish Government aims to respond as quickly as possible and within 20 working days from the date correspondence is received in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit and logged on the Ministerial and Corporate Correspondence Sy…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in its Ministerial Correspondence Unit, broken down by grade, and how many there have been in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · John Swinney: The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff currently assigned to Ministerial Correspondence Unit, by grade, and at 31 March of the last four years. 31 March 2008 31 March 2009 31 March 2010 31 March 2011 27 September 2011…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget for the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service is.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service is a collaborative project between partners resourced through existing budgets.
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to publicise the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service will be publicised through the distribution networks of the partner organisations. The partners are Zerowaste Scotland, Carbon Trust, EST, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands enterprise, SEPA and Busi…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is its strategy for tackling child trafficking.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02849 on 29 September 2011. 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/Apps2/MAQA…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the recently published, Human Trafficking: The Government's Strategy, was not a joint publication between it and the Home Office as the 2007 publication, UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking, was.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The content of the UK Government’s Strategy is a matter for the Home Office.
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the UK Government’s new human trafficking strategy covers Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The UK Government’s strategy applies to Scotland in respect of matters which are the responsibility of the UK Government. We will continue to work with the UK Government to combat trafficking in human beings.
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding tackling all aspects of human trafficking.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A meeting of the Inter Departmental Ministerial Group to tackle human trafficking was held on 17 February 2011 and the next meeting is arranged for 11 October 2011. Scottish Government officials last met Home Office officials on 22 September 2011 to discuss t…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to encourage small businesses that are not online to make use of the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Information, advice and support through the Scottish Energy and Resource Efficiency Service will be accessible via internet, telephone or mail from the single portal and from the individual partner organisations as is currently the case. For those who wish t…
20 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there is a need for it to develop a human trafficking strategy for Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Recent trafficking Inquiries have been conducted by the Equal Opportunities Committee and the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People. The current Inquiry by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission which is focussing on trafficking for commerci…
16 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether (a) free wi-fi and (b) smart-card enabled (i) ticketing machines, (ii) hand-held ticket readers and (iii) ticket barriers across all services will be made conditions of any new or renewed contract for rail passenger services.
Answer · Keith Brown: Preparatory work is currently being undertaken to consider the contents of any future contract for rail passenger services. This includes a public consultation, expected later this year, which will cover areas such as mobile communications and ticketing. Actu…
16 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the public can feed in to the process of renewing the contract for rail passenger services.
Answer · Keith Brown: The current ScotRail franchise is due to end in November 2014. Preparatory work on how we wish to deliver future rail passenger services in Scotland is currently being undertaken, and this includes a public consultation which is expected to be launched later …
13 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of global price pressures on generic drugs has been on the NHS’s prescribing bill in the last three years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Prescription drugs dispensed in the community are purchased by community pharmacists, who are then reimbursed. Reimbursement arrangements for community pharmacists for all drugs, including generics, are subject to regular review to encourage them to seek out…
13 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether changes to the procurement of prescription drugs is saving all NHS boards money.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02716 on 22 September 2011. 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/Apps2/MAQASe…
13 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost of prescribing Pradaxa is to the health budget.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Dabigatran Etexilate (Pradaxa) is licensed for two main indications within hospitals. It is therefore likely that the vast majority of the drug’s administration will occur in secondary care. Information on the total annual cost of prescribing Pradaxa to the …
13 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what savings it will make as a result of new prescription procurement guidelines, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02716 on 22 September 2011. 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…
31 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether truncating the Edinburgh tram line to St Andrew’s Square, instead of Newhaven, constitutes a material change in the business case.
Answer · Keith Brown: The business case is a matter for The City of Edinburgh Council.
31 Aug 2011 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the adoption of the living wage by local authorities both for their own staff and for tendering and procurement processes.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the report by Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Not seen, not heard, not guilty 2011, whether it will ensure that the Scottish Prison Service records official figures for the number of children affected by the imprisonment of a parent, including those on …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: SPS is committed to helping prisoners to maintain positive family links. However, it would not be possible for the SPS to collect accurate data o…