Parliamentary questions
Jim Hume
1,310 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
27 Jan 2014 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to safeguard access to justice in communities in South Scotland.
23 Jan 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-11849 by Alex Neil on 17 January 2013, how many acute NHS hospital beds were allocated for (a) geriatric and (b) paediatric services in 2012-13.
Answer · Alex Neil: The following table shows the average available staffed beds allocated to geriatric and paediatric specialties in 2012-13. Table: Average available staffed beds in Geriatric1 and Paediatric2 Specialties; 2012-13P Geriatric Specialties Paediatric Specialt…
23 Jan 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-11842 by Alex Neil on 17 January 2013, how many unplanned emergency admissions there were in 2012-13 and how many were of (a) older people, (b) disabled people and (c) children.
Answer · Alex Neil: The following table shows the number of emergency admissions for (a) older people aged 65 and over and (b) children aged 0-14 during 2012-13. The table also shows the number of emergency admissions as a rate per 1,000 population. Information on patient disab…
22 Jan 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) raise awareness of and (b) challenge bullying in local authorities.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has a zero-tolerance approach to bullying. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and should be tackled quickly whenever and wherever it arises. It is for local authorities themselves, as responsible employers, to take action to ensure b…
13 Jan 2014 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of public access defibrillators across the country.
13 Jan 2014 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure more specialist care for care home residents with dementia.
17 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a full public consultation on the final options presented by the feasibility study into the future of Selkirk and Jedburgh sheriff courts.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Responsibility for Scotland’s courts rests with the Scottish Court Service (SCS) and not the Scottish Government. The feasibility study underway in the Borders has been commissioned by SCS and Scottish Borders Council and it is a matter for them to determine…
17 Dec 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the interim findings are of the feasibility study being carried out into the future of Selkirk and Jedburgh sheriff courts.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Responsibility for Scotland’s courts rests with the Scottish Court Service (SCS) and not the Scottish Government. The feasibility study underway in the Borders has been commissioned by SCS and Scottish Borders Council. The member may wish to write to the chi…
28 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18384 by Alex Neil on 28 November 2013, how many (a) medical and (b) clinical oncology specialists there are in the North of Scotland Planning Group, and how many positions have been vacant for over (i) three and (ii) six months, broken down by NHS …
Answer · Alex Neil: The North of Scotland Planning Group comprise NHS Highland, Grampian, Tayside, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland. The Group facilitates collaborative work across the three north of Scotland cancer centres, in NHS Highland, Grampian and Tayside via the North …
28 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18444 by Alex Neil on 28 November 2013, in what areas the statistically significant results were located; for what reasons ISD Scotland carried out each initial investigation; how the number of incidences compared with the expected figure; whether f…
Answer · Alex Neil: Table 1 shows a summary of the statistically significant results that were included in the response to question S4W-18444. All of these statistical analyses were carried out in response to requests from members of the public, as part of ISD’s information requ…
28 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18385 by Alex Neil on 28 November 2013, whether it will provide the information that was requested and confirm with which countries it has had discussions; when they took place; who was involved, and what items were discussed, and whether it will co…
Answer · Alex Neil: Further to the information provided in the answer to S4W-18385, the Scottish Government has had detailed discussions with the UK, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Estonia on minimum unit pricing of alcohol policy. Discussions with the UK, Republic of…
20 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors levels of digital depopulation.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not formally monitor levels of depopulation in relation to specific policy areas. It does, however, fully recognise the importance that digital connectivity has in ensuring the overall sustainability of rural areas. That is why t…
20 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many people under 16 the police have used CS gas in each of the last 10 years and who in Police Scotland is in charge of monitoring usage of CS gas on under-16s.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The deployment and use of CS spray, including the issuing of guidance, is an operational matter for Police Scotland. Officers must ensure that the use of CS spray is fair, proportionate and justifiable. Police Scotland does not use CS Gas, they use CS Spray.…
20 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many college and university students are aged over (a) 70, (b) 80 and (c) 90; what percentage of student enrolments this represents, and which institution has the most students over 70 years old.
Answer · Michael Russell: Statistics on student enrolments are produced by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The latest available data is for the 2011-12 academic year. Enrolments for students aged 70 years or over are shown in the f…
20 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what considerations local authorities have to make regarding the length of journeys to school and how school journey times should be calculated.
Answer · Michael Russell: Local authorities have a duty under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make such arrangements as they consider necessary for the transport between home and school of pupils residing and attending schools in their area. In considering these arrangements, aut…
20 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much people from other European countries living in Scotland have contributed to the economy in each of the last five years, broken down by country of origin.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Labour market statistics from the Annual Population Survey provide figures on the number of people from other European countries living in Scotland and their contribution towards the economy in terms of their labour market participation. Data is not available…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent pupils making false accusations against teachers and what sanctions are available should accusations be found to be false.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government understands that any allegation made against a teacher whether found to be false or not, can be very stressful and upsetting to all those involved. Guidance was issued in 2011 which was designed to provide support for schools and autho…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the other forms of income that crofters have, broken down by age group.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The income of individual crofters will vary widely between crofters and may derive from a number of diverse sources. The Scottish Government does not collect details of private income. However, the Scottish Government does hold information in relation to dir…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much (a) mandatory registrations and (b) regulations have cost crofters in each of the last five years.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However, there has been no cost to crofters in relation to mandatory registration on the Crofting Register in the last five years as the requirement to register croft land as a result of a ‘t…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has commissioned work on the income of crofters and, if so, whether it will publish the findings.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: No specific work on the income of crofters has been commissioned by the Scottish Government at this time. However, this information may be considered for the next Scottish Government report to the Scottish Parliament on the economic condition of crofting, et…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions in 2012-13 were related to fires that started because of (a) refuse and (b) flytipping, and how many led to a conviction.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The information requested is not held centrally.
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been absent due to false accusations being made against them by pupils in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority; what the average length of absence was while investigations were carried out, and how much it cost.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: This information is not collated centrally. Teacher absences and the cause of these absences are matters for individual local authorities as employers. Each authority will have locally agreed systems in place for managing this.
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been absent due to stress in each of the last five years; what the average length of absence was; how much it cost, and what action it is taking to tackle the issue.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: This information requested is not collated centrally. Teacher absences and the causes of these absences are matters for individual local authorities as employers. Each authority will have locally agreed systems in place for managing this. The Scottish Govern…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve safety on the (a) A819, (b) A822 and (c) A708.
Answer · Keith Brown: The A819, A822 and A708 are classed as local roads and are, therefore, the responsibility of those local authorities through whose area the routes run. The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with over £10.3 billion in 2013-14. Deci…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much crofting has contributed to the economy in each of the last five years.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However, a number of issues relating to the economics of crofting were covered in the independent Committee of Inquiry on Crofting’s Final Report, published on 12 May 2008. This can be viewe…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on raising awareness among the population of the dietary needs of some people because of their religious beliefs.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to promoting a multi-faith and multi-cultural society based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. The Scottish Government funded the Scottish Working Group on Religion and Belief Relations to write and publish Belie…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes (a) innovation and (b) invention in the (i) engineering, (ii) science and (iii) business sector.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: On 13 November 2013 Scotland CAN DO: Becoming a World-leading Entrepreneurial and Innovative Nation, was published. The framework builds on the Government Economic Strategy and details the Scottish Government’s current approach to, and future plans for, suppo…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the number of transplants carried out for patients in need of an organ transplant.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In July 2013, the Scottish Government published A Donation and Transplantation Plan for Scotland 2013-2020. This plan sets out the ways in which we hope to improve donation and transplantation in Scotland. The plan builds on the very good progress made over t…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cancer clusters were identified in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006, (d) 2007, (e) 2008, (f) 2009, (g) 2010, (h) 2011 and (i) 2012 and have been identified in 2013; what criteria must be met for a group of cancers to be considered to be a cluster; where and how these were identified…
Answer · Alex Neil: Prospectively looking for cancer clusters is not regarded as a useful method of cancer prevention. A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer demonstrated that clusters found by scanning methods may be caused by localised exposure to environme…
18 Nov 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much ancestral tourism (a) has contributed to the Scottish economy in each of the last five years and (b) is projected to contribute in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the economic impact of ancestral tourism in each of the last five years or how much ancestral tourism is projected to contribute to the economy in 2013-14 and 2014-15. VisitScotland conducted research in 20…