Parliamentary questions
Richard Lyle
333 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding improvements to the product recall system for faulty electrical products.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government appreciates the concerns around faulty electrical products. We await the UK Government's response to the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety and my officials are continuing to keep in touch with UK Government officials on the i…
18 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes when drafting educational documentation, equality monitoring and learning tools to ensure that showpeople are considered.
28 Aug 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent commentary on GERS figures, what its position is on the recent GERS report and the robustness of the findings within it.
21 Jul 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported findings of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following a routine inspection of Bio Products Laboratory premises, what action it is taking regarding any impact on patient safety in Scotland.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government have been working with the MHRA to establish any potential impact in Scotland on both patient safety and supply. The MHRA have confirmed that in light of all of the information currently available, their assessment is that no patients …
21 Jul 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the quantity of Bio Products Laboratory products that are used in Scotland.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Fractionated plasma products derived from human plasma are a diverse group of prescription-only medicines used for both prophylaxis and treatment of a wide range of clinical conditions. The main groups of plasma products procured by NHS Scotland and under the…
21 Jul 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much of the Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) products that are used in Scotland are affected by the reported findings of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following a routine inspection of BPL laboratories.
Answer · Shona Robison: During a recent routine inspection of Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) plasma centres, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) inspectors identified poorly validated software which resulted in a concern that there may have been issues with the…
12 Jul 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact on Scotland, what information it has on how the UK Government inquiry into contaminated blood will be conducted, including whether it will be led by a panel and what protocols there are for coordinating the four UK nations, as provided for by section 27 of the Inq…
Answer · Shona Robison: The UK Government is engaging with those affected and their representative bodies before taking a decision on what type of inquiry should be taken forward and what the inquiry's scope should be. It is not yet clear what arrangements will be used to coordinate…
12 Jul 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to clarify the position of the UK Government regarding Scottish input into the UK-wide inquiry into contaminated blood.
Answer · Shona Robison: Following the announcement, the Scottish Government contacted the Department of Health to seek further information about the proposed inquiry. I then wrote to the Secretary of State for Health on 17 July to seek further clarification regarding the scope of th…
12 Jul 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what contact the UK Government made with it prior to announcing a UK-wide inquiry into contaminated blood.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government received no contact from the UK Government about the proposal prior to its announcement of a UK-wide inquiry into infected NHS blood and blood products.
19 Jun 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities last met North Lanarkshire Council and what was discussed.
2 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether large numbers of free swimming stage sea lice leaving fish farms harm wild Scottish salmonid (salmon and sea trout) populations, as they have reportedly been shown to do in Norway and Ireland.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Currently there is no estimate of the level of impact of sea lice from aquaculture on wild salmon and sea trout population status in Scotland. Marine Scotland are currently two years into a ten-year programme of research to look further into impacts on wild s…
2 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what records it keeps of the quantities of sea lice treatment chemicals used in well boats; where those records may be accessed by the public, as they can be for treatments applied in fish farm cages on the Scotland's Aquaculture database, and what assessment it has made of the impact of…
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Marine Scotland - Licensing Operations Team (MS-LOT) licenses the discharge of chemotherapeutant from wellboats under the licensing provisions of Part 4 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Licensees are required to provide details of discharge activities which…
2 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent Scottish Association of Marine Science report, which raises concerns over the unexpected impact on wild crustaceans of emamectin benzoate, whether it plans to phase out its use in salmon farming and, if so, by when.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The authorisation of chemicals released into the water environment is a regulatory matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Its decisions are informed by the evidence base and SEPA is keeping the evidence on the impacts of emamectin benzoate und…
2 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dead fish the approximately 41,000 tonnes of salmon farm mortalities reported on the Scotland’s Aquaculture database for the periods 2015 and 2016 represents.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The mortality data on Scotland’s Aquaculture website represents data reported to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) as required by conditions in licences issued under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Th…
2 Jun 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times in the last two years salmon farms in Scotland have (a) been ordered to and (b) needed to cull their fish early due to their inability to control sea lice numbers on the farmed fish.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: No fish farm has been ordered to cull their fish in the last two years due to their inability to control sea lice numbers on the farmed fish. Fish farms employ fish health staff and company veterinarians which may advise reducing the biomass of fish stocked …
25 May 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with UK Government agencies regarding bringing major events to Scotland.
25 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the 2016-17 results were of the new group reading tests (NGRT), which are also known as GL assessments, in each local authority.
Answer · John Swinney: NGRT from GL Assessment is a commercially available product which some local authorities may choose to purchase to assess literacy and numeracy. The results are not collected nationally.
25 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which school year groups take the new group reading tests (NGRT), which are also known as GL assessments.
Answer · John Swinney: NGRT from GL Assessment is a commercially available product which some local authorities may choose to purchase to assess literacy and numeracy. The year groups chosen for testing is a matter for the local authority.
25 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce numeracy testing that is structured on a similar basis to the new group reading tests (NGRT), which are also known as GL assessments.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is introducing bespoke national standardised assessments in both literacy and numeracy in August 2017. These assessments have been designed specifically to reflect the way we deliver education in Scotland, through the Curriculum for Ex…
23 May 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent (a) classroom and (b) additional support needs assistant positions there are in each local authority, also broken down by the number in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools, and how many positions are filled.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government collects and publishes information on the numbers of FTE classroom and additional support needs assistants as part of the School staff census. This information is published at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Educati…
1 Mar 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average time from the onset of symptoms to the point of diagnosis is for brain tumours in adults.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. We recognise that there is a need to improve the speed of initial referrals for suspected brain cancer. To aid in this our Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer were updated and published in 2014. …
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks in the owner-occupied sector.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Responsibility for maintenance of homes lies with the owner of the property. Institution of Engineering and Technology guidance advises that owner occupied homes should have an Electrical Installation Condition Report completed by a skilled person (electrical…
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information is collected through the Scottish House Condition Survey to assess the safety of electrical installations in homes.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: As part of the Scottish House Conditions Survey, the surveyors carry out an assessment and collect information on: (i) whether the electrical power system is dangerous, (ii) whether the standard of the electrical lighting system is satisfactory, (iii) whet…
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the fire safety regulations that exist to protect occupiers of flats or apartments.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service recommend that all homes should have interlinked and hardwired smoke detectors in the living room, in hallways and on landings and should also have a heat detector in the kitchen. This standard is required in all new build…
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in the owner-occupied sector were built (a) before 1919, (b) between (i) 1919 and 1944, (ii) 1945 and 1964 and (iii) 1965 and 1982, and (c) after 1982.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: According to the Scottish House Condition Survey, in the owner-occupied sector in 2015 there were (a) 305,000 dwellings built before 1919, (b)(i) 171,000 dwellings built between 1919 and 1944, (b) (ii) 279,000 dwellings built between 1945 and 1964, (b) (iii) …
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on phase 2 of the Building Safer Communities programme, and what the next steps will be to deliver on the home safety strand of the strategy.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: To better understand the causal factors and patterns of Unintentional Harm in Scotland a Strategic Assessment was commissioned as part of the national Building Safer Communities programme. This work looks at community safety across a range of areas including …
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether residual current devices are mandatory in all new build domestic properties and, if so, for what reason.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The mandatory electrical safety standard in building regulations requires that new electrical installations do not threaten the health and safety of people in and around buildings, nor become a source of fire. Residual current devices are required under BS 76…
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many accidental electrical house fires there were in each month in each of the last five years; how many of these were in homes in the owner-occupied sector, and what steps it is taking to reduce such fires.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publishes statistics on accidental dwelling fires and cause, however this data is not presented on a monthly basis, nor is data on tenure given. These statistics are availa…
14 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in the owner-occupied sector are (a) detached, (b) semi-detached, (c) terraced and (d) flats, maisonettes or apartments, including four-in-a-blocks and conversions.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: According to the Scottish House Condition Survey in 2015 there were (a) 485,000 detached, (b) 350,000 semi-detached, (c) 322,000 terraced dwellings and (d) 345,000 flats in the owner-occupied sector.
16 Jan 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more participation in sporting activities.