Parliamentary questions
Neil Findlay
2,296 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns that the in-year redistribution mechanism is not sufficent, whether it plans to reform the system for further education student support.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Demand for student support is unpredictable which is why the Scottish Funding Council carries out an in-year redistribution exercise to ensure the accuracy of funding allocations. All colleges’ requests for additional funding were met in full both this year a…
29 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to ensure that further education institutions receive adequate funding for student support at the beginning of the academic year.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government makes student support funding available to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), and it is the SFC who distribute this funding across Scotland’s colleges. The Scottish Government is supporting Further Education students with record leve…
29 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it publishes data regarding how much student support funding further education institutions will require after the budget has been finalised.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not publish data on the student support funding required by colleges. The Scottish Funding Council most recently published student support funding allocations in its ‘ Outcome Agreement Funding for Colleges - Final Allocations for…
27 Aug 2018 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact 10 more years of austerity could have on public services in Scotland.
21 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will establish an industrial injuries advisory council.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As set out in the Social Security (Scotland) Act, scrutiny of Employment Injury Assistance regulations will be undertaken by the Scottish Commission on Social Security. The Scottish Government will continue to explore the best ways of obtaining the appropriat…
21 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to prepare for the devolution of industrial injuries benefit.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government has engaged with the Industrial Injuries Advisory Group on issues associated with the transfer of the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits (IIDB) and provision has been included in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 to facilit…
21 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when industrial injuries benefits will begin to be paid by the Scottish Social Security Agency.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The safe and steady transfer of benefits requires a joint approach between the Scottish Government and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). We will continue to work with DWP to confirm the delivery date for IIDB.
14 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how long after a minister has a meeting should it take for this to be published on the ministerial diaries page on its website.
Answer · Graeme Dey: A monthly list of engagements carried out by all Ministers is published three months in arrears. Full details can be found in section 4.22 of the Ministerial Code: https://beta.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/guidance/2018/02/scott…
7 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether public sector bodies awarding contracts for large industrial infrastructure construction projects must comply with regulation 46 of Public Procure Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 as part of the criteria when the successful bidder secures the contract.
Answer · Derek Mackay: cottish public bodies need only comply with regulation 46 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 when it is requiring tenderers to submit variants as part of decision to award a public contract and when the contact falls within the scope of the R…
7 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether industry-wide applicable collective agreements should be obligatory throughout the construction phase when delivering large industrial infrastructure projects.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The laws relating to employment, trade unions, their activities and membership/representation are currently reserved. The Scottish Government does not have the power to legally mandate a collective agreement made between an employer or group of employers and …
7 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether industry-wide applicable collective agreements are essential throughout the construction phase in the delivery of large industrial infrastructure projects.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18086 on 30 August 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness…
7 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what appeal mechanism is in place if a public sector body awards a large industrial infrastructure project but does not acknowledge the statutory guidance throughout the tender stage of the contract by adhering to industry-wide applicable collective agreements, as defined by the Fair Wor…
Answer · Derek Mackay: Public bodies are responsible for their own procurement decisions. They must comply with relevant legislation when conducting a public procurement process and have regard to relevant statutory guidance. Where a public body does not have regard to statutory gu…
7 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that applicable collective agreements on large public sector industrial infrastructure projects meet the criteria set out by the (a) 2014 EU directive on procurement and (b) Public Procure Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The 2014/24/EU public procurement directive, which has been transposed into the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, requires a public body to include contract conditions relating to the performance of the contract, to ensure that the contractor comp…
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the NHS spends on supplying incontinence pads.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This is a matter for individual Health Boards. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many women have left peri-natal care without pelvic health education from a health professional in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. The latest publication of Ready Steady Baby contains information for new mothers on the importance of pelvic-floor muscles in preventing stress incontinence. It gives mothers examples of exerc…
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of falls resulting in a hip fracture are associated with falls in or on the way to the toilet.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Information Service Divisions of NSS Scotland publish information relating to the number and rate of emergency hospital admissions resulting from a fall within the annual Unintentional Injuries publication available at http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topic…
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have moved into residential care due to incontinence management issues in each of the last five years.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Information on the number of people who have moved into residential care due to incontinence management issues is not held. Data are collected from all care homes registered with the Care Inspectorate via the Care Inspectorate's web based "eForms" system and…
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it spends on managing post-natal depression.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, to support implementation of policy. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and…
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many PE teachers are employed in schools, and how many new PE teachers have been employed in each of the last five years.
Answer · John Swinney: In 2017 there were 150 primary, 1,805 secondary, 93 special school and 43 centrally employed physical education teachers. Statistics on the number of teachers employed in schools, in the last five years, with physical education as their main subject are avai…
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of GPs routinely do six-week postnatal checks that include abdominal muscles, prolapse inspections and advice on returning to exercise.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. The Scottish Government expects clinicians to assess and treat patients appropriately in accordance with evidence-based clinical practice guidance from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines …
24 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have died prematurely in each of the last five years from diseases where inactivity is a major contributory factor.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The numbers of premature deaths in Scotland in the last five years from the five diseases defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as having some relation to physical inactivity are shown in the following table. Deaths before the age of 75, by cause, 2…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) transobturator mesh tape, (b) prolapse mesh, (c) retropubic mesh tape for incontinence, (d) transobturator mesh tape for incontinence, (e) transvaginal mesh for prolapse, (f) transabdominal mesh for vaginal prolapse and (g) transabdominal mesh for rectal prolapse (rectopexy)…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information broken down to the level requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However, the total number of operations for SUI and POP, involving mesh tape inserted transvaginally, are shown in the following table. Mesh tape insertion for …
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether all of Scotland's current whisky bottling operations should remain in Scotland after the UK leaves the EU, and what discussions it has has with the Scotch Whisky Association regarding this.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government are in regular dialogue with the Scotch Whisky Association. We agree with their assessment that it would not be in the industry's best interest that all bottling of Scotch Whisky should be done in Scotland. This is based on the long-te…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of geographical indicators in food and drink production after the UK leaves the EU, and whether ministers have made representations to the UK Government regarding the importance of these indicators to the Scottish whisky industry.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government believe that the systems for Geographical Indications is vital for the Scottish food and drink products that currently enjoy these protections. Ministers have written on a number of occasions over the past year spelling out the import…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an analysis of the number of jobs that may be impacted in the whisky and spirits industry as a result of Brexit and, if so, what these figures are.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17818 on 6 August 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an assessment of the potential impact that Brexit will have on the Scottish whisky industry.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government have published two papers - 'Scotland's Place in Europe' and 'Scotland's Place in Europe: People, Jobs and Investment' - which identify the importance of food and drink to the economy and the impact Brexit may have on the sector, inclu…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to Scottish ports to manage the impact of the Brexit process and its potential outcome.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Ports and harbours are crucial gateways to Scotland. We recognise the existing contribution of port operators to the economy of Scotland and their continued importance in a post-Brexit context. Our shipping industry is resilient. We are confident that it wil…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an analysis of how any increased administration costs as a result of Brexit may impact on whisky exports.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: At this stage, given the lack of detail on future customs, excise and related arrangements, it is not possible to assess the likely increase in administration costs for whisky exports. This remains a concern for the Scottish Government and the industry.
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance (a) it has issued to and (b) has been issued by NHS boards regarding the use of mesh in procedures other than for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17813 on 13 August 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness…
23 Jul 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) its and (b) the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland's response is to the UK Government's Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and any impact that its findings will have on the use of mesh in medical procedures in Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17678 on 31 July 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…