Neil Findlay

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector social care staff have received palliative care training, and what information it has regarding social care staff in the voluntary and private sectors.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs have undergone palliative care training and to what level.

Answer · Shona Robison: All GPs are expected to demonstrate through both work based learning and self-directed learning, the knowledge and skills in end of life care to satisfy the core competencies of a GP. The requirements and content of the GP training curricula is a matter for …

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have implemented the Unison Ethical Care Charter.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not hold information on which local authorities have implemented the Unison Ethical Care Charter. We are providing significant investment to enable local authorities to commission care services that pay care workers, including i…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to end the use of zero- and minimal-hours contracts for public sector social care staff; how it monitors and ensures that all travel time is paid; what its position it is on staff having to purchase their own uniforms or equipment, and what support it can provide…

Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government condemn the inappropriate use of zero hour contracts. The Scottish Government expects all employers to adopt fair working practices. The Fair Work Framework states that zero hours contracts can be a barrier to providing employees an appr…

12 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the register of lobbyists will go live.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Development and implementation of the register of lobbyists is being led by the Scottish Parliament. During the parliamentary passage of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 the Government undertook to agree with the Parliament the timing of the relevant Commence…

12 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what contact it received from Charlotte Street Partners in the last year, and about what matters.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) number and (b) types of exemption it has used in each year under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to justify not providing the information that was requested.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Breakdowns of the number and types of exemption applied by the Scottish Government before 2013 is available from the FOI Annual Reports which are published on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About/Information/FOI/Reporting. For 2013 onwards, this informat…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests it has received each year under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 that have been subject to an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, broken down by how many times the commissioner ruled in favour of (a) it and (b) the applicant.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Information about the number of appeals made to the Scottish Information Commissioner in relation to the Scottish Government requests, and their outcome, is available from the FOI Annual Reports which are published on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to include all (a) private and (b) public contractors that have been contracted by public bodies.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government takes an incremental approach to extending coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The legislation has recently been extended to private prison contractors and further proposals to extend coverage will follow in due…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests it has received each year under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 have been subject to a review.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Information about the number of review requests received by the Scottish Government is available from the FOI Annual Reports which are published on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About/Information/FOI/Reporting.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has commissioned to assess its performance in adhering to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government publishes a report on Freedom of Information performance annually, which can be found on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About/Information/FOI/Reporting.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times planning permission has been given for the drilling of boreholes solely for the purpose of core sampling for shale and coal bed methane (a) prior to and (b) since the moratorium on fracking for shale gas.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Boreholes for test fracking or hydrocarbon flow testing are prohibited under the terms of the moratorium. Information on individual planning permissions is not held centrally. However, such information is available in the public domain.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and what action it takes to ensure that it is adhered to and applied by all public authorities in a consistent manner and in the spirit of the law.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scotland’s Freedom of Information regime is widely recognised as being strong and progressive. Compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is a matter for the independent Scottish Information Commissioner.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the drilling of boreholes solely for the purpose of core sampling to assess shale and coal bed methane resource requires planning permission at all times.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: In line with the Scottish Government’s evidence-led approach to unconventional oil and gas, only boreholes to extract core samples are not included in the moratorium. Boreholes for test fracking or hydrocarbon flow testing are prohibited under the terms of th…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 have been received each year by (a) it and (b) all public authorities, also broken down by how many were answered within 20 days.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Information about the number of requests made to the Scottish Government, and how many were answered within 20 working days, is available from the FOI Annual Reports which are published on our website at: http://www.gov.scot/About/Information/FOI/Reporting. …

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to raise the £600 exemption threshold set out in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has no plans to raise the £600 exemption threshold.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that its system of (a) recording and (b) filing records ensures that it meets its obligations under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has an electronic records and document management system, with supporting guidance, which enables us to record and file the records we need to meet our FOI obligations.

29 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time by NHS as (i) audiologists, (ii) cardiac physiologists, (iii) gastro-intestinal physiologists, (iv) neurophysiologists, (v) respiratory physiologists and (vi) sleep physiologists.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the Healthcare Science clinical group, which these staff work within, is not held by ISD Scotland at this level of detail. However, the latest published ISD Scotland statistics show that the total number of full-time Healthcare Science staff ha…

12 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS whistleblowers have had disciplinary action taken against them or have experienced detriment to their career since the Whistleblower Champions scheme was introduced.

Answer · Shona Robison: Disciplinary action against any member of staff is a contractual issue between an employee and their employer and we do not hold information centrally. The Management of Employee Conduct and Implementing and Reviewing Whistleblowing Arrangements in NHS Scotl…

4 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will hold an inquiry into alleged unethical and illegal undercover police operations since 1968.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is extremely disappointed that the UK Government has indicated it will not extend the remit of the Pitchford Inquiry to consider the activities of undercover Metropolitan Police units in Scotland. We continue to believe that a single i…

4 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government not extending the terms of reference of its inquiry into undercover policing, how any victims of unethical or illegal undercover police operations in Scotland can seek access to the truth and justice.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The options available will depend on the individual’s specific circumstances and could include a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a complaint to the relevant police force, or a civil court action.

4 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland it considers have been victims of alleged illegal or unethical undercover police operations since 1968.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

4 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with alleged victims of illegal and unethical undercover police operations.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has received and replied to a number of enquiries around the issues under consideration by the Pitchford Inquiry.

21 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on charging students from EU member states university fees following the UK's exit from the EU.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Funding arrangements will be determined as part of wider discussions on Scotland's membership of the EU in the light of the outcome of the Referendum. We welcome the contribution EU students make to our society, culture and economy. EU students add to the di…

7 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are employed by the NHS as (a) audiologists, (b) cardiac physiologists, (c) gastrointestinal physiologists, (d) neurophysiologists, (e) respiratory physiologists and (f) sleep physiologists.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the Healthcare Science clinical group, which these staff work within, is not held by ISD Scotland at this level of detail. However, the latest published ISD Scotland statistics show that the overall number of Healthcare Science staff in NHSSco…

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact a 15% rate of corporation tax would have on (a) employment, (b) tax yield and (c) the funding of public services in Scotland.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy, the Scottish Government believes that changes to corporation tax should focus on creating a long-term competitive advantage by using targeted changes in tax allowances to encourage higher levels of investment in cap…

29 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the award of a contract to rebuild the Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building to Kier Construction, which has agreed to pay compensation to blacklisted workers, and what plans it has to tighten the rules on awarding contracts to companies that have blackliste…

Answer · Derek Mackay: The award of a contract to Kier Construction to rebuild the Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building is a matter for The Glasgow School of Art. Despite employment law being a reserved matter, the Scottish Government has gone further than any other part o…

29 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the publication of undercover policing authorised professional practice guidance in England and Wales; whether it plans to introduce similar guidance in Scotland, and, if so, when.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of the draft Authorised Professional Practice (APP), which is currently out to consultation, on undercover policing. This has been produced by the College of Policing. Police Scotland is working towards full ad…

20 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact reductions in local government budgets are having on communities.

13 Jun 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the future of paediatric services across Lothian.