Parliamentary questions
Neil Findlay
2,296 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the NHS in Scotland of the US court case in which Boston Scientific was ordered to pay $100 million to a woman who had been fitted with a vaginal mesh implant manufactured by the company.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is aware of this court case in the USA. The former Cabinet Secretary asked that an independent review of transvaginal mesh implants carries out an assessment of the evidence. The report is due in summer 2015 and thereafter the Scottis…
9 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make women fitted with Boston Scientific Advantage Fit and Pinnacle implants aware that they have been fitted with these products.
Answer · Shona Robison: Any woman who is worried, or is experiencing complications, should contact their surgeon or GP for advice.
9 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its commitment to grow the annual number of new starts to modern apprenticeships from 25,000 to 30,000 by 2020 includes pupils participating in foundation apprenticeships.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: Our commitment to grow the annual number of modern apprenticeship starts will not include pupils participating in foundation apprenticeships while at school.
8 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government which ministers have met representatives of the Government of Qatar since it was awarded the 2022 World Cup.
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff each local authority needs to recruit to meet government teacher number targets and how much funding it is providing them with to support this, also broken down by local authority.
Answer · Angela Constance: All local authorities have committed to maintain as a minimum the total number of teachers they employ at 2014-15 levels and also the maintenance, as a maximum, of the pupil teacher ratio for schools within their authority at the 2014-15 levels as reported in…
26 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much is paid in recruitment and retention allowance or other market-based pay supplements by each employer covered by its technical guidance on public sector pay policy for staff pay remits for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold centrally the specific amounts paid as recruitment and retention allowances or other market-based pay supplements.
26 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many posts in each public body covered by its technical guidance on public sector pay policy for staff pay remits for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 attract recruitment and retention allowance or other market-based pay supplements, broken down by (i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) geographi…
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.
26 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the EU for advice on how to pay the living wage through public procurement and, if so, whether it will publish the advice it received.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish Ministers have written to the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services on two separate occasions (in May 2012 and again in May 2014) to seek clarification on whether public bodies can make payment of a living wage a mandatory requiremen…
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many companies that have been awarded regional selective assistance in each year since 2010 have entered administration.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for regional selective assistance transferred to Scottish Enterprise (SE) in 2011, this is an operational matter for SE. I will ask the Chief Executive of SE to write to you with this information.
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what scrutiny it carries out of companies in receipt of regional selective assistance to ensure that they maintain or develop employment at the levels promised in their application.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for regional selective assistance transferred to Scottish Enterprise (SE) in 2011, this is an operational matter for SE. I will ask the Chief Executive of SE to write to you with this information.
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that companies in receipt of regional selective assistance (a) pay their employees the living wage and (b) employ all staff on permanent full-time contracts.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for Regional Selective Assistance transferred to Scottish Enterprise (SE) in 2011, this is an operational matter for SE. I will ask the Chief Executive of SE to write to you with this information.
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many companies since 2010 that have been in receipt of regional selective assistance have (a) paid all their employees at least the living wage and (b) set working conditions that are consistent with the Fair Work Agenda.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for regional selective assistance transferred to Scottish Enterprise (SE) in 2011, this is an operational matter for SE. I will ask the Chief Executive of SE to write to you with this information.
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25060 by Roseanna Cunningham on 21 April 2015, which organisations have received funding from the support offered for non-formal adult learning to the voluntary sector and how much they received.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Education Scotland manages the Scottish Government funding for non-formal adult learning to the voluntary sector; they have awarded a total of £2,161,100 over the three years 2013 to 2016. This funding is broken down in the following table. Name of grant Or…
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to colleges in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · Angela Constance: The following table shows funding invested by the Scottish Government in colleges. Year Resource Funding (£ million) Capital Funding (£ million) 2007-08 534 122 2008-09 523 92 2009-10 584 107 2010-11 591 109 2011-12 556 50 2012-13 546 28 …
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many agency staff have been employed by colleges in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · Angela Constance: Data on how many agency staff have been employed by colleges is not held centrally.
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many college teachers have been employed on (a) part-time, (b) full-time and (c) temporary contracts in each year since 2007-08, and how many hours of teaching have been recorded.
Answer · Angela Constance: The latest available data on teaching staff at colleges in Scotland are Scottish Funding Council data for 2012-13. Table 1 shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed on a permanent and temporary basis, working full-time and part-time at col…
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) disabled people and (b) people with learning difficulties have been enrolled in colleges in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · Angela Constance: The latest available data on students in colleges in Scotland are Scottish Funding Council data for 2013-14. Table 1 shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students with a recorded disability at Scotland's colleges in each year since 2007-08. It is no…
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) part- and (b) full-time students have been enrolled at colleges in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by (i) age and (ii) gender.
Answer · Angela Constance: The latest available data on students in colleges in Scotland are Scottish Funding Council data for 2013-14. Tables 1 to 4 show the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students studying full-time and part-time at colleges in each year since 2007-08, broken d…
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what scrutiny it carries out of the financial state of companies when considering whether to award regional selective assistance.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for regional selective assistance transferred to Scottish Enterprise (SE) in 2011, this is an operational matter for SE. I will ask the Chief Executive of SE to write to you with this information.
18 May 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional financial support it has provided to West Lothian Council to recruit additional teachers in line with government policy on class sizes.
18 May 2015 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Government is making on increasing the number of companies and organisations paying the living wage.
13 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nurses there are, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital and whether this is in line with the recommended level in the IBD Standards 2013.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested on how many specialist IBD nurses there are, broken down by NHS board and hospital, is not centrally held or published by National Services Scotland (Information Services Division). The Scottish Government has a good working relatio…
13 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce the Lobbying Transparency Bill during the current parliamentary session and, if so, when.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The government has consistently said that the findings of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s inquiry would be key to determining the best way forward. We have taken the time required to give the committee’s extensive report the care…
13 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports any part of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations and what concerns it has in relation to these negotiations.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has previously made clear that it believes that the negotiations must be as transparent as possible. We welcome the steps the commission has taken to publish position papers and negotiating texts and encourage further steps in this dir…
13 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) EU at which the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has been discussed.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has discussed the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the UK Government at a range of Joint Ministerial Committee meetings since March 2014. The First Minister discussed TTIP with the Prime Minister when they met…
13 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has (a) undertaken an assessment, (b) conducted a review or (c) published a report on the potential impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on Scotland’s public services.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is aware of the potential risks of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) for Scotland’s public services and has raised these concerns with the UK Government and the European Commission. However it is not possible to…
13 May 2015 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has assessed whether the current levels of resources provided to members will ensure that they will be able to carry out their work effectively following the devolution of further powers.
Answer · Liz Smith: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s assessment of workload implications will include any additional demands on members.
13 May 2015 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether its current level of funding will be adequate to ensure effective governance and scrutiny following the devolution of further powers.
Answer · Liz Smith: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has a duty to provide the Parliament with the property, services and staff it requires. The assessments referred to in answer to question S4W-25543 will inform the SPCB’s budget strategy for future years as wil…
13 May 2015 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assessment it has carried out of whether the Parliament's committee system will allow the effective revision and scrutiny of the legislative process following the devolution of further powers.
Answer · Liz Smith: The organisation and performance of committees is not a matter for the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. However, the Presiding Officer’s reform agenda has as its focus the capacity of committees, which includes taking into account the impact of new powe…
13 May 2015 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assessment it has made of the structures and practices of the Parliament and their capacity to cope with the additional responsibilities and workload following the devolution of further powers.
Answer · Liz Smith: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has been assessing the scrutiny and other parliamentary workload implications of the draft clauses, published in Scotland in the United Kingdom: An Enduring Settlement by the previous UK Government. It will closely mo…