Parliamentary questions
Liam Kerr
2,176 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many delays to scheduled ferry sailings there have been in each month since January 2016, broken down by (a) route and (b) reason for the delay, and what it considers to be a delay in this context.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06999 on 2 March 2017. 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/2…
8 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many scheduled ferry sailings were cancelled in each month in 2016 due to weather conditions, broken down by route.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Information in respect of cancelled and delayed sailings on the Northern Isles Ferry Services, operated by Serco NorthLink Ferries can be found on their website by following the link below. http://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/information/publications/ In relat…
7 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of taking ferry services into public ownership.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06959 on 22 February 2017. 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/parliamentarybusines…
7 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its statement on Scottish ferry services on 2 February 2017, and in light of its stated preference for an "in-house provider" of these services, whether this also applies to its rail policy.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: In my Statement to Parliament I announced a policy review to identify and consider the legal, policy and financial implications relevant to the procurement of ferry services. I made clear that we could not pre-judge the outcome of that review. If the Teckal e…
7 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its statement on 2 February 2017 on Scotland's ferry services, whether it will provide further details of its plans relating to "an in-house provider without the need for competitive tendering".
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The ferry services procurement policy review will consider in detail the legal, policy and financial implications relevant to the procurement of ferry services in the future. This will include consideration of whether it is possible to make a direct award to …
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-00336 by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2016 (Official Report, c. 4), whether the minister’s comments that “those who have a bus pass will keep that bus pass” and “there will be no change to the scheme for those with a disability” is consistent with the…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The comments I made in response to S5T-00336 are consistent with the draft budget. Following negotiations with the bus industry, we have reached an agreement on reimbursement terms for 2017-18 which is underpinned by the economic model agreed with the indust…
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact using £1.8 million from the SQUIRE Fund to help pay for the so-called "free week" of ScotRail travel will have on the work to improve access to (a) stations and (b) trains, and what its position is on whether using the SQUIRE Fund in this manner is in line with the fund's pur…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: There will be no impact on work to improve access to (a) stations or (b) trains by applying the financial penalties held within the SQUIRE Investment Funds to the ScotRail fares initiative. £834,000 from the Investment Fund has already been allocated for stat…
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish details of the (a) budgetary and (b) other planning it used when developing the so-called "free week" of ScotRail travel, and what discussions it has had with the ScotRail Alliance regarding the proposal.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: In December 2016, the Scottish Government announced a £3 million fares initiative for 2017, which will include a free week of travel for monthly and annual Season ticket holders. Scottish Government officials agreed with ScotRail Alliance representatives the …
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 18 January 2017, Yousaf calls for further devolution Network Rail, whether it will publish the provisional planning that it has carried out regarding any devolution of functions of Network Rail to Scotland, and how it calculated the savings of "around £100…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government believes that the case for devolution is clear and has been set out in various reports, reviews and studies over recent years, including the Shaw Review and the more recent Reform Scotland report. The £100 million figure is informed by…
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the capital spend was by (a) it and (b) Transport Scotland on non-local authority road building in each of the last five years, broken down by region.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are committed to the largest road investment programme that Scotland has ever seen. By the end of this financial year (2016-17), we will have spent over £8 billion on our Motorways and Trunk Road Network since 2007, to ensure the strategic road network is …
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what investment it is making to improve disabled access to train stations and the rail network.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Ministers through successful use of the Access for All fund have invested over £67 million across the Scottish network improving the accessibility to 25 stations by 2019. This dedicated programme is complemented by wider Scottish government investme…
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the condition of the fleet of ferries owned by the Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and their performance standards, and when individual ferries are due to be renewed.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) a public body are established by the Scottish Ministers to provide safe, reliable, efficient and cost effective vessels for operators, communities and users in and around Scotland. CMAL employ qualified technical staff an…
18 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recording is undertaken of the number of nurses who provide cover in hospitals outside their own NHS board area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The “Safer Pre and Post Employment Checks” Partnership Information Network (PIN) Policy, which covers secondary employment, places an obligation on boards, as employers, to record details of any secondary work activity undertaken by nurses. All secondary work…
17 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures published by The Courier on 13 January 2017, which suggest that Tayside and Fife ambulance response times are the worst in the country.
Answer · Shona Robison: The average response time for call-outs in both Fife and Tayside in 2015-16 was around 7 minutes, against a national average of around 7.5 minutes. Response times are monitored on an on-going basis and are affected throughout the year by a number of factors,…
16 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it was first made aware (a) formally and (b) informally of the decision by NHS Tayside to close the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital temporarily, and when it was made aware that NHS Tayside was contemplating reducing services provided by the unit.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Ministers were made aware on 12 January 2017 that a contingency plan was to be implemented in the near future to ensure that patient safety and safe and effective inpatient and crisis assessment services are in place across Tayside, resulting in the …
16 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent decision to close the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital temporarily, whether any other units are planning to close or operate at reduced capacity or staffing (a) at the hospital and (b) elsewhere in NHS Tayside in the next two years.
Answer · Shona Robison: Across the United Kingdom challenges exist in recruiting junior doctors, specifically within Psychiatry. This has resulted in an increased reliance by NHS Tayside upon locum staff to maintain its current profile of services for mental health. Workforce pressu…
16 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of assurances given that the closure of the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital is temporary, when it is expected to reopen for patients, and whether the reopening will be at the same capacity and staffing level as at December 2016.
Answer · Shona Robison: On 1 April 2016, mental health services in Tayside became fully devolved and delegated to each of its three Health and Social Care Partnerships for Angus, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross, with the latter being responsible for the delivery of all acute and i…
11 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Flybe's decision to cancel its Dundee to Amsterdam service, and when it was first made aware of this decision.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is very disappointed by Flybe’s decision to withdraw the Dundee-Amsterdam air service. Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd has worked closely with Flybe to seek to resolve the Airline’s operational issues and will continue to work with …
6 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timetable for improvements to the road junction at Laurencekirk.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05287 on 16 December 2016. 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/parliamentarybusines…
6 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans to dual the Usan-Montrose section of the East Coast Main Line, given that it is the only piece of single track left on the line.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of its work on railway improvements between Aberdeen and the Central Belt, which represents the additional £200 million investment, announced alongside the Aberdeen City Region Deal; Transport Scotland is exploring potential options for the double tra…
4 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the average age of the ScotRail rolling stock.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Over £475 million is being invested over the next few years in ScotRail's rolling stock which will lower the average age of the fleet. This funding, provided through the ScotRail franchise budget, will deliver 234 new carriages when the Hitachi electric class…
21 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards have policies on dealing with requests from patients to combine NHS and private healthcare.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards are expected to have a clear policy in place to deal with situations which may result in a patient requesting combined NHS and private healthcare including a medicine which is not available in the NHS as set out in the guidance published in CMO let…
21 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has produced on the interface between NHS and private health treatment, and whether it will publish this.
Answer · Shona Robison: Published guidance is contained within CMO letter 2009/03. The key purpose of the guidance is to provide a framework to support local decisions concerning the possible combination of elements of NHS and private care for individual patients. Decisions regardin…
21 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been a review, or an update provided, of the Arrangements for NHS Patients Receiving Healthcare Services Through Private Healthcare Arrangements guidance, since it was issued on 25 March 2009.
Answer · Shona Robison: The guidance issued in the CMO letter 2009/03 to all Health boards on 25 March 2009 remains extant. All guidance remains under general review to ensure it remains applicable.
21 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve cancer survival rates, in light of reports that Scotland's are the worst in western Europe.
Answer · Shona Robison: Our ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ strategy and the accompanying £100 million investment over five years, serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, aftercare and ulti…
19 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in delivering superfast broadband in the north east, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government and our partners are investing over £400 million in the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme to deliver superfast broadband coverage to at least 95% of all premises across Scotland. Progress in the North East Region, to 30 No…
12 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported shortage of GPs in north east Scotland that has resulted in waiting times of up to four weeks for a routine appointment, when extra GPs will be recruited in the region.
Answer · Shona Robison: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.
12 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how long an appointment with a GP should take.
Answer · Shona Robison: GP appointment and consultation arrangements are not regulated and are for each individual practice to determine but in general most practices book patients at 10 minute intervals. The actual length of a consultation will vary depending on the healthcare need…
22 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of the named person scheme in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Angus and (c) Dundee.
Answer · Mark McDonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-04871 on 1 December 2016. 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…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans to dual the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is committed to dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030. This significant undertaking requires careful, in-depth planning and design so we deliver the right scheme and help tackle congestion, make journey times more rel…