Questions and answers

Question reference: S5F-01674

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2017

To ask the First Minister, in light of reports that Macmillan Cancer Support is acting to combat so-called fake news regarding health conditions, what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that people are not misled by fake medical information online.

Question reference: S5O-01357

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NUS Scotland regarding protecting students from exploitative private rental agreements.

I want to be clear that I am very concerned that anyone could be exploited by private rental agreements. It leaves people open to exploitation and possible abuse and is an unacceptable practice.

On 5 June 2017 I wrote in June to the President of NUS Scotland regarding ‘sex for rent’ adverts, the exploitative practice of using free online platforms such as Craigslist to offer accommodation in return for sexual services. I have also written to online platform hosts such as Craigslist, Gumtree and Vivastreet about this issue and asked them to remove these adverts. No response from NUS Scotland has been received so far but I would be happy to discuss with them further.

The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 creates a new private residential tenancy for all future lets in Scotland from 1 December 2017 onwards and will provide tenants, including students, with additional security of tenure when they rent in the mainstream private rented sector.

Question reference: S5F-01618

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2017

To ask the First Minister how the disclosure scheme for domestic abuse, Clare's Law, has worked during its two years in practice.

Question reference: S5W-11547

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in implementing the continuity of maternity care recommendations contained in The Best Start: A Five-Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland.

The Best Start: A Five Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland contains a number of recommendations for the introduction of a continuity of carer and local delivery of care model of care. The review states that Early Adopter NHS Boards should be identified to lead the change in practice. I am pleased to announce that five Early Adopter Boards have been identified. They are:

NHS Forth Valley
NHS Highland
NHS Lanarkshire
NHS Lothian
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (part Board – Clyde only)

These Boards will begin the process of planning for implementation of this model of care in 2018. Learning from the Early Adopter Boards will be used to roll out this model of care to all NHS Boards in due course.

Question reference: S5O-01279

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to implementing a European-style ticketing model for rail travel.

Question reference: S5O-01225

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to companies selling products that improve energy efficiency and tackle climate change.

Question reference: S5F-01492

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2017

To ask the First Minister what assurances the Scottish Government has received regarding the transfer of powers to Scotland following Brexit.

Question reference: S5O-01218

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to local festivals.

Question reference: S5W-10039

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in dyslexia (a) awareness training, (b) training for student teachers and (c) education services in each of the last four years.

In each of the last four years (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17), the Scottish Government has provided a grant of £100k to Dyslexia Scotland. This year
(2017-18) the Scottish Government has doubled that grant to £200k. This is provided to Dyslexia Scotland to:

Maintain and promote the Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit - the toolkit helps teachers, student teachers and all educational support staff meet the needs of pupils with dyslexia. This online national tool identifies best practice for all education staff in schools to support pupils with dyslexia, including identification. The toolkit can be found at http://addressingdyslexia.org/home. The Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit has been widely promoted and disseminated throughout Initial Teacher Education and professional learning.

Contribute to the delivery of recommendations from the Education Scotland 2014 review of dyslexia provision 'Making Sense: Education for Children and Young People with Dyslexia in Scotland' (http://addressingdyslexia.org/making-sense-dyslexia-review). Most recently there has been the launch of the Career Long Professional Learning for Dyslexia Route Map and professional online training. The 'Introduction to Dyslexia and Inclusive Practice (http://addressingdyslexia.org/free-online-learning-modules) is the first of three; free online modules developed in response to recommendations 1, 2 and 3 of the Education Scotland review.

Promote and support the rollout of the Dyslexia and Inclusive Practice Friendly Schools pilots

Provide high quality awareness training and support through Dyslexia Awareness events

Provide advice, support and information to parents, families, young people and adults.

In addition to the funding above, the Scottish Government and Education Scotland have jointly funded a two year (from October 2015 to October 2017) Dyslexia and Inclusive Practice Development Officer post within Education Scotland. This post has a specific role to support schools and local authorities to improve outcomes for children and young people with dyslexia in line with Education Scotland and Scottish Government approaches. This includes supporting schools to adopt improvement strategies to support children with additional support needs, including those with dyslexia.

Question reference: S5O-01139

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the health secretary has met the new chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and, if so, what was discussed.

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