Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-02028

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what role the Education Maintenance Allowance plays in encouraging young people to stay on at school.

Question reference: S5F-02247

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2018

To ask the First Minister how many Syrian refugees have been resettled in Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-01953

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the renewable energy industry.

The ambitious targets set out in our new Energy Strategy show how seriously we take our commitment to supporting and growing Scotland’s renewable energy potential.

We have pioneered unique legislative changes and made funding available to support the growth of offshore wind and marine renewables in Scottish waters. We have made crystal clear our view that onshore wind and other low cost renewable technologies will continue to play a major role in powering Scotland’s low carbon future. And our £60 million Low Carbon Innovation Funding call is currently inviting bids from projects which will advance our renewable heat and transport ambitions. We have also provided £35 million through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme, or CARES, to support 600 operational community and locally owned projects.

Low Carbon and Renewable energy already supports almost 50,000 jobs across Scotland, and generates a turnover £11 billion. The sector is not without its challenges, but we remain determined to work with our stakeholders to overcome these, and to continue its increasing contribution to sustainable economic growth.

Question reference: S5W-15036

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all patients diagnosed with bowel cancer are tested for Lynch syndrome, in light of evidence suggesting that the condition can dramatically increase a person’s chance of developing bowel cancer by up to 80%.

It is current protocol for all NHS Scotland Health Boards to ensure appropriate referral and testing for Lynch syndrome, for all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 60.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recommended extending referral and testing for Lynch syndrome to all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The impacts of this recommendation are currently being reviewed by NHS Scotland’s Molecular Pathology Consortium (MPC).

Question reference: S5W-14786

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 22 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what proposals the Scottish Law Commission has for future law reform projects.

I have agreed with the Scottish Law Commission its Tenth Programme of Law Reform, which covers the work to be undertaken by the Commission for the five year period from 2018 until the end of 2022. The Programme was presented to Parliament today and is also being published today. The Programme is also available online from the Scottish Law Commission website.

The projects which will be undertaken under the Tenth Programme have been selected following consultation by the Commission. The Programme includes existing projects which began under the Ninth Programme, such as work on contracts law, heritable securities and aspects of leases. A joint project with the Law Commission on surrogacy will also be undertaken. In addition, the Commission expects to undertake new projects which will cover the homicide, aspects of family law and some aspects of the law on damages for personal injury.

I welcome this Programme, which represents a varied and relevant set of proposals, and look forward to receiving reports from the Commission in due course. We will continue to work with the Commission over ways of taking forward the proposals in those reports, and will continue with the system introduced last year of providing initial responses to reports within 3 months of publication.

The Scottish Law Commission also has a general remit to keep the law of Scotland under review for the purpose of promoting reform and development of the law. In addition to the Programme of Law Reform agreed with Ministers, the Commission also receives from Ministers references on specific issues and provides other advice on specific areas of the law.

Question reference: S5W-14470

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 8 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether the First Minister plans to publish a new edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

The 2018 edition of the Scottish Ministerial Code will be published today. The Code, which was last revised in August 2016, provides a code of conduct and guidance on procedures for members of the Scottish Government and Junior Scottish Ministers. A copy of the 2018 edition of the Code may be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781788515757. As well as some minor updates, the Code has been amended in line with the January 2018 edition of the UK Ministerial Code: in particular, there are explicit references to: inappropriate, bullying or harassing behaviour; the requirement on Ministers to report meetings to their Private Offices, including meetings held overseas; and the role of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. In addition, a new paragraph 4.25 reflects the provisions of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016.

Question reference: S5O-01772

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the finance secretary will ensure that the Budget supports local businesses.

The Budget delivers the most attractive system of business rates in the UK, a new £150 million Building Scotland Fund and investment of over £4 billion of infrastructure. We will be allocating £600 million of investment in our R100 programme to extend superfast broadband access to every home and business across Scotland. And the budget provides a 64 per cent uplift in funding for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work portfolio, including £2.4 billion for our enterprise and skills bodies.

These major investments will underpin our focus on innovation, infrastructure and investment, internationalisation and inclusive growth.

Question reference: S5W-14057

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 24 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position on electronic training devices for dogs.

The Scottish Government intends to ensure electronic training devices cannot be used to cause pain to animals. We will consult with animal welfare organisations to develop specific Guidance under Article 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare Scotland Act (2006). This Guidance will be published promptly to allow Courts to take it fully into account when considering criminal cases involving those accused of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

We will not be pursuing our initial plans to recognise a qualification for trainers wishing to use electronic training collars.

Initial draft guidance has been published and is available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/animal-welfare/AnimalWelfare/companion/electronictrainingaids

Question reference: S5W-14028

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-13831

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 22 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that recent figures published by the Department of Work and Pensions on the performance of assessment providers Capita and Independent Assessment Services show that neither are meeting contractual targets of 97% of assessments conforming to standards, and how it aims to improve the assessment process under the new Scottish social security system.

The Scottish Government has noted the supporting statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions, and remains concerned about many aspects of the UK Government's current social security system. We continue to hear from individuals who have experienced distress as a result of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) assessments, and delays in the system exacerbate this for individuals.

As we have made clear from the outset, the Scottish Government is committed to introducing a social security system that is founded on dignity and respect. We are designing an assessment process which prioritises the needs of the disabled person – not the needs of those delivering the assessment.

We have made a clear commitment that profit making companies will not be involved in delivering assessments for disability benefits once devolved to Scotland. The culture and attitude of assessors will also incorporate dignity and respect. To ensure this, and to increase the quality of assessments, there will be consistent and appropriate training of assessors.

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