Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-18638

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the IT failure at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, whether (a) domain name system requests had been failing from 26 September 2013 and (b) new web filter software had been brought online on the day of the failure and, if so, for what reason this is not mentioned in the report, Technical Assurance Review: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Critical Incident - 1 October 2013.

Question reference: S4W-18690

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the implementation plans produced by NHS boards for Neonatal Care in Scotland: a Quality Framework will be made public and, if so, in what form.

The new Local Delivery Plan format, focusing on the 12 priority areas for action in the Routemap to the 2020 Vision for Health and Social Care, will give NHS boards the opportunity to set out the action they are taking to implement Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework.

Considerable progress has already been made, with the vast majority of statements in Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework already being met, and full implementation taking place over the next five to 10 years.

Question reference: S4W-18691

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how regularly it will meet (a) NHS boards and (b) managed clinical networks to discuss progress toward implementing Neonatal Care in Scotland: a Quality Framework.

Discussions with NHS boards and managed clinical networks are underway to determine what the process will be for monitoring the implementation of Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework. Once agreed with Ministers, the governance process will form part of this discussion.

Question reference: S4T-00540

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle alcohol misuse.

Question reference: S4W-18287

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many companies are registered (a) green deal assessors, (b) green deal installers and (c) both.

Question reference: S4W-18289

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what qualifications a green deal assessor is required to have.

Question reference: S4W-18290

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the PAS2030 requirements are for a green deal installer.

PAS 2031:2012 requires both the installation service process evaluation (desk based assessment) and installation service delivery evaluation (on-site assessment) to take place in order for an accredited Green Deal certificate to be issued to an applicant installer, in line with the requirements of BS EN 45011 standard.

Certification requirements will vary depending on the applicants existing qualifications, experience and size of their organisation.

Further information on the PAS 2030 requirements for a Green Deal Installer can be found at the following link:

Question reference: S4W-18285

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) much it costs and (b) long it takes for a fully qualified tradesperson to achieve PAS2030 certification.

(a) Costs are determined by the Certification Body. Prices may start at around £400-500. However it is a competitive market and costs may vary between Certification Bodies. Costs are also influenced by the following factors:

The size of the company;

Measures they wish to become certified for;

Existing qualifications and competence of the operatives (certification requires operatives to have appropriate qualifications / competence but does not train or qualify people)

What are the existing management systems in place, and what additional procedures/proves need to be developed; and

Availability of the Certification Body, e.g. how soon auditor is available to undertake the audit;

Similar factors

(b) The timeline for a tradesperson to achieve certification also depends on the above mentioned factors, but in general terms it could take 6-8 weeks.

More information can be found on Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body (GDORB) website at the following link:

Question reference: S4W-18291

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what help is available to small businesses to enable them to achieve PAS2030 certification.

There is no available funding for accreditation or certification. However, financial support is available to Scottish businesses through the Low Carbon Skills Fund managed by Skills Development Scotland. This fund has been established to enable employers to have access to funding to undertake training to support sustainable development and growth. This includes learning and training to improve resource and energy efficiency; to adopt innovate technologies or new sustainable practices and processes; and to identify new market opportunities.

LCSF allows Scottish Businesses with up to 250 employees to apply for up to £12,500 towards employee training and can provide 50% of training costs (to a maximum of £500 per episode) for up to 25 episodes of training.

LCSF has supported over 2,100 episodes of training since Oct 2010.

Question reference: S4W-18288

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how the requirements for PAS2030 certification differ from those for being gas safe approved.

The Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body (GDORB) has been working very closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Gas Safe Register and other stakeholders to identify a solution that would recognise the existing qualifications and competencies of Gas Safe registered businesses.

The technical requirements for installers under the Green Deal are set out in the BSI standard PAS 2030. Following the initial gap analysis, it has been concluded that being Gas Safe registered alone is not sufficient to allow Gas Safe registered business to operate under the Green Deal and certification to PAS 2030 is required in addition to holding current certificates of competence and Gas Safe registration. In addition, the installers are required to sign up to the Green Deal Code of Practice, which sets out the obligations around the conduct of Green Deal participants, such as selling practices and contracting.

As the assessment by Green Deal Certification Bodies of companies installing gas measures will include an assessment of compliance with gas safety regulations, it has been agreed that Gas Safe registration for relevant types of work will be accepted as a method for demonstrating compliance with the gas safety elements of PAS 2030. However, the installation company will still be required to be approved and certified against PAS 2030 (in particular the quality management systems and installation processes requirements) by a Certification Body accredited by United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Further information can be found at: