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: S5O-00650

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it will provide to North Ayrshire Council in 2017-18 to improve educational attainment.

Question reference: S5O-00626

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK Government’s welfare reforms have had on North Ayrshire's economy.

The UK Government’s welfare changes are impacting across the whole of Scotland. By 2019-20, the cuts are expected to take £1 billion per annum out of the Scottish economy. This inevitably has a major impact on low income households and a knock on impact on local economies. The Scottish Government continues to do what it can with the resources it has to mitigate the impact of UK welfare changes, including the Scottish Welfare Fund (£38million); mitigating the Bedroom Tax (£35million); and the council tax reduction scheme (£23million).

Question reference: S5F-00801

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2017

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on the UK Government's new industrial strategy.

Question reference: S5O-00461

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact its forthcoming budget will have on Ayrshire.

Question reference: S5O-00444

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that the UK Government has informed local authorities that, from 1 December 2016, people who apply for, or renew, a taxi driver licence must provide proof of their right to work in the UK, even if they were born here.

The UK Government’s 2016 Immigration Act introduced a wide range of new duties including embedding checks into the licensing of taxis and private hire cars across the UK from 1 December 2016. Immigration control is reserved to Westminster despite when there is a clear impact on devolved matters.

The Scottish Government is concerned at the burdensome checks Scottish local authorities now must perform and we have made this case to the Home Office over the past year. We have also pressed them to provide guidance and support to local authorities on the new checks that they are to perform. The Home Office have taken some steps to reduce the impact on trade, and provided guidance and training for local authority staff.

Question reference: S5F-00498

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2016

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent survey by Nielsen that indicates that 69% of spirits sold in Scotland fall below a minimum unit price of 50p.

Question reference: S5O-00345

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact is on Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service of having to make VAT payments.

Question reference: S5W-04005

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of an expanded Heathrow Airport would be on Scotland.

The impact on Scotland will be determined by how airlines and passengers respond to increased capacity being available. Potentially, airports with no service or limited services to London Heathrow could benefit, with wider benefits for Scotland from improved connectivity for business and new opportunities for inbound tourism.

Expansion at Heathrow offers strong incentives for all of Scotland including the creation of up to 16,000 new jobs and a minimum of £200 million construction-related spend during planning and construction. There is also the potential for the establishment of a new supply chain hub at Glasgow Prestwick Airport to support the building of the third runway.

Question reference: S5O-00230

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the chief executive of NHS Ayrshire and Arran and what will be discussed.

Question reference: S5W-02638

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Isle of Arran not being covered by the Met Office mountain weather forecast, what discussions it has had with sportscotland regarding how the withdrawal of funding for the Mountain Weather Information Service could impact on the safety of climbers on the island.

The Scottish Government's priority is to ensure the long-term provision of critical mountain weather forecasting and that is precisely what will be delivered. I can confirm that this includes funding to Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) for the next three years to allow the continuation of this trusted and valued service.

The future service will be informed by both users and providers such as MWIS to ensure any future service will be enhanced.