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: S5F-00248

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2016

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to honour Scotland’s Paralympians.

Question reference: S5W-01708

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how regularly Clyde 2020 wii report formally to the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership and what format will the report take.

The agreed minutes from all Clyde 2020 Steering Group and Research Advisory Group meetings are shared with Clyde Marine Planning Partnership (CMPP) members by email. A written report on Clyde 2020 is also provided at each meeting of the CMPP. The Clyde 2020 project and the CMPP share a common Chairperson and member of staff which ensures information is shared appropriately. There is also overlap with some members of the CMPP also sitting on the Clyde 2020 Steering Group.

Question reference: S5W-01707

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the membership of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership achieves parity between all stakeholders; who will be responsible for this and, if applications for membership are rejected, what appeal process will be available.

The Marine Scotland Act 2010 requires that any group to whom marine planning powers are delegated should include representatives with an interest in the protection and enhancement of the region, its use for recreation and its use for commercial purposes. Scottish Ministers intend to delegate regional marine planning powers to the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership (CMPP) by a ministerial direction, which will require the CMPP to set out its governance arrangements within its constitution, and for Scottish Ministers to be notified of any changes in membership. The CMPP constitution and details of current membership is available on Marine Scotland’s webpage at and will also be available on the new CMPP website expected to be launched in August 2016.

Membership of the CMPP is open to the previous Firth of Clyde Forum members and any other body or person that meets the criteria set out in the constitution and wishes to apply. Decisions on applications for membership are for the CMPP to make. Should a membership application be rejected, the CMPP will provide reasons for the decision and the applicant is free to reapply if they wish to do so.

Question reference: S5W-01706

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask Scottish Government when it will announce its decision to approve or to put out to formal consultation, the proposed Clyde regulating order.

The Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust were notified of the Scottish Ministers decision not to support their application for a Firth of Clyde Regulating Order on 28 July 2016.

Having carefully considered the application Scottish Ministers decided that due to a number of factors the application will not be approved.

It is our view that there are practical difficulties in managing quota within the scope of an order in the Clyde, as well as issues such as fleet flexibility, which could undermine the quota allocation system.

We believe that a Regulating Order would also add an additional layer of management and cost to the fishing industry, and are also concerned that this could undermine current initiatives and established structures such as the Inshore Fisheries Group and Marine Planning Partnership.

There has also been a low level of support from those who would be directly managed by the Regulating Order, raising concerns that this could hinder or prevent its successful operation.

In addition, the Scottish Government has recently introduced management measures in marine protected areas in the Clyde. These measures include spatial restrictions on certain types of fishing and it is my view that we should allow these measures to bed in and review their impact before introducing any further measures.

Question reference: S5W-01329

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its timetable is for completing Scotland’s marine protected area network.

Question reference: S5F-00091

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2016

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government plans to restrict the amount of alcohol that can be sold in pubs and supermarkets.

Question reference: S5O-00039

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it considers that adverse intergenerational socioeconomic factors impact on educational attainment and what steps it will take to mitigate these over the next five years.

Question reference: S5O-00016

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the new baby boxes that it plans to distribute will have on infant health.

The boxes will be based on the successful Finnish model which has a proven record in tackling deprivation, improving health and supporting parents.

The boxes will provide a range of essential baby supplies, equipment and simple, consistent information for new parents, and will help to ease the financial burden of providing for a new born child. We are still at the very early stages of engagement and design of the baby boxes and plan to hold discussions with education and health partners, parents and carers to discuss content and other aspects of the box.

Question reference: S5F-00023

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 June 2016

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's plans are for local government reform.

Question reference: S4W-30625

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the outcome of the invitation to tender, carried out between 1 October and 6 November 2015, for service providers to administer the dedicated Survivor Support Fund for adults who were abused as children while in care.

A consortium bid consisting of three organisations: Penumbra; Health in Mind; and the Mental Health Foundation, supported by a further 26 organisations that provide services for survivors across Scotland, has been successful in securing the tender to administer the Survivor Support Fund with a total budget of £13.5 million over the next five years. Survivors have told us that they need services that are designed around their own individual needs, including: specialised counselling; physical healthcare; and support in terms of education, employment, benefits, legal advice, housing and practical matters. It is also important that, in moving forward, survivors will continue to have their needs met through existing services and that services are developed and enhanced to meet these needs.

The Survivor Support Fund will work with survivors and the services that support them to expand and enhance existing survivor support. It will offer survivors personalised care and treatment based on their individual needs, aspirations and personal goals, and provide a full range of services across Scotland, including rural areas.

The core components for the support fund have already been developed through the consortium proposal and are in place. Essential work will now focus on engagement, agreement and partnership working to deliver the support fund. During this time survivors will continue to have their needs met with no breaks in service.

The 26 support organisations referred to above are:

Action in Mind

Argyle and Bute Rape Crisis

Break the Silence

Birchwood Highland

Dundee Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre

Fife Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre

Gay Men's Health, Edinburgh

Hear Me Counselling

Kingdom Abuse Survivors Project

LGBT Centre, Edinburgh

Moira Anderson Foundation

Moving On, Ayrshire

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Psychological Trauma Services

Partners in Advocacy

Pilton Community Health Project

Rape and Abuse Resource Centre

Rape and Abuse Service, Inverness

Rape and Abuse Support, Aberdeen

Rape Crisis Centre, Edinburgh

Rape Crisis Centre, Forth Valley

Rape Crisis Centre, Glasgow

Rape Crisis Centre, Lanarkshire

Rape Crisis Centre, Western Isles

Scottish Borders Rape Crisis Centre

South West Rape Crisis Centre

Talk Now Counselling