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-22030

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 15 July 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of (a) disabled people, (b) lone parents, (c) women and (d) young people who received a jobseekers allowance sanction in Scotland in each year from 2009 to 2013.

As benefits are reserved to the UK Government the Scottish Government does not collect information on the number of individuals who have been sanctioned. However, the Department for Work and Pensions publishes data on the number of individuals in receipt of an adverse sanction decision on their Stat-Xplore tool. The following table shows the number of individuals in Scotland who received an adverse sanction for Jobseekers Allowance each year from 2009 to 2013.

Number of individuals in in Scotland receipt of an adverse sanction for Jobseekers Allowance, 2009 to 2013

��	2009	2010	2011	2012*	2013
Disabled people	8,026	10,239	9,677	11,616	13,128
Lone Parents	476	1,042	1,635	2,576	3,157
Women	7,914	9,832	10,034	13,276	13,993
Young People**	16,857	19,797	18,622	22,290	20,699

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore tool [Accessed 7 July 2014]

Notes: * The UK Government introduced a new sanction regime from 22 October 2012. Data for 2012 therefore includes both the old and new regime.

**Young people are defined as those aged 16 to 24

Question reference: S4W-21916

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update of the action it is taking to implement the Renewable Heat Action Plan in order to deliver its target to meet 11% of heat demand from renewable sources by 2020.

I am pleased to announce that I laid a report in Parliament on 26 June 2014 which updates the actions the Scottish Government is taking to implement the Renewable Heat Action Plan. Copies of the report are available on the Scottish Government website at:

In addition the Energy Saving Trust published their report on Renewable Heat in Scotland for 2013 on 26 June 2014. The report shows that in 2013 renewable heat capacity increased by 18% and heat generated from renewable sources by 17% compared with 2012, indicating that Scotland is making good progress towards meeting the renewable heat target by 2020. A copy of the Energy Saving Trust report is available at the following link: .

Question reference: S4O-03411

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the application in schools of Getting it Right for Every Child for children who require additional support.

Question reference: S4W-20808

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its agencies provide adult changing places.

Question reference: S4W-20805

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to increase the availability of adult changing places since 2011.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the availability of changing places in buildings with public access. The Scottish Government’s new strategy for learning disability The keys to life recommends that 100 Changing Places be available by June 2015 and PAMIS has been commissioned to help make this happen. Since The Keys to life was published in June 2013 the number of changing places has increased from 85 to 92 in Scotland and there are a number waiting to be registered.

Question reference: S4W-20807

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has given consideration to making provision of adult changing places a requirement of large developments or transport hubs.

Question reference: S4W-20806

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it provides subsidies to bodies looking to install adult changing places.

Question reference: S4W-20809

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to increase the provision of adult changing places in premises that it owns or operates.

Question reference: S4F-02012

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2014

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the Trident nuclear weapons system being based in Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-03046

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Aberdeen City Council and what issues were discussed.