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: S4O-01925

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what recent progress has been made on rolling out insulin pumps to people with diabetes.

Question reference: S4W-13235

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 11 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what organisations have received funding from the £300,000 it announced on 21 January 2013 for advice services dealing with requests for advice due to the UK Government’s welfare reforms; how much each has received; for what purpose in each case, and what regions will receive support from the fund.

The organisations that have received funding from the £300,000 announced on 21 January operate across Scotland. This funding is intended to relieve immediate pressure on advice organisations that are experiencing increased demands on their services as a result of the UK Government’s welfare reforms.

The breakdown of funding that has been allocated is detailed in the following table.

Organisation	Amount	Purpose
CAS	£157,532 ��	Regional Seminars focusing on changes to the welfare system for CAB managers Local Bureaux awareness raising sessions in relation to welfare benefits and changes to the welfare system
Capability Scotland	£9,018 ��	Additional training and resources for frontline advice and support services in relation to welfare benefits
One Parent Families Scotland	£19,000 ��	General welfare reform and Universal Credit sessions for staff to help them advise lone parents. Training for staff on the new Child Maintenance scheme.
Shelter Scotland	£11,160 ��	Additional training and resources for frontline advice and support services in relation to welfare benefits
Age Scotland	£5,700 ��	Additional training and resources for frontline advice and support services in relation to welfare benefits
Money Advice Scotland	£18,950 ��	Upskill debt advisers on the implications of welfare reform through regional seminars
Enable	£8,856 ��	Additional training and resources for frontline advice and support services in relation to welfare benefits
Child Poverty Action Group	£39,284 ��	Produce Universal Credit Handbooks for general advisers General awareness training for national organisations in relation to welfare benefits and changes to the welfare system Welfare related training for front line staff
Child Poverty Action Group	£14,059	Delivery of relevant welfare benefits advice and training for front-line staff, specialising in children related issues.
Barnardos	£8,903	Providing relevant welfare benefits advice and training for front-line staff, specialising in children related issues.
Children 1st	£7,538	Providing relevant welfare benefits advice and training for front-line staff, specialising in children related issues.

Total

£300,000

Question reference: S4W-13236

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 11 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how the £1.7 million it announced on 21 January 2013 to provide support to advice services dealing with requests for advice due to the UK Government’s welfare reforms will be distributed; what criteria will be used to distribute it, and for what time period the fund will be available.

On 21 January, I announced a £5.4 million package of support for advice services, of which £1.7 million will be distributed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board. This funding will be available in financial year 2013-14. We are working with stakeholders on the detailed arrangements for this funding, including the application process and criteria, and further information will be made widely available as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.

Question reference: S4W-13381

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2013
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 11 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will publish the first in its series of analytical bulletins on oil and gas.

The Scottish Government will publish the first in a series of oil and gas analytical bulletins on 11 March 2013.

The bulletin demonstrates that Scotland is a major oil and gas producer, accounting for an estimated 78% of total UK hydrocarbon production in 2011. Scotland is also estimated to be the largest producer of hydrocarbons in the EU and accounted for approximately 64% of EU oil production in 2010.

The analysis shows that significant oil and gas reserves remain in the North Sea. Oil and Gas UK estimate that up to 24 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent could still be recovered. These reserves are estimated to have a potential wholesale value of up to £1.5 trillion. This implies that – by wholesale value – more than half of the oil and gas reserves in the North Sea could still be extracted.

New internationally comparable analysis contained in the bulletin shows that Scotland is estimated to have the largest oil reserves in the EU, accounting for almost 60% of the EU total. The bulletin also estimates that Scotland has the second largest volume of proven gas reserves in the EU.

Scottish oil and gas production is estimated to have generated £10.6 billion in tax revenue during 2011-12. The sector is projected to remain a significant source of revenue in future years. The bulletin presents four potential scenarios for future North Sea tax revenue that take into account recent trends in investment and prices. The results suggest that oil and gas production in Scottish waters could generate between £41 and £57 billion in tax revenue over the six years to 2017-18. Taking the average of these scenarios suggests that oil and gas production in Scottish waters could generate approximately £48 billion in tax revenue over this period.

The Scottish Government’s Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin is the first time all of this information has been estimated. It replaces the Government’s previous estimates of production and reserves and in doing so, the bulletin sets out a clear picture of the vast potential and importance of hydrocarbons in the North Sea. It is available at:

Question reference: S4W-13056

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 5 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of disabled people who will not receive personal independence payments by 2018, who would otherwise have received disability living allowance.

The Department for Work and Pensions has produced forecasts for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) caseload in May 2018 and the counterfactual Disability Living Allowance (DLA) caseload if DLA had remained unchanged. This shows that by 2018, the DLA caseload for the UK would have been around 2,182,000 and the expected PIP caseload to be around 1,575,000. This suggests that 607,000 fewer people in the UK will be in receipt of PIP who would otherwise have received DLA.

Using this forecast on DLA and PIP caseloads and based on an 11 per cent share of the working-age DLA caseload in Scotland, it is estimated that by May 2018 the DLA caseload in Scotland would have been around 240,000, however, following the introduction of PIP the caseload is projected to be 173,000. This suggests around 67,000 fewer individuals in Scotland will be in receipt of PIP than would otherwise have received DLA.

These figures are indicative only and as such, should be treated with caution. The actual PIP caseload in May 2018 may be higher or lower than forecast assumptions.

Question reference: S4F-01200

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2013

To ask the First Minister what impact the reported 30-year high in North Sea oil investment will have on the Scottish economy.

Question reference: S4O-01793

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee regarding its forward work programme.

Question reference: S4W-11802

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by David Stewart (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): on 18 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what plans it has to make its online video archive more accessible to the general public.

Currently the online video archive on is available 24 hours after each Chamber or committee meeting and we regularly tweet direct links to archive and live video feed. Video currently remains available from the archive site for one calendar month. Each committee has its own section which includes all available archived videos. We are in the process of adding clear links to these from the committee web pages.

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In addition since September 2012, all parliamentary videos are added to the Parliament’s YouTube channel. The Parliament’s web team is currently working to improve the channel’s accessibility, and have started to add appropriate descriptions and metadata which will make the specific videos as well as the YouTube channel easier to find. There are clear links back to the Parliament’s website and Parliament.tv on the channel home page in order to improve access to all our parliamentary information. By adding content to YouTube we will be facilitating re-use of our videos both by the Parliament on our other online channels, and by other organisations and networks.

Question reference: S4W-11801

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by David Stewart (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): on 18 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what it is doing to publicise the (a) work, (b) meetings and (c) video archive footage of committees and to make it more accessible online to the general public.

All committees have a dedicated webpage, where all meeting papers and reports are published as well as background information and other appropriate content. Committee agendas are published in the Business Bulletin and are also highlighted on the home page of the Parliament’s website. Work is currently underway to review the content of the website to make it more engaging and easier to find. Committee work is promoted on the home page of the website and increasingly other social media channels.

The Parliament has recently launched a Facebook page. We have used this to promote committee inquiries, and to encourage direct interaction with the public by asking for their views on specific matters.

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This approach is also being taken on Twitter. With over 10,000 followers the corporate account is an effective means of publicising parliamentary business and widening our reach. There are also currently 5 committees with their own feeds, which are used to provide regular updates about the work of the committee, including links to the website, relevant parliamentary papers and live and archive video feeds.

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In addition to the recent work on YouTube outlined in response to S4W-11802, the content has also been organised into “playlists” to make it easier for users to browse the channel. These are broken down by committee to enable visitors to quickly go to the committee of choice and see what videos are available to watch.

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The Conveners Group recently endorsed an approach to promoting the work of committees through the media. This includes having tailored media plans for each committee and promoting the committees’ work through news releases, use of embargoes, case studies, video clips and high profile witnesses.

Committees are also supported to undertake fact-finding visits, external meetings and events which are all designed to improve levels of engagement with, and knowledge of, committee work. Other methods of engagement include the use of community outreach sessions and activities in schools and more recently the establishment of a ‘Parliament Day’ initiative which was built around an external committee meeting.

Question reference: S4W-11854

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 16 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland under 25 are in receipt of housing benefit and how many of them have dependent children.