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-16483

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the 17 independent colleges in Scotland referred to in letter 2013/0016689, dated 8 July 2013, to John Mason from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning.

The Scottish Government provides support with respect to courses delivered by 57 independent private institutions in Scotland. The names are as follows:

Achievable Care Training Scotland

Cairellot Learning Centre

Care Now

Care Skills Direct

CBT Ltd

Childcare Management Company

Childcare in the Community

Complementary Therapy School

Concentric Training

Edinburgh Creche Group

Experential Play Ltd

FTS Training Ltd

Gibson Training and Care Ltd

Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector

GMD Community Services

Happitots Day Nursery Training Ltd

Health and Social Care Training Consortium

Highlang and Moray Accredited Training

International Christian College

Interactive Design Ltd

Jays Consultancy

JHP Training

L&G Learning Scotland Ltd

Loretto Housing Association and Care

Linked Work and Training Trust

Minerva People Ltd

Megans Specialist Training

Microcom Training

North Edinburgh Childcare

Oilean Ltd

Opus Learning Ltd

PA Training

Q Train Ltd

Qualitas International

Quarriers

Quest Scotland Ltd

RT Resources

Rowan Consultancy

Ritchies Training Centre

Scottish Swimming Association

Sense Scotland

Scotia Law Training

Shelter Scotland

Simpson House Training

Step-Up

Stirling Council Children’s Services

Supporta Care

Thistle Training

Training Matters

Training Solutions Scotland Ltd

TESOL Training Scotland Ltd

The Care at Home Training Consortium

Training for Care

TELL Organisation

The Zone

Victim Support Scotland

WLR Associates Ltd

Question reference: S4W-16482

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason students from England studying at the Scottish Baptist College and the International Christian College in Glasgow are eligible for loans from the Student Loans Company to pay their fees and students from Scotland are not.

Policy on fees and loans is different in Scotland and England.

Students living in Scotland who attend publically funded institutions in Scotland do not have to pay tuition fees whereas students in England are liable for fees of up to £9000 and are provided with an opportunity to apply for loans to cover the cost.

Students living in Scotland attending some private institutions receive fee support. It is a matter for each private institution to set their own level of fees, however the general level of contribution payable by the Scottish Ministers in 2012-13 was fixed at £1205. In the particular case of the International Christian College, the contribution was fixed at £1783. Beyond that, the student is responsible for paying the balance.

Providing student loans involves a cost to the Scottish Government. In the case of private institutions, and in line with the policy that applies in the case of publicly funded institutions, the Scottish Ministers have decided to use the resources that are available to meet the cost of a fee contribution rather than provide a fee loan.

Question reference: S4W-16488

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 5 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the mix of alleged criminals caught in Scotland as a result of calls from mobile phones in the recent Crimestoppers poster campaign reflects the ethnic mix in Scotland or in the UK.

Question reference: S4W-15637

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 25 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been adopted in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S4W-15639

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 25 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many children would be affected if St Margaret’s Children and Family Care Society was to close.

Question reference: S4W-15638

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 25 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what contact it has had with St Margaret’s Children and Family Care Society regarding the recent ruling by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator that its policies discriminate against same-sex couples.

Question reference: S4F-01504

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 June 2013

To ask the First Minister what effect the 2015-16 Spending Review will have on the Scottish Government's budget.

Question reference: S4W-15123

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 30 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to encourage GPs to open surgeries for longer hours.

The Scottish Government is investing approximately £12 million annually in an enhanced service arrangement to extend GP surgery opening hours beyond core hours. Participation in enhanced services are optional for GP practices and in 2012 we introduced more flexible scheme arrangements to encourage even more GP practices to offer extended hours.

Practice participation in the revised scheme averaged 80.5% across the country in 2012 increasing from 73.5% in 2011. The 2012 participation figure for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's GP practices was 83.5% compared to 76.3% in the previous year.

As part of the successfully negotiated General Medical Services contract settlement for 2013-14 we have an agreed commitment from the Scottish General Practitioners’ Committee to review GP access and we will be exploring ways to improve these arrangements in the year ahead.

Question reference: S4W-15125

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages local authorities to promote greater recycling.

The case for improving recycling rates is simple: it is good for our environment and it is good for our economy. We estimate that councils will be able to save in the region of £180 million in the cost of their waste services by 2025 if they meet the 70% target set out in the Zero Waste Plan. That is money that can be reinvested in other vital services. At the same time, the materials collected for recycling have a monetary value that can support the growth of our recycling and reprocessing sectors, ultimately helping create economic and employment opportunities across Scotland. This alone should be encouragement enough.

Through the Zero Waste Scotland programme, I have put in place additional targeted support to help councils realise these opportunities including £5 million this year to support the roll-out of food waste collections and £350,000 to improve the quality of bring sites and support glass collections. This targeted support is, of course, only part of a much broader package of support being provided to businesses and councils across Scotland.

The local government concordat gives councils the flexibility and freedom to make decisions on how best to deliver waste services in order to meet zero waste targets and wider objectives. A number of councils in Scotland are leading the way with recycling rates that are already approaching 60%. Other councils, however, are not performing so well and they need to look to those that are and follow their example.

Question reference: S4W-15124

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle diesel spillages as a result of brimming.