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: S5W-17409

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many times NHS staff have faced (a) gender-based, (b) racial and (c) other forms of discrimination in each of the last five years, also broken down by how many times the alleged perpetrator was another NHS employee.

This information is not held centrally, the formal recording of any incident of discrimination is a matter for NHS Scotland health boards. The welfare of NHS Staff is absolutely paramount and we expect all health boards to take any reported incidents seriously.

The Scottish Government has taken a number of steps to embed a healthy organisational culture across NHS Scotland, in which staff can bring their whole selves to work. The NHS Scotland Staff Governance Standard commits all boards to ensuring that staff are treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect, in an environment where diversity is valued; NHS Scotland Boards report annually on local activity supporting the implementation of the Staff Governance Standard. Additionally, national staff experience measures, which all NHS Scotland staff are invited to participate in, allow staff to anonymously indicate whether they are routinely treated with fairness, consistency, dignity and respect in the workplace.

Question reference: S5W-17408

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the NHS ensures that its staff are given adequate equality training, and how it measures the effectiveness of this.

NHS Scotland’s national Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy: “Embracing Equality, Diversity and Human Rights in NHSScotland, accessible at: explicitly requires that all staff are provided with equality training and outlines a number of the common and core principles that should inform the content of that training. The PIN policy further includes specific guidance on monitoring the impact of local activity against health boards' legislative responsibilities flowing from the Public Sector Equality Duty.

To ensure that local equality training is relevant and effective, health board human resources and equality leads are required to develop and deliver training in partnership with professional organisation representatives, trade unions and staff. Boards are also able to consult with the professional organisations with which we retain national membership arrangements, including Stonewall Scotland and the Business Disability Forum.

Question reference: S5W-17375

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17080 by John Swinney on 14 June 2018, how it will publicise its plan to allow COSLA, local authorities, third sector organisations and children and young people the opportunity to hear about the main findings of the review, identify gaps and inform further refinement of the recommendations; how these bodies will take part in this process, and whether it will consider this to be part of the formal consultation.

An engagement session with COSLA, the Association of Directors in Scotland (ADES) and local authority representatives took place on the 25 June 2018.

A workshop with key third sector organisations has been arranged for 9 August and a dedicated seminar on the PSE Review has also been set up for this year’s Scottish Learning Festival taking place on the 19 September. A dedicated workshop with young people will take place in the Autumn.

The aim of these engagement sessions is to share the main findings from the PSE review and to enable key stakeholders to inform the final set of recommendations. These will be published towards the end of 2018.

Question reference: S5O-02277

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle hate crime.

Question reference: S5W-17074

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 19 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02066 by Maureen Watt on 9 May 2018 (Official Report, c. 29), whether the annual report on the mental health strategy’s actions will be presented to the Parliament prior to the summer recess and, if not, by what date it will be.

Question reference: S5W-17080

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include an open evidence stage as part of the review into personal and social education and school counselling so that schools that have not been selected to take part in the review can contribute.

Prior to the commencement of the PSE Review, an engagement session was held in conjunction with Education Scotland and COSLA, to help shape the scope of the PSE review. There was wide representation from local authorities at this session. This ensured that local authority colleagues had an opportunity to help develop the scope of the review. As a result, the review will take into account the experiences of the delivery of personal and social education in 55 schools including primary, secondary, special and early learning and child care centres across Scotland.

Prior to finalising the outcomes of the review, COSLA, Local Authorities, third sector organisations and children and young people will have an opportunity to hear about the main findings and identify gaps and inform further refinement of the recommendations.

Further information on the scope of the review is available on the Scottish Government website at .

Question reference: S5W-17081

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S5F-02355 by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 May 2018 (Official Report, c.22), whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether it will roll out a national programme of mental health teacher training and improved counselling services for secondary school pupils.

We take child and adolescent mental health very seriously. We know that prevention and early intervention make a big difference in reducing the risk of developing mental health problems. Since 2014, Education Scotland has been delivering Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid Training for Children and Young People to secondary school staff across 18 local authorities.

In 2017-18 this training was delivered to 67 secondary schools across Scotland and Education Scotland will continue to offer the training to schools, to complement the range of mental health strategies that are already in place within schools and local authorities.

In addition, the PSE review is currently underway and includes consideration of counselling services available for children and young people in schools. The review will be completed by the end of 2018.

Question reference: S5W-17088

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its review into personal and social education and school counselling.

Question reference: S5W-16623

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the estimated cost of the project to reduce journey times on the Glasgow-Falkirk-Edinburgh rail service has increased from £742 million to £858 million.

I confirmed to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 16 May that I was disappointed that Network Rail’s anticipated final costs for the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) have risen to that level. However, the delivery of EGIP remains affordable within the available funding within this railway regulatory Control Period, unlike projects managed by the UK Government in the rest of GB which are so over budget that many enhancement and renewal projects have had to be cancelled or postponed.

I committed to writing to the Committee once Network Rail has written to me formally confirming the Final Costs for EGIP.

Question reference: S5W-16822

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comment of the president of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association that pupil disobedience in schools is at "unprecedented levels".

We published the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2016 in December 2017. This is based on the views of head teachers, teachers and support staff at both primary and secondary schools across Scotland. The research found that the majority of pupils are well behaved and a credit to their school.

We want all our children and young people to behave in a respectful manner towards their peers and staff and no teacher should have to suffer abuse.

We are working closely with key stakeholders and the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviours in Schools, and will present an agreed plan of action to ensure continued improvements in behaviour can be realised.