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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 620 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-16515

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that autism services provide equal access to diagnosis.

The Scottish Strategy for Autism sets out a framework which seeks the removal of barriers to diagnosis across Scotland; however, diagnosis is a matter for Integration Authorities (IAs). Access to diagnosis varies across IAs, and in some there is no diagnostic provision for adults without a learning disability or a mental health condition. The Scottish Government is willing to work with IA to address these inequalities in access.

In 2016, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published SIGN 145, . The Scottish Government would expect IAs to follow these guidelines.

Question reference: S5W-16613

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the seed funding for the service having ceased, how it will support the One Stop Shop initiative in providing support for people with autism and their families.

The one stop shop model was initially funded by the Scottish Government from the Scottish Strategy for Autism as a pilot to ensure autistic people received the support they needed following an autism assessment. There was an expectation that the six one stop shops would be embedded in local strategic delivery plans and become sustainable in each locality by the end of government funding. The remaining four One Stop Shops provide essential early intervention pre and post diagnostic support to autistic adults, children and their families and the services are valued however, the Scottish Government cannot continue to provide funding for local services.

Integration Authorities (IA) are responsible for the strategic planning and decision making for all services delegated to them, including services for autistic people, in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government policy. This means they are responsible for the delivery of local services and for the implementation of local autism strategies and action plans.

Question reference: S5W-16552

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, what its response is to the comment made by the managing director of the ScotRail Alliance to the Rural Affairs and Connectivity Committee on 9 May 2018 (Official Report, c. 3) that, in light of the £1.6 million fine issued to the operator because of missed targets in 2018, "our performance against the standards that are set out… could be better", and how it expects ScotRail to improve its performance against these standards.

The Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) is working as per design and continues to incentivise ScotRail to manage the improvement in performance of the services and facilities it is contracted to provide.

Due to the level of performance, Scottish Government requested action plans designed specifically to address the root causes of the poor performance. ScotRail delivered the action plans as per request but additionally instigated two organisational wide reviews, focussing on resourcing and recruitment and on managing pro-active and re-active maintenance.

It is envisaged that when the actions identified from the reviews are fully implemented they will have a significant positive impact on SQUIRE performance. Some of the actions have already been introduced and the early indications of improvement are encouraging.

Question reference: S5W-16548

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, what its response is to the comment made by the managing director of the ScotRail Alliance to the Rural Affairs and Connectivity Committee on 9 May 2018 (Official Report, c.10) regarding the Glasgow-Falkirk-Edinburgh service that "we would like to deliver 42-minute journeys on the brand new electric trains for this December [2018]. Not every service will be 42 minutes this December—that comes the following year—but that is our aspiration. Clearly, that is dependent on our having the rolling stock from Hitachi to deliver it", and what target it has set ScotRail to deliver the full 42-minute service on every journey.

The intention to provide a 42 minute journey on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High route has always been aligned with the December 2018 timetable change date. Alex Hynes, ScotRail Alliance Managing Director, confirmed at his appearance at the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 9 May 2018 he expects a fastest journey time of 42 minutes to be achieved from December 2018. The Scottish Government welcomes his commitment to explore options to improve upon this in future years.

The ScotRail Alliance has already delivered journey time improvements with some electric services on the route achieving 44 minutes since the December 2017 timetable change.

Question reference: S5W-16516

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what standards it expects from services that claim to offer specialism in dealing with autism.

The Scottish Strategy for Autism provides a framework for Integration Authorities (IAs), who are responsible for the strategic planning and decision making for all functions delegated to them, including autism services. The Scottish Government expects IAs to commission social care services which meet the needs of the autistic person for whom they are being commissioned. Social care service providers should ensure autistic people are met with recognition and understanding, and properly supported by trained staff.

Question reference: S5W-16514

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support is provided immediately after a diagnosis of autism.

This is a matter for Integration Authorities (IAs) and varies across Scotland. In some areas support is provided in-house, while in others it is provided by the national autism charities and local third sector organisations.

We recognise the importance of pre-and post-diagnostic autism support, and that is why the Scottish Government has committed to working with partners to develop a national autism resource. This resource will pull together information on all the national and local resources available to autistic people and their families.

Question reference: S5W-16517

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it commissions autism services.

Question reference: S5W-16550

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the report, No Problem Here: Understanding Racism in Scotland, that Scotland has a higher rate of murders that were known or suspected to have a racist element than the rest of the UK.

Racism is completely unacceptable and we are committed to tackling it.

Racist incidents and racist hate crime have shown a downwards trend in Scotland in recent times, with racially motivated homicides being rare (in 2016-17, there were two victims of homicide that were reported to have had a racial motivation, representing 3 per cent of all victims in the latest year). The total number of homicides has fallen by 47% in the past ten years with racially motivated homicides accounting for just 1.1% of the overall figure.

One incident is too many though and we are resolved to do everything that it takes to ensure that Scotland is a place where there is zero tolerance of prejudice or bigotry in any form. That’s why our Race Equality Action Plan: A Fairer Scotland for All was published in December and includes over 120 actions which we will take over the lifetime of this Parliament to tackle racism and to improve the lives of minority ethnic communities in Scotland. This includes work to tackle hate crime and prejudice, and build greater community cohesion.

Question reference: S5F-02379

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2018

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that nearly £4 million is being spent on sending X-rays, and CT and MRI scans to radiologists outwith Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-16513

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 17 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what training regarding autism is provided to (a) people working in the criminal justice system, (b) teachers and (c) community psychiatric nurses.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing awareness and understanding of autism for staff working in health and social care, education and criminal justice.

a) Through the Scottish Strategy for Autism , the Scottish Government has committed funding to support work with the Supporting Offenders with Learning Disabilities (SOLD) Network, the National Autistic Society and relevant partners to set out priorities and required actions to ensure autism is understood across the justice system.

All police officers receive regular training, an element of which is designed to raise awareness of autism. Through our autism strategy, Police Scotland is working with justice partners and third sector organisations to develop further training materials and to consider measures such as autism alert cards.

b) We want all children and young people to get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential. To support those working with pupils with autism in schools, the Scottish Government has funded the Autism Toolbox. This provides information to support the identification, support and planning of learning for pupils with autism.

c) There are a number of key workforce groups who play their role in supporting autistic children and adults, including community psychiatric nurses. Strategy funding supported the development of the NHS Education Scotland Autism Training Framework and the delivery of a training plan to improve autism skills across key groups and to build capacity in the NHS workforce. The Scottish Government is committed to continue to fund the dissemination of education across the health and social care workforce.