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 MSPs 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-04579

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last met the Chief Constable and what they discussed.

Question reference: S4O-04570

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport last met the board and chief executive of NHS Lanarkshire and what was discussed.

Question reference: S4O-04535

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 2 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage developers to build housing on brownfield sites rather than bring forward plans for using agricultural and greenbelt land.

Question reference: S4O-04446

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP out-of-hours services are co-located with or in close proximity to A&E departments.

I announced a national review of primary care out-of-hours services on 30 January 2015.

The report of the review, which is due in September 2015, will set out information relating to how health boards deliver primary care services when GP surgeries are closed. This will include location details of where, in their local health board area, patients can access these services. Of the information made available to us by health boards at this time, almost all health boards have at least one primary care out-of-hours facility co-located with or in close proximity to a hospital accident and emergency department within their locality. Also, from information currently available to us, there are approximately one third of primary care out-of-hours centres co-located with hospital accident and emergency departments throughout Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-04410

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will review its commitment to maintaining a minimum of 17,234 police officers in Police Scotland.

We will continue to protect police numbers and ensure delivery of the benefits of reform. This has contributed to an almost 40 year low in recorded crime. There are now 1,000 more police officers in Scotland than there were in 2007 despite Westminster cuts. In contrast, in England and Wales officer numbers are expected to drop by more than 15,000 in total with numbers now at their lowest level in 11 years.

Question reference: S4O-04285

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs will announce the location and timetable for the development of a permanent Scottish film studio.

Question reference: S4O-04248

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS chief executives were awarded performance-based pay progression of more than 1%, based on performance in the years 2014-15.

Question reference: S4W-24295

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 16 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage public transport providers to pass on the reduced costs of fuel to consumers through cheaper fares.

The Scottish Government is committed to encouraging more people to use public transport and has taken action to make fares more affordable. For example from 1 April 2015 ScotRail’s regulated peak fares increases will be capped at the level of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) instead of RPI plus one per cent. Road equivalent tariff to ferry fares currently in operation on services to Western Isles, Coll and Tiree, Islay, Gigha, Colonsay and to Arran will also be rolled out to remaining Clyde and Hebrides routes in October 2015, allowing for substantial reduced fares. In addition it is maintaining the Bus Service Operators Grant which provides an annual subsidy of around £50 million to the bus industry to help support the network and to keep fares at affordable levels. Falling fuel costs can be expected to be reflected in bus operators’ decisions on fares, though the extent and timing of this will depend on their wider costs and any fuel hedging arrangements.

Question reference: S4O-03989

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the agency and contract staff it employs enjoy fair terms and conditions.

Question reference: S4O-03914

Asked by: John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities last met North Lanarkshire Council and what was discussed.