Monday 24 February 2014 Governance and Communities Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government whether it can quantify the benefit that NHS boards derive from the work of Care and Repair teams in terms of facilitating hospital discharges and preventing hospital admissions, and what contribution boards make to the teams' costs. (S4W-19426) Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government recognises the valuable contribution made by Care and Repair Services in helping older and disabled people to live safely and independently at home and by reducing delays to hospital discharge. We have not commissioned research in this area but a Social Return on Investment report in respect of Care and Repair West Lothian published in June 2013 showed a social return of £4.53 for every £1 invested. There is no statutory requirement on health boards to contribute to the cost of local Care and Repair services. However Orkney Care and Repair and Midlothian Care and Repair, for example, received additional funding from the Older People's Change Fund to, respectively, extend their information and advice service and support piloting a small repairs service.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government whether the £20 million allocated to mitigate the impact of the so-called bedroom tax was (a) ringfenced and (b) paid to the general revenue account. (S4W-19432) Margaret Burgess: The £20 million allocated to local authorities in 2013-14 will be paid as general revenue grant funding. Councils have been advised that this funding is for the purpose of adding to their Discretionary Housing Payment budgets. However, the Scottish Government does not have the powers to direct councils to make payments in respect of Discretionary Housing Payments.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what advice it gave to local authorities that had already topped up their discretionary housing payments on the use of the £20 million allocated to mitigate the impact of the so-called bedroom tax. (S4W-19433) Margaret Burgess: On 2 October 2013, I informed local authorities that the Scottish Government was making £20 million available for the purpose of adding to Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) budgets. In recognition of the fact that some local authorities may already have already topped up their DHP allocation to the maximum permitted, I stated that the funding is aimed not only at enabling topping up of DHPs, but also in recognition of the financial pressures that have been placed upon authorities by the UK Government’s welfare reforms.

Health and Social Care Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that the health and social care complaints processes are clear, accessible and fair. (S4W-19401) : The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 introduced a new and specific right for patients to complain, raise concerns, make comments and give feedback. A review of the NHS complaints procedure was undertaken to meet the provisions of the Act. Good Practice Guidance was issued to NHS boards, and a programme of training and education has been provided to NHS staff and contractors, in partnership with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The Act established the independent Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) to provide help and support to people to give feedback about their healthcare. The Scottish Health Council is currently undertaking a review of NHS boards’ handling of feedback and complaints. This will report late spring 2014. Local authorities publish their complaints procedures for social care on their websites. The Scottish Government is working to further strengthen these procedures by working closely with the SPSO, COSLA and other stakeholders to ensure that complaints about social care services are handled in a clear, accessible and fair manner.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the complaints processes for health and social care services. (S4W-19402) Alex Neil: The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 introduced a new and specific right for patients to complain, raise concerns, make comments and give feedback. A review of the NHS complaints procedure was undertaken to meet the provisions of the Act. Good Practice Guidance was issued to NHS boards, and a programme of training and education has been provided to NHS staff and contractors, in partnership with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The Act established the independent Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) to provide help and support to people to give feedback about their healthcare. The Scottish Health Council is currently undertaking a review of NHS boards’ handling of feedback and complaints. This will report late spring 2014. Local authorities publish their complaints procedures for social care on their websites. The Scottish Government is working to further strengthen these procedures by working with SPSO, COSLA and other stakeholders to produce recommendations for updating the complaints procedures for social work, and will continue to work towards ensuring that the system is fair, clear and accessible for all.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether a new complaints process will be put in place before the integration of health and social care services. (S4W-19403) Alex Neil: It is essential that we take the time to get the right system to allow service users to make complaints, a system that is clear, accessible and fair, where service users can feel that their complaints have been properly heard and investigated. The Scottish Health Council is currently undertaking a review of NHS boards’ handling of feedback and complaints. This will report late spring 2014. The Scottish Government is working to further strengthen the procedures for social care complaints by working closely with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, COSLA and other stakeholders to ensure that these complaints systems are robust, fair and accessible.

Jackson Carlaw (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government when the report of the independent review on how continuing healthcare is being applied will be published and when it will respond. (S4W-19452) Alex Neil: The Independent Review of NHS Continuing Healthcare, led by Dr Ian Anderson, past president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has now concluded and reported to the government. We are now considering this report and the recommendations and we will publish this report shortly and our response will follow soon after.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have been sent for medical treatment in (a) England and (b) other EU countries in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board. (S4W-19467) Alex Neil: Information Scottish residents who were treated as an elective inpatient/day case or had an outpatient attendance in England for each financial year from 2003-04 to 2012-13 has been provided. This includes people whose residential address is in Scotland rather than patients sent for treatment in England by NHS Scotland. Information on patients resident in Scotland who were treated in other EU countries is not collected centrally. Table 1: A count of finished elective inpatient/day case admission episodes (FAEs)1 for patients resident in Scotland2 and treated in English Hospitals by health board of residence3 for the years 2003-04 to 2012-13: 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 -04 -05 -06 -07 -08 -09 -10 -11 -12 -13 Argyll and Clyde 123 106 - 133 ------Ayrshire and Arran 120 111 136 122 129 136 107 115 130 113 Borders 260 291 341 316 413 358 375 413 308 316 Dumfries and 1,08 1,27 1,28 1,05 1,03 1,24 1,66 1,42 1,31 Galloway 3 1 2 7 987 3 4 2 2 4 Fife 101 103 153 175 147 181 201 144 138 170 Forth Valley * 69 70 * 64 92 104 90 65 77 Grampian 212 220 231 231 251 260 257 230 182 236 Greater Glasgow 247 233 257 202 ------Greater Glasgow and Clyde - - - - 289 250 280 347 360 399 Highland 87 95 86 121 ------Highland - - - - 212 195 155 182 146 142 Lanarkshire 132 122 140 175 189 151 171 177 193 175 Lothian 231 228 292 321 350 394 329 326 395 285 Orkney 9 * * * 7 10 * * * * Shetland * * 8 * * * * 7 * * Tayside 113 118 191 159 134 174 166 140 135 147 Western Isles 24 9 10 14 * 17 18 18 7 11 Not known/ not applicable 6 51 * 6 * * * 9 * * Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre 1. All elective inpatient and day case admissions are included. 2. Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector is included. 3. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. * To protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been replaced with “*” (an asterisk).

Table 2: A count of outpatient attendances for patients resident in Scotland1 and seen in English Hospitals by health board of residence for the years 2003-04 to 2012-13: 2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Argyll and Clyde 507 638 622 683 ------Ayrshire and Arran 334 371 411 431 394 498 529 480 474 483 Borders 1,293 1,763 2,251 2,124 2,536 2,574 2,371 2,448 2,256 2,283 Dumfries and Galloway 4,747 4,798 5,267 5,612 6,050 6,047 6,267 6,616 6,435 5,612 Fife 363 359 463 624 529 611 674 774 630 714 Forth Valley 190 240 271 305 274 407 382 448 349 459 Grampian 800 744 946 1,008 992 1,158 1,039 1,038 977 1,131 Greater Glasgow 835 819 919 846 ------Greater Glasgow and Clyde - - - - 1,148 1,086 1,306 1,343 1,529 1,523 Highland 280 379 465 493 ------Highland - - - - 859 888 810 889 909 868 Lanarkshire 331 365 384 484 574 595 567 658 659 647 Lothian 868 965 1,058 1,195 1,329 1,633 1,725 1,769 1,863 1,860 Orkney 19 24 23 26 27 35 40 23 36 40 Shetland 49 35 29 59 65 97 44 37 49 43 Tayside 348 477 486 548 555 787 741 656 578 703 Western Isles 36 46 74 58 55 48 69 74 60 118 Not known/ not applicable 56 38 33 71 47 47 46 33 31 63 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre 1. Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector is included.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what the benefit to stroke patients is of being admitted to a stroke unit on the day of diagnosis or the day following presentation. (S4W-19476) Alex Neil: Access to a stroke unit care is known to be associated with a reduced risk of disability as well as death. This is evidenced in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) 108 and the clinical standards for stroke services which emphasise the importance of getting patients to specialist stroke services quickly to allow prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government whether it indicated in recent discussions and correspondence with the British Dental Association that the total amount in overpayment of dentists to be recovered would not exceed £3.5 million and, if so, whether this remains the case. (S4W-19487) Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is not in a position to give a guarantee of the total value of the recoveries as this is a matter for Practitioner Services.

Stuart McMillan (West Scotland) (): To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in West Scotland (a) received and (b) were refused NHS continuing healthcare in 2012- 13, broken down by local authority. (S4W-19591) Alex Neil: We do not hold information to the level of detail requested centrally. An annual census of the number of people receiving NHS continuing healthcare is carried out by Information Services Division on an annual basis. This census provides a snapshot of the number of people eligible for NHS continuing healthcare on the census date, broken down by health board. It can be accessed at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Health-and-Social-Community- Care/Publications/index.asp#676.

Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it holds statistics on the number of Changing Places toilets and, if so, how many there are. (S4W-19640) Alex Neil: Statistics are available in the Scottish Directory of Changing Places toilets. To date there are 91 Changing Places toilets in Scotland including six in Aberdeen City and four in Aberdeenshire.

Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage greater awareness in the medical profession of preterm premature rupture of membranes. (S4W-19641) Michael Matheson: Education about this condition starts in undergraduate medical programmes and will then form part of continuing professional development that healthcare professionals are obliged to participate in to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has published a Green-top Guideline No 44 Preterm Prelabour Rupture of Membranes: http://www.rcog.org.uk/files/rcog-corp/GTG44PPROM28022011.pdf, which we would expect healthcare professionals to follow.

Learning and Justice Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how its youth employment strategy encourages women to enter the labour market. (S4W-19321) Angela Constance: More women are participating in the labour market than a year ago, with female inactivity down 60,000 over the year. Source: LFS, ONS Oct-Dec 2013 Attendees at the Women’s Employment Summit in September 2012 identified a number of key challenges, including childcare; support for women setting up their own enterprise; flexible working; the particular challenges of rural living; and occupational segregation. Since the event, action has been taken across these areas, and is monitored through the Advisory Group on Women and Work Chaired by Angela Constance Actions include: Child care: We are increasing the level of funded early learning and childcare from 475 hours to 600 hours per year for three and four year olds, and the most vulnerable two year olds, and from 2014. We will extend our childcare offer of 600 hours per year to two year olds in workless households from 2014, and to two year olds who would be eligible for free school meals from 2015. Enterprise: Following a series of seminars chaired by Professor Sara Carter of Strathclyde University and Jackie Brierton of Women in Enterprise Scotland, a draft framework for action by Scottish Government and partners has been produced and will be published in Spring this year. Careerwise: A £250,000 fund which will see the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology to work collaboratively with employers, schools, colleges, universities and Skills Development Scotland to encourage and support young women into science, technology, engineering and maths learning and jobs. Training: We are keen to test the impact of an offer of childcare support on uptake of training by women, particularly in non-traditional sectors. Through the Energy Skills Challenge Fund which offers ‘transition training’ to up-skill those with relevant transferable skills and experience, two of the nine providers this year are specifically targeting women for their courses. These are: Fife College who have commenced training and are contracted to deliver 168 places. Fife College are specifically marketing and targeting women. Opito, who are contracted to deliver 331 places, which will include 50 places, specifically being offered to women though a four day awareness course on the realities of the oil and gas industry and details of the training available through the challenge fund. The course and training is due to run in March 2014. Both providers will pilot offering childcare expenses as an incentive to increase the number of women taking up this provision it is important women can access training offer of childcare; Research: Understanding the evidence we have around women’s employment was a key issue identified at the summit. Professor Patricia Findlay of Strathclyde University has chaired a small group which produced and published on the Scottish employability website: www.employabilityinscotland.com An updated Women’s Employment Summit Evidence Paper. A Database of Sources for Women’s Labour Market Information, alongside a guide to data sources and a thematic guide to data sources. A short summary review of evidence papers. A list of women’s employment support networks and resources.

On 19 February 2014 we announced an additional £4 million (on top of the £2.1 million announced in the Budget) for phase 4 of Community Jobs Scotland. Both men and women will be able to access this programme on the same terms, but the programme will also be able to mitigate against gender segregation impacts. By dint of being located within the third sector it is also likely to offer work patterns suitable for those with caring responsibilities or, in the case of young pregnant women, particular support in taking up and sustaining employment. Overall, therefore it will be able to promote equality of opportunity on gender grounds. In Scotland’s Future we set out further actions we will take if elected in an independent Scotland which would offer more support to women and families accessing the labour market. This includes the introduction of a universal childcare system, a Fair Pay Commission, action to increase the number of women on public and corporate boards and promotion of a living wage.

Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many women aged 16 to 24 who are (a) employed and (b) economically inactive have children and how it tailors its support to their needs. (S4W-19322) Angela Constance: The Annual Population Survey (APS) provides the preferred measure for employment rates for small cohorts of the population in Scotland. The latest data covers the period from October 2012 to September 2013. The number of women in Scotland aged 16 to 24 with children who were employed was 14,600. The number of women in Scotland aged 16 to 24 with children who were economically inactive was 20,000. Source: Annual Population Survey, October 2012-September 2013, Office for National Statistics. Note: Dependent children are children aged under 16 and those aged 16 to 18 who have never- married. Since the Women’s summit in Sep 2012, we have taken further action to encourage families with children to get into work or set up their own business Actions include: Training: We are keen to test the impact of an offer of childcare support on uptake of training by women, particularly in non-traditional sectors. Through the Energy Skills Challenge Fund which offers ‘transition training’ to up-skill those with relevant transferable skills and experience, two of the nine providers this year are specifically targeting women for their courses. These are: Fife College who have commenced training and are contracted to deliver 168 places. Fife College is specifically marketing and targeting women. Opito, who are contracted to deliver 331 places, which will include 50 places, specifically being offered to women though a four day awareness course on the realities of the oil and gas industry and details of the training available through the challenge fund. The course and training is due to run in March. Both providers will pilot offering childcare expenses as an incentive to increase the number of women taking up this provision. It is important women can access training offer of childcare. Child care: We are increasing the level of funded early learning and childcare from 475 hours to 600 hours per year for three and four year olds, and the most vulnerable 2 year olds. We will extend our childcare offer of 600 hours per year to two year olds in workless households from 2014, and to two year olds who would be eligible for free school meals from 2015. Enterprise: following a series of seminars chaired by Professor Sara Carter of Strathclyde University and Jackie Brierton of Women in Enterprise Scotland, a draft framework for action by Scottish Government and partners has been produced which will be published in spring 2014. Careerwise: A £250,000 fund which will see the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology to work collaboratively with employers, schools, colleges, universities and Skills Development Scotland to encourage and support young women into science, technology, engineering and maths learning and jobs. We are working with SDS, Scottish Government Equalities Unit and Childcare colleagues to look at developing further support around childcare for pre-employment training and more generally around positive action programmes to tackle gender segregation. From November 2013 unemployed individuals in Inverness who are in receipt of Universal Credit will be able to access childcare support through DWP whilst they train through the Employability Fund In Scotland’s Future we set out further actions we will take if elected in an independent Scotland which would offer more support to women and families accessing the labour market. This includes the introduction of a universal childcare system, a Fair Pay Commission, action to increase the number of women on public and corporate boards and promotion of a living wage.

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many non-looked-after children there have been in each year since 2007, also broken down by local authority. (S4W-19378) : Number of Non-Looked After Children In Scotland by Local Authority 2007-2012: Year Local Authority 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Aberdeen City 40,137 39,985 40,566 39,920 39,087 39,337 Aberdeenshire 55,852 55,874 56,054 56,195 56,621 56,656 Angus 24,423 24,494 24,493 24,412 24,194 24,002 Argyll and Bute 18,234 17,888 17,639 17,409 17,343 17,002 Clackmannanshire 11,248 11,388 11,327 11,189 11,087 10,898 Dumfries and Galloway 30,694 30,600 30,466 30,235 30,159 29,644 Dundee City 29,369 29,563 29,992 29,320 28,590 28,531 East Ayrshire 26,396 26,256 26,090 25,917 25,746 25,562 East Dunbartonshire 23,780 23,508 23,192 22,888 22,655 22,484 East Lothian 21,888 22,316 22,386 22,349 22,356 22,386 East Renfrewshire 21,752 21,517 21,391 21,434 21,538 21,347 Edinburgh, City of 84,546 84,419 86,247 85,903 86,129 87,129 Eilean Siar 5,710 5,659 5,621 5,607 5,540 5,512 Falkirk 33,300 33,377 33,518 33,536 33,631 33,533 Year Local Authority 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Fife 76,809 76,852 77,009 76,823 76,852 76,905 Glasgow City 117,864 116,715 117,898 115,927 112,846 112,208 Highland 48,135 48,547 48,918 49,025 49,152 48,624 Inverclyde 17,442 17,250 16,941 16,668 16,354 16,061 Midlothian 18,182 18,240 18,302 18,354 18,454 18,718 Moray 20,009 20,092 20,264 20,376 20,373 20,118 North Ayrshire 30,069 29,978 29,857 29,425 29,204 28,919 North Lanarkshire 76,676 76,904 77,231 76,911 76,644 76,245 Orkney Isles 4,467 4,441 4,415 4,406 4,406 4,346 Perth and Kinross 29,506 29,799 30,123 30,258 30,261 30,110 Renfrewshire 37,167 37,169 36,784 36,502 36,166 35,716 Scottish Borders 23,610 23,808 23,599 23,353 23,092 22,838 Shetland 5,360 5,303 5,329 5,375 5,358 5,267 South Ayrshire 22,590 22,576 22,330 22,116 22,079 21,796 South Lanarkshire 68,060 67,915 67,802 67,346 66,415 66,065 Stirling 19,813 19,794 19,543 19,571 19,223 19,378 West Dunbartonshire 19,791 19,694 19,616 19,323 19,051 18,853 West Lothian 40,898 41,241 41,547 41,532 41,724 41,608 Scotland 1,103,777 1,103,162 1,106,490 1,099,605 1,092,330 1,087,798 Notes: The number of non-looked after children comes from taking the General Registrar Office mid-year population estimates for 0 to 18 year olds for each year and deducting the number of looked after children in that year. These should be treated with caution due the small number of looked after children in each local authority and that the mid-year population are estimated to take account for births, deaths and migration. The mid-year population estimates are as at the 30 June for each year. From 2007-09, the number of looked after children is as at 31 March. From 2010-2012, the number of looked after children is as at 31st July.

Graeme Pearson (South Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what training is given to police officers on the recording of crime statistics. (S4W-19404) Kenny MacAskill: The training of police officers is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to ringfence the revenue raised from the new dog licensing system proposed in its consultation on responsible dog ownership for dog welfare purposes. (S4W-19414) Kenny MacAskill: On the 27 December 2013, the Scottish Government launched a consultation on promoting responsible dog ownership. The consultation seeks views from anyone with an interest on possible additional measures to promote responsible dog ownership, such as microchipping, muzzling and dog licensing, as well as views on whether current dog fouling legislation is being used effectively. The consultation seeks views only on the principle of whether the introduction of a dog licensing system should be considered. Once the consultation is complete, we will consider the views offered carefully. If there was strong evidence that a licensing system would be advantageous, then the practical implications of introducing a licensing system, e.g. how much a dog licence would cost, how the revenue raised would be used etc., would be assessed and would likely require a further consultation exercise.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much the new dog licence proposed in its consultation on responsible dog ownership would cost. (S4W-19415) Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19414 on 24 February 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will hold its proposed summit on dangerous dogs. (S4W-19416) Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government consultation ‘Promoting Responsible Dog Ownership’ ends on 31 March 2014 and, while final arrangements for the summit on responsible dog ownership are in the process of being made, the summit will take place before the end of the consultation period towards the end of March 2014.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many attacks there have been on (a) ambulance, (b) fire and rescue and (c) accident and emergency personnel in each year since 1999 and how many prosecutions have resulted. (S4W-19453) Kenny MacAskill: The available information on the number of attacks on emergency workers reported to the police was given in S4W-18459 on 13 December 2013. The available information on the number of prosecutions in Scottish courts was given in S4W-18460 on 13 December 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx. The information held centrally on the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 does not specify the type of emergency worker involved in the case. The information provided in these earlier answers are from the statistics collected centrally on crimes and offences recorded by the police and on those proceeded against in court. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are however not directly comparable for a number of reasons. A single crime or offence recorded by the police may have more than one perpetrator, or alternatively, an individual may be convicted of several cases of the same crime. There is the possibility that the crime or offence recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings, or a crime or offence may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings not concluded until a later year. Crimes and offences alleged to have been committed by children under 16 years old are also generally dealt with through the children’s hearings system rather than through the courts.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what discussions there have been regarding the sale of assets paid for by local authorities under the closure of police control rooms. (S4W-19463) Kenny MacAskill: I have had no discussions regarding the sale of assets paid for by local authorities under the closure of police control rooms and I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19464 on 24 February 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that Police Scotland should be able to sell off assets paid for by local authorities. (S4W-19464) Kenny MacAskill: Responsibility for properties, rights, liabilities and obligations of the former police services transferred to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) on 1 April 2013. This was in accordance with the principles and transfer schemes as agreed by the Police and Fire Reform Property, Rights, Liabilities and Obligations Project Board and all transfer schemes were subject to full consultation with local authorities, COSLA all the former police joint boards. Police Scotland has in place a property asset management plan 2013-16 and it is for them and the SPA to determine the future of the police estate.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers have seen Police Scotland’s business case for the closure of control rooms. (S4W-19465) Kenny MacAskill: The police in Scotland operate independently of ministers and any decisions on the future of control rooms, is an operational matter for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. I have been informed by Police Scotland on the proposals for the closure of control rooms.

John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland is advised of nuclear warhead convoys. (S4W-19530) Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19533 on 24 February 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland has been advised not to enforce road traffic legislation with regard to nuclear warhead convoys. (S4W-19532) Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19533 on 24 February 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) its agencies have been involved in discussions about routes taken by nuclear warhead convoys. (S4W-19533) Kenny MacAskill: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) does not discuss the routes taken by nuclear warhead convoys with the Scottish Government. Police Scotland are the only agency in Scotland who are notified by the MoD in advance of any convoy being routed through their area, and their response to those is an operational matter for Police Scotland. Police Scotland may also advise the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service of any nuclear weapons convoy which could move into the vicinity of a fire service operation.

John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed emergency planning arrangements relating to nuclear warhead convoys. (S4W-19534) Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government works with all relevant emergency responders to ensure arrangements are in place, and keeps its arrangements under continual review and refines these when lessons are identified following exercises or real emergencies. The Scottish Government also liaises with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in updating and developing the publically available document, Local Authority and Emergency Services Information (LAESI). This document sets outs the arrangements for responding to accidents involving nuclear warhead convoys, and is reviewed on a regular basis. The latest edition (January 2013) is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/82776/LAESI_9.pdf

Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government whether Guide Dogs Scotland will be invited to attend the summit on dangerous dogs. (S4W-19720) Kenny MacAskill: Yes, Guide Dogs Scotland will be invited to attend the summit on responsible dog ownership, which will be held in March 2014.

The following questions received holding answers: S4W-19320 S4W-19397 S4W-19398