First Minister’s Questions, live from the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood.
Scottish Parliament – First Minister’s Questions.
11:40am General Questions
Monica Lennon S5O-03212
1. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with South Lanarkshire Council and the integrated joint board regarding residential care homes.
James Kelly S5O-03213
2. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve performance on ScotRail services.
Jamie Halcro Johnston S5O-03214
3. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support rural GP practices and community health facilities in the
Highlands and Islands.
Richard Lyle S5O-03215
4. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the noise surveys of the upgraded section of the M74.
Colin Beattie S5O-03216
5. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to celebrate International Museum Day on 18 May.
Clare Adamson S5O-03217
6. To ask the Scottish Government its position on the use of big data to tackle societal inequality.
Angela Constance S5O-03218
7. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting suicide prevention work in the Almond Valley constituency.
Kezia Dugdale S5O-03219
8. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some tattoo parlours are refusing services to customers who disclose their HIV status.
Rachael Hamilton S5O-03220
9. To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take in response to Christian persecution overseas.
Keith Brown S5O-03221
10. To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the impact of Brexit on the hospitality industry.
12:00pm First Minister’s Questions
Ruth Davidson S5F-03302
1. Question to be taken in Chamber.
Richard Leonard S5F-03303
2. Question to be taken in Chamber.
Willie Rennie S5F-03304
3. Question to be taken in Chamber.
Stuart McMillan S5F-03317
4. To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that drug policy should be devolved or amended.
Alexander Stewart S5F-03305
5. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking in light of recent analysis, which suggests that a record number of Scotland’s shops closed in the first three months of the year.
Claudia Beamish S5F-03316
6. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report’s call for a “transformative change”.
12:45pm Members’ Business – Kenneth Gibson S5M-15570
Changes to Pension Credit Could Cost Mixed-age Couples £7,320 Annually
That the Parliament condemns the UK Government’s decision that, from 15 May 2019, newly-retired people whose partners are younger than the state retirement age of 65 will no longer be able to claim pension credit (PC) and must instead claim universal credit (UC) along with their partners; understands that the couple rate of UC is £114.81 a week, compared with £255.25 for a couple receiving PC, which amounts to a potential loss of £7,320 a year; believes that this change could have a devastating impact on couple’s finances, health and wellbeing and increase the number of older people in poverty; considers that, if the change comes into force, couples might find themselves in the position of being financially better off if they split up and live apart; is disappointed that the changes were set out in a written statement by Parliamentary Secretary for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, Guy Opperman MP, which was published online on the evening of 14 January 2019; believes that this allowed the announcement to go through largely unnoticed due to the Brexit vote, and notes the calls for the UK Government to reconsider this decision, which, it believes, could drive many older people and their partners in Cunninghame North, Scotland and across the UK into poverty.