Stephen Kerr

24 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure transparency in Scotland's public finances.

24 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what government funding is available for classic car shows, races and other similar events.

Answer · Maree Todd: EventScotland aims to support the Scottish events industry by developing programmes which focus on supporting an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events. EventScotland has previously supported a number of motor events including the Scottish Classic…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people received support from the National Transition Training Fund between October 2020 and March 2021, and what the (a) average and (b) largest award was.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Although final figures are not yet confirmed, we know up to 9,000 people have benefited from NTTF skills support in year one. Many year one courses were delivered by colleges and universities over the academic year from September 2020 to July 2021 so it is no…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them transition to net zero.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Our enterprise and skills agencies provide funding and specialist advice and support for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to help them better transition to a low carbon economy, with the majority of services advertised through the Find Business Suppor…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has made of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises that have closed in the Central Scotland region, broken down by month since June 2020. 

Answer · Ivan McKee: Business births, deaths and survival rates - based on VAT/PAYE registrations and de-registrations - are produced by the Office for National Statistics within their Business Demography publications. Data are not published for parliamentary regions, however dat…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what business expansion grants are available for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Government provides expansion grants to SMEs primarily through our 3 Enterprise Agencies (Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, and South of Scotland Enterprise) and the Local Authorities. These can be found in detail – including how t…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what levels of funding have been available for legal aid in each year since 2011.

Answer · Ash Regan: This information is in the public domain and can be found on the Scottish Government’s website within the Budget Bill documents covering the last ten years. This information can also be obtained and found on the Scottish Legal Board’s website from their publi…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) providers of criminal legal aid and (b) Public Defence Solicitors' Offices there were in each year from September 2012 to September 2021.

Answer · Ash Regan: The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has provided data for the number of ‘active’ practitioners and firms. This includes criminal practitioners and firms in each year that submitted at least one application for criminal legal assistance (Advice and Assistance,…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) legal aid providers, (b) Civil Legal Assistance Offices and (c) Public Defence Solicitors’ Offices were practising in cases related to (i) claims against public authorities, (ii) community care, (iii) discrimination, (iv) education, (v) housing and debt, (vi) immigration and…

Answer · Ash Regan: Grants of legal assistance are recorded against a primary case category code and not by individual subject matters of a grant. SLAB have provided the information requested using category codes, which is the most accurate reflection of numbers of case types av…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the future of legal aid funding for housing cases.

Answer · Ash Regan: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that legal assistance continues to be available to all those facing issues such as housing concerns. In our Programme for Government we committed to engage with the legal professionals and other stakeholders to…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to increase the availability of legal aid assistance in mediation cases.

Answer · Ash Regan: Legal aid is currently available to meet the costs of mediation where appropriate. Again, interaction between mediation and legal aid is a matter that will be considered a part of development of a Bill and I refer to my response to ? S6W-04609 on 8 December 2…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend access to legal aid.

Answer · Ash Regan: The scope of legal aid will be considered as part of the development of a Bill, and I refer to my response to S6W-04609 on 8 December 2021 which provides information on the Scottish Government’s plans to reform legal aid. The Scottish Government has previousl…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of requests made for legal aid funding, before an inquest, was successful, in each of the last 20 years.

Answer · Ash Regan: There is no system of coroners' inquests in Scotland unlike England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The responsibility for the investigation of any death that requires further explanation rests with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Any sudden, su…

23 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reform legal aid.

Answer · Ash Regan: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that legal assistance continues to be available to all those facing legal concerns. In our Programme for Government we committed to engage with the legal professionals and other stakeholders to review the Legal…

22 Nov 2021 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to NHS boards that are under pressure.

19 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regarding its announcement that it plans to increase the Climate Justice Fund from £6 million to £9 million, and subsequently to £12 million.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: No, the Scottish Government did not have any discussion with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in relation to increasing Scottish Government’s Climate Justice Fund. To clarify the figures for Scottish Government's Climate Justice Fund, we announ…

19 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings the First Minister has had with the leader of Glasgow City Council in 2021.

Answer · Shona Robison: The First Minister has met Councillor Susan Aitken on the following occasions: 29th July 2021 (Meeting with Pladis Global) 12th October 2021 (Launch of the Barclays site in Glasgow) 19th October 2021 (COP26 Ministerial Roundtable) 31st October 2021 (Indus…

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers have received support through the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme since 2018.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers have received support through the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme since 2018 Claim year Number of businesses that received a LFASS payment in an individual claim year 2018 11,057 2019 10,890 2020 10,8…

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers have benefitted from the Beef Efficiency Scheme since 2018.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The following table displays the number of farmers who received funding from the Beef Efficiency Scheme from 2018. The majority of applicants started in 2016 and received payments for the first three years. Those starting in 2017 received their final payment …

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers were supported by the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme between 2018 and 2020.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The number of businesses which received support for the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (Mainland and Island) between 2018 and 2020 is shown in in the following table: Application Year Number of supported claims 2018 6876 2019 6692 2020 6709

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals have received funding through an Individual Training Account since 1 January 2020.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Since 1 January 2020 19,378 individuals have successfully applied to the Individual Training Account programme and have claimed and used their funding entitlement to access training opportunities.

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital patients have tested positive for COVID-19, after having been admitted to hospital without the disease.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Between 24 February 2020 and 31 October 2021 there have been 6,348 COVID-19 cases that were probable or definite hospital onset. 1,973 were reported as probable hospital onset (first positive specimen on days 8 to 14 of admission to NHS board). 4,375 were …

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been notified by Test and Protect after coming into contact, in a vaccination centre, with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Answer · Maree Todd: The information requested is not available. As with any other setting, it is not possible to infer whether a specific setting or an event indicates where the Covid19 transmission took place. This is because cases may have attended multiple settings or events …

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have contracted COVID-19 whilst in a vaccination centre.

Answer · Maree Todd: The information requested is not available. As with any other setting, it is not possible to infer whether a specific setting or an event indicates where the Covid19 transmission took place. This is because cases may have attended multiple settings or events …

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses have undertaken the training developed by Keep Scotland Beautiful since the publication of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan 2020-2025 in December 2020.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) published in December 2020 sets the Scottish Government’s approach to ensuring our workforce has the skills to support Scotland’s transition to net zero. This approach includes raising awareness amongst employe…

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses have been supported through the North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund since 1 January 2021.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04485 on 29 November 2021 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-c…

16 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many employees have been (a) trained and (b) retrained through the North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF) launched in August 2021. The first performance reporting from the delivery partnership is due to be received in mid to late December.

12 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to the NHS to ensure there is provision through GP and dental practices for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children coming to Scotland.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking children are able to access GP and NHS dental services on the same basis as domiciled residents. GP practices receive a share of overall general practice funding from the Scottish Government based upon their estimated workload. T…

10 Nov 2021 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what its position is on collective decision-making, in light of reports of division among its members regarding the security of MSPs and the Scottish Parliament building.

10 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Minister for Parliamentary Business has had with ministerial colleagues regarding steps that can be taken in relation to transparency of its activities to better enable scrutiny during parliamentary business.