Parliamentary questions
Douglas Lumsden
1,891 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
23 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what options ministers considered for supporting Arjowiggins and the reported 360 affected jobs in Aberdeen.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government, through Scottish Enterprise, had been working extensively with Arjowiggins and its partners to explore all possible options to support the business, including the pursuit of a buyer for the business. Scottish Enterprise continues to w…
23 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when Scottish Enterprise was first made aware of problems at Arjowiggins.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Enterprise has worked closely with Arjowiggins and its partners since the successful management buyout in 2019. Scottish Enterprise were aware of the challenging trading conditions faced by the company since 2020, which included the negative impact o…
23 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to date to support Arjowiggins and the reported 360 affected jobs in Aberdeen.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government is doing everything in our power to help those affected through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE). A PACE Partner event took place on 29 th September 2022, which…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been killed in road accidents on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven in each quarter since 1 April 2017.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The following table sets out the number of fatal casualties on the A90 between Emmock roundabout Dundee and where the A957 Slug Road crosses the A90 at Stonehaven. Year – 2017 Number of Fatal Casualties April – June 0 July – September 0 October – Decem…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on safety improvements at the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The sum of £67,232 has been spent on safety improvements on the A90 Toll of Birness junction since 1 April 2017. This cost was primarily associated with the provision of three vehicle activated signs (VAS) recommended from previous safety studies. Two signs w…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) injury and (b) non-injury road accidents on the A90 have been reported in each quarter since 1 April 2017 between Ellon and (i) Peterhead and (ii) Fraserburgh.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Between Ellon (from & including the roundabout at the junction with the A948) to the junction with the A982 at Peterhead Year – 2017 Number of Personal Injury Accidents April – June 1 July – September 0 October – December 1 Year – 2018 Number of …
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on safety improvements on the A90 between Ellon and (a) Peterhead and (b) Fraserburgh since 1 April 2017.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Since 1 st April 2017 £143,918 has been invested in safety improvement on the A90 between Ellon and Peterhead, and £347,392 invested in safety improvement on the A90 between Ellon and Fraserburgh. Note that this second figure of £347,392 includes the value of…
21 Sep 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact will be on its Covid Recovery Strategy of the reduction to the Covid Recovery budget announced on 7 September as part of the emergency budget review.
31 Aug 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what further support it will provide to local authorities for the provision of accommodation for refugees in Scotland, in light of reports that suitable housing has been significantly reduced as a result of its Super Sponsor scheme.
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards implementing all of the recommendations of the Report of the Barclay Review of Non-domestic Rates.
Answer · John Swinney: The following table shows the progress towards the accepted recommendations of the Barclay Review. No Recommendation Description Current Status 1 Business growth accelerator relief (BGA)The Barclay Review recommended 12 months relief for new builds and n…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with officials from (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire councils to discuss the 2023 non-domestic rates revaluation and any potential impact upon business.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government engages with local authority non-domestic rates practitioners regularly including through monthly forums organised by the Institute for Revenues, Rating and Valuation. Revaluation is a matter for Scottish assessors who are independent…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding for non-domestic rates relief it has (a) budgeted and (b) allocated to date, in 2022/23.
Answer · John Swinney: Decisions on non-domestic rates reliefs are taken as part of the budget process, using Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts of the total revenues raised net of relief costs. At the 2022-23 Scottish Budget in December 2021, the Scottish Fiscal Commission forec…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what ongoing review it undertakes of the non-domestic rates scheme, what assessment it makes of whether the scheme delivers fairness, clarity, certainty and consistency for ratepayers, and how any such assessment is quantified.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to reviewing non-domestic rates policies on a regular basis, in order to ensure that the rates system effectively supports our businesses and communities, and regularly attends the Scottish Rating Surveyor Forum and the Sc…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of non-domestic rates receipts for each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answer · John Swinney: The non-domestic rates income figures for each year, broken down by local authority, are available in Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics, at https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#scottishlocalgovernmentfinancialsta…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many premises in (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire currently receive relief through the Small Business Bonus scheme and, of those, how many are receiving the 100% relief rate.
Answer · John Swinney: The most recent figures, as of 1 June 2021, are available in Table 6 of the Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2021 publication, at https://www.gov.scot/publications/non-domestic-rates-relief-statistics-2021/ .
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much businesses in (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire have saved on non-domestic rates as a result of transitional relief in each year since 2015.
Answer · John Swinney: The values of non-domestic rates reliefs, broken down by local authority and relief, are available in Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics, at https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#scottishlocalgovernmentfinancialsta…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on publicity and marketing for Business Growth Accelerator relief on non-domestic rates since it was introduced.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold a discrete budget line for raising awareness of Non-Domestic Rates reliefs. Information on all non-domestic rates reliefs, including the Business Growth Accelerator, is available on the mygov.scotwebsite , and other web…
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many premises currently receive Business Growth Accelerator relief on non-domestic rates.
Answer · John Swinney: The most recent figures, as of 1 June 2021, are available in Table 2 of the Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2021 publication, at https://www.gov.scot/publications/non-domestic-rates-relief-statistics-2021/ .
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has estimated how many retail, hospitality and leisure premises are entitled to 50% relief on non-domestic rates for the first three months of 2022-23.
Answer · John Swinney: At the time of the Scottish Budget, the Scottish Government estimated that up to 30,000 properties would potentially be eligible to claim the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure relief in 2022-23, subject to a business-level cap on the value of relief.
13 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted a cost benefit analysis of increasing the Basic Property Rate (poundage) for non-domestic rates from 49p to 49.8p.
Answer · John Swinney: Decisions on non-domestic rates including the Basic Property Rate (poundage) are taken in the round of the Scottish Budget, in the context of other budgetary priorities. With a poundage of 49.8p, the Scottish Budget 2022-23 delivered a below-inflation increa…
1 Jun 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on future road infrastructure projects in the north east.
30 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding any review of the alcohol ban on ScotRail services, which was introduced in November 2020 to facilitate adherence to the COVID-19 social distancing and facemask requirements.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08883 on? 20 June 2022. 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-committee…
11 May 2022 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on which of the key recommendations it is looking to progress from the report State of The Nation: Heart Valve Disease in Scotland by Heart Valve Voice, which was released in December 2021.
4 May 2022 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £500 million Energy Transition Fund for the north east has now been allocated.
20 Apr 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress regarding the transport projects funded from the £254 million announced in 2016 and as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
13 Apr 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role prisons have in the assessment of prisoners, including of their mental health, prior to their release.
2 Feb 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legal advice it has received on introducing the proposed referendum bill on Scottish independence.
12 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will release its plans for the reopening of Minor Injury Units.
13 Dec 2021 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what discussions she has had with COSLA regarding the local government funding settlement for 2022-23.
3 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people convicted of homicide have received as their main penalty a (a) Sheriff Court fine, (b) Justice of the Peace Court fine, (c) fiscal fine, (d) fiscal compensation order, (e) fiscal combined offer and (f) police antisocial behaviour penalty, in each year since 2018.
Answer · Keith Brown: Under criminal proceedings statistics, the category of homicide contains a wide range of different criminal offences. The offences include murder, culpable homicide through to causing death by careless driving. Sentencing in any given case is a matter for th…