Sharon Dowey

17 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Energy Consents Unit has accepted an application from ScottishPower Renewables for the Carrick Windfarm without consulting the community, and, if so, for what reason.

Answer · Michael Matheson: An application from ScottishPower Renewables was submitted to the Scottish Ministers on 23 December 2021 for the proposed Carrick Windfarm development. Adverts were placed in the local newspapers Ayrshire Post, Ayr Advertiser, Carrick Herald, and national new…

17 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households have received money from the £500,000 of funding to help pay for the installation of interlinked fire alarms.

Answer · Shona Robison: Care and Repair provide the alarms and installation free of charge for older or disabled homeowners who live in properties with council tax Bands A-C and who are in receipt of pension credit or disability benefit. Our funding has also enabled them to supply a…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many local authorities have a (a) sustainable exhibitions and (b) events and exhibitions officer in place.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities  

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to promote cultural links between Scotland and Northern Ireland, including any work on links between the languages of Scots and UIster Scots.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is represented on the Indigenous Minority and Lesser Used Languages Work Stream where we promote and support the links between our languages and language bodies. In recent times the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Scots Lan…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what cultural exchange programmes it funds between Scotland and Wales.

Answer · Neil Gray: The four-nations arts councils and agencies are working alongside each other to share information and collaborate on more activity and projects, including international work. This includes Arts Infopoint UK, led by Wales Arts International in collaboration w…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what cultural exchange programmes it funds between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Answer · Neil Gray: The four nations arts councils and agencies are working alongside each other to share information and collaborate on more activity and projects, including international work. This includes Arts Infopoint UK, led by Wales Arts International in collaboration w…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings minsters have had with ministers from Wales regarding cultural matters and cultural exchange in (a) 2019 (b) 2020 (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 to date.

Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtual w…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings ministers have had with ministers from the Republic of Ireland regarding cultural matters and cultural exchange in (a) 2019 (b) 2020 (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 to date.

Answer · Neil Gray: Michael Russell, the then Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs met with Simon Coveney, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs on 14 January 2021 to discuss the Scotland Bilateral Review. Culture was one element of this meeting. Ang…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings ministers have had with ministers from Northern Ireland regarding cultural matters and cultural exchange in (a) 2019 (b) 2020 (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 to date.

Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by the Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtu…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what cultural exchange programmes it funds between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

Answer · Neil Gray: Through Colmcille 1500, there has been a partnership between Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland to celebrate St Columba’s legacy and 1500 years since his birth. There have also been many projects supported through a Creative Scotland funding stream set u…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to promote cultural links between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government has an office in Dublin which delivers an ambitious and exciting programme to engage local audiences with Scotland’s contemporary culture, in support of Scotland’s wider International Framework. The office supports Scotland’s programm…

14 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to promote cultural links between Scotland and Wales.

Answer · Neil Gray: Wales was the special partner nation at Showcase Scotland 2022 as part of Celtic Connections, with six Welsh acts featuring as part of the festival programme: Cynefin, Eve Goodman, N’Famady Kouyaté, No Good Boyo, Pedair and The Trials of Cato. There was incre…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much of the £375 million committed to support businesses impacted by COVID-19 has been allocated, and whether it will provide a breakdown of how it has been distributed.

Answer · Kate Forbes: All of the £375 million identified by the Scottish Government to provide businesses with support has now been allocated, including underspend from some of the funds, where business demand has been less than initially forecast. I wrote to all MSPs in January…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the £2 million from the Festivals Expo Fund will be distributed to festivals.

Answer · Neil Gray: Since 2008 the annual Festivals Expo fund has invested over £30 million in the festivals to support innovation, collaboration and artist development. This year funding will also support festival resilience plans following the Covid-19 pandemic. The recipient…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reduced the budget under the heading, National Records of Scotland, by £3.7 million in its Budget for 2021-22, compared with 2020-21.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The budget for National Records of Scotland is made up from two elements. The core budget for service delivery and the programme budget for Scotland’s Census. The Census Programme budget runs to 2024/25 with peak spend in the years around Census day. Scotland…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been submitted to the COVID-19 Cancellation Fund for Creative Freelancers to date.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Cancellation Fund for Creative Freelancers has provided much-needed support to creative freelancers experiencing cancellations due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Since opening the fund on 06 January, Creative Scotland received 1,946 applicat…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of its international and European relations spending plans for the next two years.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The International and European Relations budget of £33.3m for 2022-23 will be spent pursuing our engagement at home and internationally to enhance Scotland's reputation and increase economic success, prosperity and wellbeing, and promote Scotland as a great p…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its new global affairs framework.

Answer · Angus Robertson: Work on the Global Affairs Framework is continuing and the Framework will be published in due course.

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the review process of its development programmes and small grants programmes in Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan.

Answer · Neil Gray: Again, I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35666 of 3 March 2021 which sets out in detail the review process of the development and small grants programmes in Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan undertaken by the Scottish Government. All answers …

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what development programmes it is considering as part of its international development aid.

Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35666 of 3 March 2021 which sets out in detail the programmes the Scottish Government has decided upon as part of its contribution to international development. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions ar…

9 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of homophobia have been reported in (a) South Ayrshire and (b) East Ayrshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of reported incidents that may be homophobic in nature. Data is available on the number of police recorded hate crimes that include an aggravation for sexual orientation, the vast majority of whi…

26 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has to support the view that a 2-metre distancing rule for choirs helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Answer · Neil Gray: A person who is performing indoors does not need to wear a face covering if there is a partition between that person and other people or if there is at least one metre between that person and other people. The distance was reduced from 2 metres to 1 metre wit…

25 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the (a) Strategic Framework Business Fund and (b) COVID-19 Restrictions Fund has been distributed from its total allocated funding in each month since its inception.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Strategic Framework Business Fund made payments to businesses from November 2020 to March 2021. The Local restrictions fund made payments to businesses made from May to July 2021. The Scottish Government has regularly published management information and …

25 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what public information campaigns it plans to introduce to encourage people to attend cultural events as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.

Answer · Neil Gray: While the restrictions on the number of people who can attend live events have been relaxed from 24 January, I understand it will take time for audience confidence to be rebuilt. The Scottish Government is keen to encourage audiences to return to cultural ev…

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify how the new fire and smoke alarm standards will apply to people who live in (a) independent living flats, (b) sheltered housing complexes that employ an on-site warden and (c) other forms of sheltered housing.

Answer · Shona Robison: The new fire and smoke alarms standard applies to all homes regardless of tenure, bringing the social rented and owner-occupied standards up to the same level as private rented and new build homes. Where specialist alarms are required, these are in addition …

19 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work for the recognition of military qualifications in the civilian sector.

Answer · Keith Brown: A programme of work led by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) is underway to look at substantiating military-gained skills and qualifications (which are based on the English qualifications system) to be more easily recognised…

19 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what further action it plans to take in response to the 20 recommendations set out in the Scottish Veterans Commissioner report, Assessment of Scottish Government Progress against SVC Recommendations: November 2021.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government welcomed the Commissioner’s latest progress report which demonstrates that we continue to make good progress in delivering the recommendations made by the previous Veterans Commissioner. I am delighted that, of the recommendations agai…

18 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Sentencing Council’s Sentencing Young People guideline, which is due to come into force on 26 January 2022.

14 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the victims and stakeholders involved in the Fornethy House abuse case.

Answer · John Swinney: To date, Scottish Ministers have had no formal discussions with the survivors or stakeholders involved in the allegations of abuse at Fornethy House Residential School. The abuse of children in all circumstances and settings is wrong, and the Scottish Governm…

11 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the delivery of the increase in the Scottish Child Payment, whether a solution has been found to the "ongoing issue around the preferred technical solution", as referred to in the minutes from the 17th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare from November 202…

Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the question S6W-05690 answered on 9 February 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-committe…