Parliamentary questions

Tim Eagle

1,493 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

18 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will share its estimate of thetimeframes by when any backlog of (a) inpatient and (b) outpatient care in NHSWestern Isles will be cleared.

Answer · Neil Gray: All long waits are regrettable, and we continue to work with Health Boards, including NHS Western Isles, to drive improvements in waiting times.Public Health Scotland publishes data on NHS Waiting Times across NHS Scotland quarterly. This can be accessed usin…

9 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30086 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 October 2024, whether it will provide details of the reasons why Funeral Support Payment applications were rejected in each year since 2021.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland communicate the reasons why Funeral Support Payment applications are denied to applicants on an individual basis by letter. Applications can be denied if the client is not eligible or provides insufficient evidence to support their Fu…

9 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29982 by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2024, whether it will provide details of how it is progressing with rolling out the Family Nurse Partnership programme in (a) island NHS boards and (b) the rest of the NHS Highland area.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has been working with NHS boards to carefully scale up the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme across Scotland, ensuring implementation models are sustainable and delivered with quality.Under this phased rollout of the programme (…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered allowing an exemption under section 10 of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 for contract workers who require overnight accommodation.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Local authorities have the freedom to create exemptions and rebates at a local level to suit the needs and demands. When local government and the tourism sector have a strong consensus that there is a need for a specific exemption from the scope of a visitor …

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it will ensure that the CalMac ferry fleet remains at a lower average age, following the delivery of the new ferries that have been ordered.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our updated Vessels and Ports Plan was published on 1 February 2024 as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan. It sets a target average vessel age of around 15 years by the end of this decade. The delivery of the six new major CalMac vessels currently under co…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12129 by Jenny Gilruth on 22 November 2022, whether it has given any further consideration to establishing a separate freight-only service to and from Islay.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The option of a separate freight-only service to and from Islay has been considered. However, the Government is investing in two new vessels for Islay that will, together, provide 55% more space for Heavy Goods Vehicles than the two current vessels and are ex…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with CalMac regarding whether it would benefit from having at least one spare ferry available in the event of a breakdown of an operating ferry.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our updated Vessels and Ports Plan, published 1 February 2024, confirms that a “resilience vessel” will be retained in the CalMac major vessel fleet to cover planned and unplanned outages.

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with CalMac regarding creating additional ferry fleet capacity during the 2024-25 winter timetable period, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Deployment of vessels is an operational matter for CalMac, who are looking again at options for the Winter timetabling light of current challenges with the ferry fleet.Whilst we expect the operator to make full use of the available fleet, Scottish Ministers a…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any assessment of the number of people who use the existing Sound of Harris ferry service for health-related appointments, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold information on numbers of patients travelling and the means of travel. However we are aware of an increase in travel on the sound of Harris Ferry following changes to the Benbecula Stornoway air service in April 2024.As y…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the existing capacity of the CalMac ferry fleet for island communities in relation to the (a) current and (b) future needs of island communities.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: Our Islands Connectivity Plan draft Strategic Approach paper, published 1 February 2024, noted feedback that the space for vehicles on busy ferry routes fills up quickly at popular times, especially in summer. At other times, and on other routes, there is spa…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered committing to ordering at least two ferries per year in order for CalMac to maintain a lower average age across its ferry fleet.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our updated Vessels and Ports Plan was published on 1 February 2024 as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan. It sets out the recommended investment programme needed to maintain and safely operate the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry services net…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much freight has been transported by CalMac vessels in each year since 2021, also broken down by (a) freight category, (b) freight item and (c) ferry route.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) do not capture freight carryings by category or by freight item. They only capture the number of Commercial Vehicles carried and the number of Commercial Vehicle lane metres used. A table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament…

4 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding ordering a new vessel to serve the Sound of Harris ferry route, particularly during peak periods, in light of the reported demands on the current service, which is restricted by tides and daylight hours.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The updated Vessels and Ports Plan was published on 1 February 2024 as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan. This includes a plan to replace the current Sound of Harris vessel.CMAL has commenced work on phase two of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme whi…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that the new Gasay ferry terminal development for Lochboisdale will be operational.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The procurement timelines of the project are subject to completion of appropriate business case processes, availability of funding, and approvals from Scottish Ministers. The construction timelines are subject to successful completion of procurement and agree…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to present its new Scottish Government Gateway Review on the proposed Gasay ferry terminal development for Lochboisdale to the CMAL board and Transport Scotland investment decision-making board for funding.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Outline Business Case is expected to be completed by early 2025 and will then be subject to review and consideration by the Transport Scotland Investment Decision Making Board and thereafter by Scottish Ministers, prior to agreeing the next steps.

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to providing compensation to the community landlord, Storas Uibhist, for any business lost due to the delay to the development of the proposed Gasay ferry terminal development for Lochboisdale.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are no plans for compensation to be offered to Storas Uibhist for any business lost during the ongoing development of the Gasay proposals. Any such scheme ultimately draws resources otherwise intended for the operation of ferry services and associated p…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will have completed the new Scottish Government Gateway Review on the proposed Gasay ferry terminal development for Lochboisdale.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The indicative programme for Gasay (Lochboisdale) anticipates the next Scottish Government Gateway Review for the project within Q1 2025, however this is dependent on the options development and other key elements of work being satisfactorily concluded.

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to speed up the approval process for the proposed Gasay ferry terminal development for Lochboisdale, in light of reports that the initial Lochboisdale Harbour Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) report was published in 2017 and the local community has bee…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Work is currently progressing with additional technical and economic studies, including ground investigation scoping, now underway by CMAL. It is vital that a robust business case is completed to refine the options, costs and risks, as well as outlining affor…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will receive the revised outline business case from CMAL for the proposed Gasay ferry terminal development for Lochboisdale.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Additional technical and economic studies, including ground investigation scoping, are now underway by CMAL and these will lead to an update of the draft Outline Business Case report.The Outline Business Case is expected to be completed by CMAL by early 2025.…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates that it will receive in receipts from the UK Apprenticeship Levy in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Since 2020-21 the Scottish Government has not received a specific allocation of the Apprenticeship Levy revenue. Scotland receives a Barnett Formula share of funding via the block grant in the usual way.

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21203 by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023, whether it will provide details of which local authorities it anticipates will use or are considering using their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates in (a) 20…

Answer · Ivan McKee: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30449 on 22 October 2024. 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…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21203 by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on which local authorities have used or are seeking to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2…

Answer · Ivan McKee: Local authorities are independent bodies, and it is for them to consider whether to use the powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to deliver local reliefs. The Scottish Government includes information on these powers in its Local governme…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21204 by Tom Arthur on 22 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on any action that it has taken to encourage more local authorities to consider and utilise their existing powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to redu…

3 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21202 by Tom Arthur on 22 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on how much revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme was retained by each local authority in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The business rates incentivisation scheme (BRIS) was suspended in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 due to the disruptive impact of COVID on NDR revenues, as confirmed in Local government finance circular 8/2021: business rates incentivisation scheme 2019-2022 - g…