Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received a response to the First Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister of 24 July 2015 regarding the so-called Wilson doctrine and, if so, whether it will publish this.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has received no reply from the Prime Minister on this matter to date.
11 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2015 (Official Report, c. 13), in light of the First Minister’s comments about the Scotland Bill and the fiscal framework, what information it can provide regarding the progress being made by the Joint Exchequer Committee.
Answer · John Swinney: As part of the Joint Exchequer Committee (JEC), I have met the Chief Secretary to the Treasury twice to take forward our discussions on a fiscal framework for Scotland with the aim of completing the negotiations during the autumn. I have undertaken to write …
11 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will (a) publish and (b) place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre the minutes and papers from the last two meetings of the Joint Exchequer Committee.
Answer · John Swinney: I recognise and agree the importance of keeping Parliament informed on negotiations. As I have explained to Parliament previously, there is a need to strike a balance between satisfying the legitimate need for parliamentary scrutiny whilst leaving space for a…
9 Sep 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the final decision on the merger of Police Scotland's L and K divisions will be announced.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Any decision to merge K and L divisions is ultimately for Police Scotland acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. Scottish Ministers are aware that Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority have undertaken local consultation on th…
1 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform has met to discuss the proposed by-laws for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and when.
Answer · Aileen McLeod: As part of my consideration of the camping management byelaw proposals submitted by the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, on 8 July 2015 I met representatives of the National Park Authority, the Loch Lomond Destination Group, the 5 Lochs Ma…
1 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the proposed by-laws for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
Answer · Aileen McLeod: Ministers are currently considering the camping management byelaw proposals submitted by Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority, including the comments received during the formal 30 day notification period. An announcement will be made in due c…
1 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the 2015 single farm payments will be made.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Single Farm Payment Scheme has been replaced by a range of new schemes or direct payments including the new Basic Payment Scheme and Greening payments. Under EU rules the payment window for 2015 direct payments runs from 1 December 2015 to the end of Jun…
30 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it gave to the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award in each year from 2012-13 to 2014-15 and how much it has provided for 2015-16.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government provided £600,000 of funding for the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award between 2012-13 and 2014-15. The funding broken down by financial year was: £220,000 in 2012-13; £200,000 in 2013-14; £180,000 in 2014-15. The Scottish Gover…
27 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which local tourism bodies receive support from VisitScotland, broken down by amount received.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Details of VisitScotland’s growth fund awards for the year 2014-15, for the Year of Food and Drink and the period 2015-16 are in the following tables: 2014-15 Growth Fund Awards Area/Local Authority Recipient’s name Project Description Amount Aberdeen C…
27 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how VisitScotland allocates funds to local tourism bodies, and what criteria it uses.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: VisitScotland provides support through its growth fund. The growth fund is a marketing fund available for well researched, collaborative marketing campaigns to groups of tourism businesses operating at a local or national level. The fund enables these groups …
27 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which (a) agencies and (b) projects are supported by the tourism budget.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The 2015-16 Scottish Budget states: “The Tourism budget supports VisitScotland to promote Scotland as a tourism destination, both within the UK and in key overseas markets.” Table 6.07 of the 2015-16 Scottish Budget sets out the level 3 detail of the touris…
27 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its annual spend on tourism has been in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Since 2007, the Scottish Government has invested heavily in projects that have supported tourism in Scotland either directly or indirectly including transport projects such as the Border railway and A9 improvements, digital connectivity and the Step Change pr…
27 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding streams are available for local tourism bodies.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Financial support is available for local tourism bodies from a number of public bodies, although as funding is an operational matter for these organisations the information requested is not held centrally. Examples of potential funding support include: Visi…
26 Aug 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendations outlined in the report by the Scottish Commission on Older Women, Older Women and Work: Looking to the Future.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendations outlined in the report by the Scottish Commission on Older Women, Older Women and Work: Looking to the Future. I welcome the Scottish Commission on Older Women's report, which I read…
25 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to help Scottish companies affected by the economic slowdown in China.
Answer · John Swinney: At this early stage, Scottish Development International (SDI) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) are maintaining close links with account managed companies trading in China to monitor potential impacts. SDI and SE are already assisting Scottish companies trading wi…
25 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of exports is from Scottish companies to China.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government's latest Global Connections Survey reported that in 2013 Scotland exported £580 million of goods and services to China.
25 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of inward investment is by companies based in China.
Answer · John Swinney: The current level of inward investment in Scotland by companies based in China is not held centrally. However, the latest Office for National Statistics Inter Departmental Business Register figures show that as of March 2014, there are five Chinese-owned ente…
25 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the economic slowdown in China will have on the Scottish economy.
Answer · John Swinney: As the chief economist’s latest State of the Economy report highlighted, slowing growth in the Chinese economy represents a key headwind for global economic conditions and the Scottish economy. Whilst China accounts for only a small share (2%) of Scottish int…
15 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing legislation to give tenancy rights to people with residential moorings.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has not considered introducing legislation to give tenancy rights to people with residential moorings.
15 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reviewing the legislation on mooring and navigation licences.
Answer · Derek Mackay: We have no current plans to review the legislation on mooring and navigation licences on Scotland’s canals.
9 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the UK Government has provided in subsidies for onshore wind projects in Scotland in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Renewables Obligation (RO) is a scheme which supports the deployment of large-scale renewable electricity generating stations in the UK. It puts an obligation on licensed electricity suppliers to source some of their supply from renewables, a proportion w…
9 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much generating capacity is available from existing onshore wind projects.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate show that, as at March 2015, Scotland had 5.1 gigawatts of installed capacity from existing onshore wind projects.
9 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many onshore wind projects are in the pipeline that have yet to achieve planning consent, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate (DECC) show that, as at March 2015, there were 126 onshore wind sites in the planning system awaiting consent in Scotland. This data is published by DECC at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/r…
9 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects onshore wind projects that have yet to achieve planning consent and a grid connection offer and acceptance to be eligible for public subsidy after 1 April 2016.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government’s position is that grace period criteria relating to the closure of the renewables obligation should extend to all projects in planning to afford reasonable protection to developers who have made significant investments. We have made t…
9 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many onshore wind projects are awaiting approval by ministers; what the name is of each project; when it was submitted for approval, and how much electricity it is expected to generate.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: At present there are no onshore wind projects awaiting approval by ministers. There are currently 42 live wind farm applications with the Local Energy and Consents Department which may be submitted for determination under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 198…
9 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria will apply to projects that might enjoy a grace period following the UK Government's decision to end public subsidy for onshore wind projects.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The UK Government has set out details of the proposed grace period relating to the closure of the renewables obligation for new onshore wind projects in a policy paper which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewables-obligation-ro-…
4 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will complete the study of patient flow for emergency services at hospitals in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area and when it will be published.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS greater Glasgow and Clyde are undertaking a study of the patient flow for emergency services at hospitals across all sites. This work will consider attendances for one full year from June 2015 through May 2016 so as to take account of the seasonality in e…
4 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its assessment of patient flow for emergency services at hospitals in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area has identified any key priorities for improvement at the (a) Vale of Leven Hospital and (b) Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS greater Glasgow and Clyde are undertaking a study of the patient flow for emergency services at hospitals across all sites. This work will consider attendances for one full year from June 2015 through May 2016 so as to take account of the seasonality in e…
16 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many babies have been born in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by (a) NHS board, (b) hospital and (c) home birth.
Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not held by the Scottish Government, however some of this data can be found on the NHS National Services Scotland – Information Services Division Scotland website which can be viewed by following the attached link: http://www.isdscotland.o…
16 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) midwife- and (b) consultant-led maternity units there are in each NHS board, broken down by hospital.
Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS Ayrshire and Arran Consultant Led Midwife Led Ayrshire Maternity Unit Crosshouse Arran War Memorial Midwifery Led Unit Crosshouse NHS Borders Consultant Led Borders General Melrose NHS Dumfries and Galloway Consultant Led Midwife Led Cress…