Maureen Watt

17 Mar 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to take forward the recommendations by the tenement maintenance working group in its strategy, Housing to 2040.

3 Mar 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34114 by Michael Matheson on 17 December 2020, when it will publish the finalised Franchising Policy Statement.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Having now considered all of the responses from the consultation, I can confirm that the revised Franchising Policy Statement has been published today on the Transport Scotland website.  

24 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with fire safety officials, housing sector representatives and other stakeholders regarding the proposed fire and smoke alarm regulations.

10 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with Police Scotland to engage with young people who are at risk of offending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the administration of the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support Scotland’s rural economy.

16 Dec 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the changes to Scotland's railway since the current franchising policy statement was published in 2012, what plans it has to review the policy.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We had originally planned to undertake this review once the outcomes from the UK Rail Review (‘Williams Review’), due in Autumn last year, were known. However, it is unclear when this will now take place and the Covid 19 outbreak continues to have a significa…

16 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the COVID-19 testing measures in primary and secondary schools.

25 Nov 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure rail services for key workers in the current circumstances while demand is low and unlikely to increase in the immediate future.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Rail Recovery Task Force has been considering how the rail industry in Scotland should react to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in line with Scottish Government guidelines to provide a robust and reliable train service reflective of current passenger ne…

18 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent the suppression of COVID-19 infection rates has been impacted by licensing restrictions.

17 Nov 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on delivering the Programme for Government commitment to establish farmer-led groups to co-develop new ways of working that will help make farming and food production more sustainable.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In this year’s Programme for Government, we committed to establishing farmer-led groups to provide information, advice and proposals to cut emissions and tackle climate change in their sectors. The first of those farmer led groups, chaired by Jim Walker CBE,…

29 Oct 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Farmed Fish Heath Framework.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scotland’s Farmed Fish Health Framework seeks to support a progressive approach to fish welfare and health management, which in turn will contribute to greater sustainability and productivity of one of Scotland’s most important food sectors and contributors t…

7 Oct 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to further the interests of Scottish veterans in terms of making rail travel more affordable.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises and values the contribution our veterans have made to their country. We are supportive of a Veterans Railcard scheme to help make rail travel more attractive and affordable. That is why we have set aside funding for an addit…

22 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging people to engage in recycling and other activities to help protect Scotland’s environment.

16 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reassure people in the north east and elsewhere that signing up to the Protect Scotland app does not make them more at risk of scamming.

9 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the UK Government’s proposed UK Internal Market Bill will take powers away from Scotland.

1 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide updated guidance regarding weddings, in light of the importance of the wedding sector to tourism and the economy of the north east.

31 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the discussions it is having to explore an extension to the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme in Aberdeen, in light of the city’s inability to take advantage of the scheme due to the recent lockdown restrictions.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I wrote to the Chancellor on 14 August requesting an extension of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme in Aberdeen to allow businesses there to benefit from it to the same extent as the rest of the country following the local lockdown restrictions. I still await a …

24 Aug 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome of the mid-point review of the Aberdeen City lockdown on 23 August 2020 has concluded.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister has set out a timeline for the lifting of travel restrictions, limits on indoor meetings and the opening of hospitality. A number of restrictions will be lifted so that by today, Monday 24 August, Aberdeen will be broadly in line with the …

18 Aug 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome of the most recent seven-day review of the Aberdeen City lockdown has concluded.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Regrettably it is not yet possible to lift any of the restrictions today as doing so risk all of the hard won progress that people in Aberdeen have made. Provided we continue to see a downward trend in case numbers – in the days ahead – we will allow non-lic…

11 Aug 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome of the seven-day review of the Aberdeen City lockdown has concluded.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The decision is to maintain current restrictions for the next 7 days as there is no evidence to support the relaxation of the current restrictions. Our decision has been informed by the advice of the Grampian Incident Management Team (IMT), local clinical ad…

5 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding environmental issues.

10 Jun 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional guidance and resources it is providing to local authorities to support the implementation of blended schooling.

27 May 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the easing of lockdown measures for older people, particularly those who are shielding.

20 May 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many 2020 CAP Single Application Forms were submitted by the 15 May 2020 deadline.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Overall 19,487 Single Application Forms for 2020 CAP payments were received by the 15 May deadline, with many of these applications covering multiple schemes. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, submission rates are similar to last year and onlin…

7 May 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish further details on Scotland’s approach to reviewing the COVID-19 restrictions currently in place.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister has today announced that, in light of the best available evidence, the Government has concluded that the regulations and guidance which underpin the current lockdown must remain in place for now. The Government is today publishing COVID-19…

5 May 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the go-live date for the transition from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) to ScotEID in Summer 2020 will still be met.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We have had discussions with the Bovine EID Industry Working Group on the transition from CTS to ScotEID. It was agreed that given the impact of Covid-19 on some third party software providers, as well as the wider farming community that we should delay the t…

22 Apr 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the procurement of the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The contract for the Northern Isles Ferry Services was awarded to Serco Limited on 22 April 2020. The contract will run from 30 June 2020 until 30 June 2026, with the option of a further two years dependent on the successful outcome of a financial base-case r…

5 Feb 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the procurement of the Northern Isles ferry contract.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: CalMac Ferries withdrew its legal action on 31 January, with no financial payment due to either party. Additionally, Transport Scotland has completed its engagement with the European Commission in relation to outstanding State Aid issues, with the Commission …

28 Jan 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the Deer Working Group report, The Management of Wild Deer in Scotland.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The report to the Scottish Government by the independent Deer Working Group is being published today on the Scottish Government website. The group was originally led by Simon Pepper but following Mr Pepper’s untimely death in September 2018, Andrew Barbour t…

22 Jan 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it is providing for community-led sports in the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine constituency.