Chic Brodie

2 Mar 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Network Rail regarding the upgrading of the railway station at Prestwick airport.

20 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of college places funded by the Employability Fund.

25 Nov 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring and evaluation it has carried out of the reforms to the sector following the 2012 Report of the Review of Further Education Governance in Scotland.

18 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it provides to (a) the Scottish Football Association and (b) senior football clubs and what information it has regarding how much of this money has been reinvested in pro youth football.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Financial support amounting to £1.3 million is being provided in 2015-16 to the Scottish Football Association by sportscotland, the national agency for sport. The funding is being invested mainly to support the Scottish FA’s regional development structure, an…

2 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much VisitScotland has spent on (a) direct operations and (b) marketing tourism in (i) South, (ii) East and (iii) North Ayrshire in each of the last five years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland. I have passed your query to Malcolm Roughead, OBE, the Chief Executive of VisitScotland, who will respond to you directly.

28 Oct 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy has to provide financial support for businesses in the social enterprise sector in the south of Scotland.

30 Sep 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages the role that families can play in their children’s learning and what it is doing to increase the quality of early learning and childcare services.

23 Sep 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans it has to support Scottish food and drink exports to the rest of Europe.

16 Sep 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding Prestwick’s bid to be the UK’s first spaceport.

17 Jun 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the exploration for potential oil reserves in the Clyde, off the west coast and in the Atlantic basin.

1 Jun 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last carried out a general survey of the country's mineral and rare earth resources.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Mineral surveys are primarily a matter for the British Geological Survey (BGS). BGS have an ongoing research programme on a range of topics related to the sustainable development of mineral resources. Mineral resource maps of the central belt were published i…

20 May 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Office for Budget Responsibility.

6 May 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages the teaching of Mandarin in schools.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government provides annual funding to the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS) at the University of Strathclyde to encourage young people to learn Mandarin, as well as about Chinese culture and history. CISS also provides language im…

29 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what benefits it considers the EU brings to Scotland.

26 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure was for the Scottish Social Services Council's information technology services in 2013-14.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: This is a matter for the Scottish Social Services Council. The information is not held centrally.

26 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish Social Services Council employees received a salary of over £100,000 in 2013-14.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: The information requested is given in the Scottish Social Services Council Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 56514).

26 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) agency and (b) sub-contracted staff are employed by the Scottish Social Services Council, broken down by (i) role and (ii) hiring cost.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: This is a matter for the Scottish Social Services Council. The information requested is not held centrally.

18 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether National Grid has advised it what impact the use of power barges for the provision of electricity system services could have on resilience.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24983 on 30 March 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

18 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether National Grid had advised it that it was considering the use of power barges for the provision of electricity system services.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24983 on 30 March 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

18 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked National Grid what its alternative is to procuring electricity system services from thermal generation and, if so, what information National Grid has provided.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has regular dialogue with National Grid on a range of matters relating to electricity security of supply in Scotland and the way the system operator fulfils its responsibilities. National Grid procures electricity system services from …

16 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase training and apprenticeship provision in the care industry.

11 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much investment by National Grid would be needed to keep Longannet power station operational, also expressed as a percentage of National Grid's operating profit for (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not have access to Longannet’s profit and loss accounts. This information is held by Scottish Power. During a parliamentary committee hearing on 11 March 2015, Neil Clitheroe, Scottish Power’s Chief Executive Officer of Retail and…

11 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the running costs have been of each operational gas-fired power station in each year since 1999, and what information it has regarding stations in the rest of the UK. 

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally. Such commercial information may be available from the owners of the relevant power stations.

11 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which gas-fired power stations have been mothballed and in what year; what the annual cost has been to maintain each; what the maximum output of each would be if reinstated, expressed as a percentage of overall (a) Scottish and (b) UK capacity, and what information it has regarding stati…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The only major, transmission-connected gas power station in Scotland is sited at Peterhead and remains operational. The information requested on annual maintenance costs and maximum output of mothballed gas power stations in the rest of the UK is not held cen…

9 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding reintroducing the post-study work visa in Scotland.

2 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the transmission charges are for 2014-15, broken down by power station.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The specific information requested is not routinely compiled or published by the Scottish Government. Transmission charges are administered by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc which publishes details of the tariffs that apply to different zones acro…

2 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Network Rail regarding upgrading the railway station at Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: I can advise that the matter of potentially upgrading the railway station at Glasgow Prestwick Airport remains the responsibility of the owner, Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Glasgow Prestwick Airport operates on a wholly commercial basis, and at arm’s length fr…

16 Feb 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the actual and contracted expenditure was for ICT systems in the police and fire services in 2013-14.

17 Dec 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take as a result of the statutory follow-up to the Accounts Commission report on South Ayrshire Council of February 2014.

9 Dec 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that it should establish a Scottish exchequer to accommodate further tax and spending powers going forward.