Iain Gray

5 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a local authority that does not receive its full allocation of 2015-16 attainment challenge funding before the end of the financial year will lose any of that support and, if so, what proportion.

Answer · Angela Constance: The £100 million Attainment Scotland Fund is a four year funding programme which is targeting support to authorities and schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people living in areas of multiple deprivation. Funding for participating au…

3 Feb 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the target is for access to superfast broadband in East Lothian by 2018 and whether it expects to achieve it.

28 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities (a) have and (b) have not received their full allocation of money from the Attainment Scotland Fund.

Answer · Angela Constance: Funding from the Attainment Scotland Fund is being provided to local authorities by means of specific grants. For the seven challenge authorities, grant is paid quarterly in arrears on receipt of appropriate grant claims. The grant claims for the final quarte…

20 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made of the commercial viability of cultivating EU-approved GM crops before invoking an opt-out.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government's use of the EU's GM cultivation opt out is not a new policy but part of its long-held position to maintain a precautionary approach to GM. The GM maize varieties, which the Scottish Government has opted out of growing, are more suited…

20 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no business and regulatory impact assessment was carried out prior to deciding to opt out of EU consents to cultivate GM crops.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government's use of the EU's GM cultivation opt out is not a new policy but part of its long-held position to maintain a precautionary approach to GM. It was therefore not necessary to carry out a business and regulatory assessment.

17 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to use in-year transfers to bring the student support and tuition fee payments budget for 2016-17 back to £328.9 million and, if so, where it will transfer the money from.

Answer · Angela Constance: In-year transfers are commonly used to provide additional budgetary provision in areas of priority and it is expected that 2016-17 will be no different. The exact level of in-year transfer is unknown at this current time as the final level of transfer is depe…

17 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the difference in the funding for extra places in the student support and tuition fee payments budgets for 2015-16 and 2016-17 means that extra student places originally budgeted for have been reduced.

Answer · Angela Constance: The draft budget for student support and tuition fee payments in 2016-17 have been set at exactly the same level as the original draft budget for 2015-16, before the Autumn Budget Revision was published on 5 November 2015. The level of budget to cover provis…

17 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the 2015-16 Autumn Budget Revision proposed a budget of £328.9 million for student support and tuition fee payments and the Draft Budget 2016-17 proposed £301.6 million.

Answer · Angela Constance: The draft budget for student support and tuition fee payments for 2016-17 has been set at exactly the same level as the original draft budget for 2015-16, before the Autumn Budget Revision was published on 5 November 2015. The ABR transfers to the Student Aw…

9 Dec 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported shortage of 11,000 professionals with digital skills, particularly in relation to computer coding training.

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available to charities supporting victims of historical child sex abuse that are concerned that the Survivor Support Fund arrangements may require them to share their clients' details with the NHS and other organisations and therefore may not apply.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: When offering grants to voluntary sector and third sector organisations, including charities that provide services for victims of historic childhood sex abuse, the Scottish Government does not have legal powers to apply conditions to the effect that grant rec…

17 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what independent research projects it has provided funding for in each year since 2011, also broken down by (a) directorate and (b) the amount provided.

Answer · John Swinney: The attached annex (link below) sets out details of research projects funded by the Scottish Government for the years requested. This has been broken down by commissioning directorate wherever possible. Research Projects

9 Nov 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect tenant farmers affected by the Salvesen V Riddell case and subsequent remedial order.

2 Nov 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the Commission for School Reform's challenge paper.

28 Sep 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the findings in UNISON Scotland's college staff survey report, Learning the Hard Way.

7 Sep 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects net financial savings from the closure of local courts.

31 Aug 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the objective is of its proposed root-and-branch review of the planning system.

24 Aug 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new Haddington Community Hospital will be completed by 2019.

18 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the wastewater pollution incidents risk management guidance.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The guidance was developed through a multi-agency approach and the joint working group included Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Local Authority Environmental Health, NHS boards, Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Governmen…

18 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation process was used in the development of the wastewater pollution incidents risk management guidance.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The guidance was developed through a multi-agency approach and the joint working group included Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Local Authority Environmental Health, NHS boards, Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Governmen…

18 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the wastewater pollution incidents risk management guidance (a) was last and (b) will next be reviewed.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The guidance was developed through a multi-agency approach and the joint working group included Scottish Water, SEPA, Local Authority Environmental Health, NHS boards, Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Government. The guidance was last updated in 20…

30 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assurance it can give that the East Lothian Community Hospital project will be delivered to the timetable of phase one open by 2017 and completion by 2019.

Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Ministers remain committed to supporting the East Lothian Community Hospital project, and NHS Lothian is continuing to develop its plans for a replacement hospital. This project is to be delivered through non-profit distributing (NPD) funding, under …

2 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25501 by Jamie Hepburn on 20 May 2015, what arrangements are in place to ensure that the neurosurgical team at NHS Tayside has the capacity to provide timely battery replacement and external lead replacement for people who have previously received d…

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) patients are and always have been part of the neurosurgical workload of NHS Tayside. Battery changes are predicted either from a clinical database, or from software used to run the DBS device. There is one neurosurgical consu…

2 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for referrals to see a neuropsychologist from adult neurology in each NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not available centrally. Waiting time information for a first outpatient appointment is only collected at specialty level – neuropsychologist is not a specialty. A referral to a neuropsychology will have been made as part of a pat…

2 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the annual budget for nationally commissioned specialist patient services is determined.

Answer · Shona Robison: The process for determining the annual budget for nationally commissioned specialist patient services involves consideration of an annual business plan by the National Specialist Services Committee (NSSC). NSSC makes recommendations to the NHS Board Chief …

18 Jun 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what engagements she has planned for the rest of the day.

15 Jun 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what engagements she has planned for the rest of the day

12 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the challenges faced by black and minority ethnic teachers seeking progression into senior roles.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to equality. We want to see a diverse education workforce which includes more black and minority ethnic teachers in senior roles. The establishment of the Scottish College for Educational Leadership alongside a new Qualifi…

12 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of black and minority ethnic teachers in schools.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to equality. We want to see a diverse education workforce which broadly reflects Scottish society. I am committed to establishing a new Strategic Board for teacher education and quality which will include universities, loc…

12 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more black and minority ethnic people to become teachers.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to equality. We want to see a diverse education workforce which broadly reflects Scottish society. I am committed to establishing a new Strategic Board for teacher education and quality which will include universities, loc…

8 Jun 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on compulsory redundancies in the further education sector.