James Kelly

16 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of hip operations have been carried out within the 12-week treatment time guarantee in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2018.

1 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities are using or are seeking to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates in 2018-19.

Answer · Kate Forbes: While Scottish Ministers strongly encourage local councils to consider the use of the powers available to them under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to support local businesses, it is for councils as independent bodies, democratically elected an…

17 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18385 by Kate Forbes on 6 September 2018, how it defines “modest” in its reference to a business rates supplement.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Barclay consultation which closed on 17 September sought views on a range of appropriate safeguards for a pilot scheme which would allow local councils in up to three towns to charge businesses based predominantly online or out-of-town to implement a mode…

11 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to an independent review of football policing.

5 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it plans to improve the environment in South Lanarkshire.

31 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much in VAT receipts it expects to be assigned in the 2019-20 financial year, and what its strategy will be for maximising income from these assigned revenues.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Fiscal Commission is responsible for producing a forecast of assigned Scottish VAT receipts. Their first forecast of Scottish VAT receipts will be published in their Economic and Fiscal Forecasts, supporting the Scottish Government budget later t…

23 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more local authorities to consider and utilise their existing powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to set non-domestic rates fairly.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government continues to encourage all local authorities, most recently at the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation conference, to use their new powers under the Community Empowerment Act 2015. This power grants them the wide ranging flexibi…

23 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the receipts from the proposed new supplementary business rates levy pilots on out-of-town and online businesses will be used for, and how much is expected to be generated by each pilot.

Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18385 on 6 September 2018. 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/parliamentar…

23 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the new supplementary business rates levy pilots are likely to have on continued support for Business Improvement Districts in these areas.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a number of Barclay recommendations. This includes the proposal to introduce pilot schemes in up to three towns to be run by local councils in which businesses based predominantly online or out-of-town might …

4 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme was retained by each local authority in each of the last four financial years.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The additional non-domestic rates raised and retained by individual local authorities in the last four financial years, as a result of the business rates incentivisation scheme are set out in the following table. Following a review no revised scheme was agree…

11 Jun 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that GP appointments are being made available in a timely manner.

6 Jun 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university.

30 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times rail services between Cambuslang and Glasgow Central have been delayed by more than five minutes in 2018.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Cambuslang is served by services on the Argyle Line with a small number of peak stops provided on the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Shotts line. ScotRail provide statistical information, as required through the Franchise Agreement, covering each four-week railway …

24 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has (a) raised from non-domestic rates and (b) provided in non-domestic rates relief in each of the last 10 financial years, and since 6 April 2018.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The following table sets out the amount of Non-domestic rates income raised and the amount awarded through Non-domestic rates reliefs from 2008-09 to 2018-19. Forecasts for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 years have been used in the absence of the finalised figures. …

16 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the First Minister in June 2017, whether it plans to hold a second independence referendum in the Autumn.

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the (a) Scottish Public Pensions Agency IT system, (b) farm subsidy payments IT system, (c) Police Scotland i6 system and (d) NHS 24 IT system cost to install, and what the annual operating cost has been each year, also broken down by how much has been spent annually in rectifyi…

Answer · Derek Mackay: (a) The Scottish Public Pensions Agency IT system has been in place since 2007, and annual operating costs are available in the agency's accounts. In February 2018 SPPA ended a contract to develop a new IT system prior to its installation. Between 2015 and 20…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it was made aware of the reported failures with the Scottish Public Pensions Agency IT system, and what action it is taking to address these.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The SPPA pensions administration system has not failed and continues to administer and pay pensions to its customers. Scottish Ministers were regularly advised of the delivery progress of a new IT system contracted with Capita from October 2015 up until the c…

8 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with NHS Lanarkshire regarding improving GP appointment times.

1 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the provision of GP appointments in NHS Lanarkshire.

Answer · Shona Robison: The latest Health and Care Experience Survey published on 24 April 2018, reported that the number of people offered an urgent appointment at their GP practice within 48 hours has risen from 91% to 93% in the past year, with all health boards meeting the minim…

27 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date (a) Air Departure Tax will be introduced and (b) Air Passenger Duty will cease to apply.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16980 on ?1 June 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…

27 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £500,000 of funding announced in 2017-18 for anti-sectarianism projects was spent.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: Since 2012 the Scottish Government has invested a total of £13.5 million to support work to tackle sectarianism. In 2017-18 the Scottish Government invested the full £500,000 of funding to tackle sectarianism in communities. This work had a particular focus o…

25 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met officials from South Lanarkshire Council's Education Resources.

19 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many recommendations in the report, Review of Scottish public sector procurement in construction, have been implemented.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Following publication of the “Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction”, the Government set up The Construction Review Delivery Group (CRDG) to oversee delivery of the Review’s recommendations. To date, the CRDG has endorsed 47 of the Revi…

19 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out regarding the impact of the recommendations in the report, Review of Scottish public sector procurement in construction.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The “Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction” set out an approach to achieve better collaboration in design-led, efficient and public sector construction procurement and made a number of recommendations as to how this might be realised. T…

17 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the Glasgow bid to host the new Channel 4 headquarters.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Glasgow is a vibrant and innovative city and is home to a wealth of creative talent, which is why we believe it would be the ideal home for Channel 4. Glasgow City Council, working with Scotland's screen and digital sector, have our full support in this init…

9 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact that its closure could have on the food sector, what discussions the rural economy secretary has had regarding the future of the 2 Sisters plant in Cambuslang.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing has been in discussion with officials about potential support options for the company. As this matter has been led by our Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Mr Ewing has bee…

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) median and (b) mean total household income of applicants for the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme has been in each quarter since Q1 2016-17.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Information on the incomes of households purchasing homes through the Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme is based on sales ‘log form’ information returned by participating households. Data for the first three years of the scheme is published in the Help to Buy (Sc…

28 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact (a) changes to the value of property and (b) property being sold has had each year on the value of the equity stakes that it holds under the Help to Buy scheme.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: All published data in relation to the Help to Buy Scotland scheme, including total and average Scottish Government equity stakes, average purchase prices and number of sales, can be found at https://beta.gov.scot/policies/homeowners/help-to-buy/

28 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many repayments it has received each year from its equity stakes under the Help to Buy scheme, and what the value of these have been.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The payments received from each financial year are: Financial Year Sales Receipts Received by SG 2014-15 £171,400 2015-16 £1,099,617 2016-17 £6,608,141 2017-18 (Provisional) £12,463,657 Total £20,342,815 The Scottish Government does not hold read…

28 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much homeowners have paid each year (a) in total and (b) on average on legal fees incurred by solicitors regarding discharging the standard security under the Help to Buy scheme.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: This is a matter for the Help to Buy (Scotland) solicitors, Harper Macleod. The Scottish Government does not set these fees and they are paid directly to Harper MacLeod. The information requested is not held centrally.