Kenneth Gibson

31 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the joint report, Automated Vehicles, published by the Scottish Law Commission and the Law Commission of England and Wales, and which concludes their three-year review of the regulatory framework for road-based automated vehicles.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of the comprehensive and well informed Joint Report on Automated Vehicles by the Scottish Law Commission and the Law Commission of England and Wales. While the majority of the Law Commissions’ recommendations…

26 Jan 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the services available to people with gambling addiction.

25 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what bearing the conclusions of the Endometriosis UK report, Analysis of Endometriosis Service Provision in Scotland, in January 2022, will have on the timescale for action to improve the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.

Answer · Maree Todd: We welcome the 4 key recommendations in the report from Endometriosis UK and work is already underway to implement each of these. Diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis must improve and that is why the Scottish Government has made it a priority in the Wome…

17 Jan 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan.

17 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is being provided to travel agents to assist them in their recovery from the financial impact on their businesses of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Answer · Kate Forbes: We know this is a difficult time for travel agents and we have had to make tough decisions to target funding to sectors immediately impacted by the updated public health guidance. Since the start of the pandemic, businesses have benefitted from more than £4.…

10 Jan 2022 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government will take to urgently progress the green transition in North Ayrshire, following the closure of Hunterston B power station on 7 January.

21 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it anticipates will be in the (a) higher and (b) top income tax bands in April 2022.

Answer · Tom Arthur: For the 2022-23 tax year, the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that there will be 452,600 Scottish taxpayers in the Higher Rate band, and 19,500 in the Top Rate band.

21 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people were in the (a) higher and (b) top income tax bands in April 2021.

Answer · Tom Arthur: For the 2021-22 tax year, the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that there will be 417,800 Scottish taxpayers in the Higher Rate band, and 18,000 in the Top Rate band.

8 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it is making for holding an independence referendum in the first half of the current parliamentary session.

3 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will spend in the current financial year (a) on welfare, (b) on telecoms and (c) in total in order to mitigate any impact of decisions taken by the UK Government.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Estimated spend on the specified areas is detailed in the following table (this doesn't include the circa £3.5 billion of Social Security benefits which while devolved supports and supplements UK welfare benefits):- Portfolio Level 4 2021-22 Budget Amount …

22 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much North Ayrshire Council will pay in Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) payments in the financial year 2021-22.

Answer · Kate Forbes: North Ayrshire Council has an estimated unitary charge payment of £4 million in 2021-22 for the ongoing Largs Campus contract that formed part of the NPD/hub Programme. The council also has an estimated unitary charge payment of £13 million in 2021-22 for the…

17 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact air pollution has on mortality and morbidity.

8 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its revenue allocation has been to North Ayrshire Council in real terms in each year since 1999-2000, up to and including 2021-22.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The total revenue funding provided by the Scottish Government to North Ayrshire Council as part of the annual local government finance settlement, in real terms, is set out in the following table. It should be noted that the basis of local government funding…

8 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its capital allocation has been to North Ayrshire Council in real terms in each year since 1999-2000, up to and including 2021-22.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The total capital grant funding provided by the Scottish Government to North Ayrshire Council, in real terms, since 2008-09 is set out in the following table. Prior to 2008-09 the Scottish Government supported local authorities’ capital funding programmes thr…

5 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much block grant funding from the UK Government it has been provided with for capital expenditure in real terms in each year since 2007.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table incudes how much the UK Government has provided to the Scottish Government for capital expenditure in real terms each year since 2007-08, excluding Financial Transactions. Financial Year   Capital cash terms (£m) Capitalreal terms (£m…

5 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided to the (a) Cunninghame, (b) Irvine and (c) Trust Housing Associations for the construction of new housing in each year between 1999 and 2011.

Answer · Shona Robison: The following table shows the funding provided to Cunninghame, Irvine and Trust Housing Associations between 1999-2000 to 2011-12 to deliver affordable homes. This funding supported delivery of new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the…

5 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided to North Ayrshire Council for the construction of new council housing in each year between 1999 and 2011.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government Council House Build Programme was introduced in April 2009, the aim being to incentivise local authorities to build new homes. This was the first such central government support to councils in a generation. The following table shows t…

3 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to spend on reserved policy areas in 2021-22, with itemised details for each expenditure line.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government does not spend in reserved policy areas however, it is having to spend in areas such as welfare and telecoms in order to mitigate the decisions taken by the UK Government.

25 Oct 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the UK Budget.

20 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding reports that ferries have to cease operations every day while being cleaned as part of COVID-19-related protocols, and what information it has on whether all other modes of transport are similarly treated.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Enhanced cleaning takes place on a regular basis on all vessels whilst they are in service. If a vessel is confirmed as having a positive covid case onboard, it is temporarily removed from service to allow a deep clean to take place by external contractors. …

7 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has provided to North Ayrshire Council for the construction of new council housing in each year from 2011-2012 to 2021-22, and how much it will provide in each year from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

Answer · Shona Robison: he Scottish Government Council House Build Programme was introduced in April 2009, the aim being to incentivise local authorities to build new homes. This was the first such central government support to councils in a generation. The following table shows th…

7 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will contribute to local authorities, on average, in the current financial year for each council house that is built, and what the range of funding support is per house based on their size and type.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is for individual local authorities to determine the amount of grant that they require to apply for in order for a project to be financially viable. We are therefore unable to say how much the Scottish Government will contribute to local authorities – on a…

7 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has provided to (a) Cunninghame, (b) Irvine and (c) Trust Housing Associations for the construction of new housing in each year from 2011-2012 to 2021-22, and how much it will provide to each of these housing associations in each year from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

Answer · Shona Robison: The following table shows the actual funding provided to Cunninghame, Irvine and Trust Housing Associations between 2011-12 to 2020-21, and planned funding levels for 2021-22, through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) to deliver affordable homes.…

7 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will contribute to housing associations, on average, in the current financial year for the construction of each new house that they build, and what the range of funding support is per house based on their size and type.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is for individual housing associations to determine the amount of grant that they require to apply for in order for a project to be financially viable. We are therefore unable to say how much the Scottish Government will contribute to housing associations …

29 Sep 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when work will begin constructing the roundabouts and flyover planned for the junctions of the A737, B706 and B777.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: With the statutory procedures completed, Transport Scotland is progressing through the necessary governance approval procedures that require to be completed before any procurement process for the A737 Improvements at Beith project could begin. Once this proce…

22 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated financial cost as a result of the increase in gas prices will be for (a) NHS Scotland, (b) local authorities and (C) all other areas of the public sector.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS bodies, Local Authorities and other public sector bodies that use Scottish Government’s national collaborative framework for the Supply of Natural Gas will see no increase in price this financial year to their wholesale cost of gas. The cost of wholesale …

21 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much the increase in employers' national insurance payments will have on (a) the NHS, (b) local government and (c) all other parts of the public sector in Scotland.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Our initial estimates are that the increase in employer National Insurance contributions will result in the following costs: (a) NHS - £67 million (b) Local Government - £31 million (c) Other parts of public sector - £53 million Combined these come to an …

19 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the next round of the Scottish Crown Estate Net Revenue Allocation Scheme will be (a) determined and (b) dispersed.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The next round of allocations will be confirmed and dispersed to local authority areas this Autumn.

15 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its policies and actions across government will support Ayrshire’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will contribute towards the £170 million regeneration works to support investment in site infrastructure at the North Shore area of Ardrossan, which includes a new community campus, harbour and marina improvements, international marine science centre and residential a…

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government welcomes this regeneration and infrastructure investment in North Ayrshire, which will improve the wellbeing of the community and help to deliver long term inclusive growth for Ardrossan and wider North Ayrshire. The Ardrossan harbour…