Parliamentary questions

Mike Rumbles

1,089 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to offer its loan scheme to farmers for the 2017-18 round of CAP basic payments.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government’s aim is to deliver improved timescales for 2017 CAP payments. As I have already indicated publicly, the option of a loan scheme for the 2017 Basic Payment scheme forms part of our considerations to achieve this.

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patient beds there are in NHS Grampian for people being treated for mental health issues.

Answer · Shona Robison: In NHS Grampian, there were 350 average available staffed beds in Psychiatric Specialties in 2015-16p. Notes: Source: ISD Scotland ISD(S)1 p Provisional

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patient beds there are in NHS Grampian, and how many there have been in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: The average available staffed beds in NHS Grampian in each of the past five financial years, is available from the ISD Scotland website. The link to this data is as follows: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Hospital-Care/Publications/2016-10-04/Annu…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects all CAP basic payments for 2017-18 to be paid before the deadline in June 2018.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We are committed to making all eligible payments by 30 June 2018 and are working to achieve this.

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many businesses in the North East Scotland parliamentary region have closed in (a) the last six months and (b) each of the last five years.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Business births, deaths and survival rates - based on VAT/PAYE registrations and de-registrations - are produced by the Office for National Statistics within their Business Demography publications. Data are not published for parliamentary regions, however dat…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many businesses in the North East Scotland parliamentary region have closed or downsized due to an increase in business rates.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has listened carefully to businesses in the North East and targeted additional non-domestic rates relief where it was most needed. On top of our business rates package announced at the Draft Budget, which delivered an overall tax cut o…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) Broadband Development UK, (b) local authorities, (c) BT and (d) other organisations have spent on delivering superfast broadband in the North East Scotland parliamentary region in the last 12 months.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: With reference to PQs S5W-10143 and S5W-10144 (answered on 27 July 2017), as Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) is a national programme which is being managed through two regional contracts – one covering the Highlands & Islands region, the other cov…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on delivering superfast broadband in the North East Scotland parliamentary region in the last 12 months.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Alongside our partners, the Scottish Government is delivering the £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) Programme which will extend fibre broadband access to at least 95% of premises in Scotland by the end of 2017. This is a national progra…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will deliver 100% coverage of 30mbps superfast broadband to every household in the North East Scotland parliamentary region and, if so, when.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband access by the end of 2021. This will of course include those households in the North East Scotland parliamentary region that are not currently capable of accessing superfast broadband.

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been made by NHS staff in the North East Scotland parliamentary region in the last 12 months regarding measures it has brought forward, and what proportion of these complaints have been upheld.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. Decisions relating to staff complaints and how any related statistics are collected are matters for each individual Health Board, within the framework of the relevant policy and procedures. Health Boards are require…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how NHS Grampian's performance compares with other NHS boards, and how this performance is measured.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Grampian's performance against the Local Delivery Plan Standards is reported through Scotland Performs alongside that of other NHS Boards. The information can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/NHSScotlandperformance

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will spend on delivering superfast broadband in the North East Scotland parliamentary region in the next 12 months.

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to open a rail line between Aberdeen and Peterhead.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has no plans to open a rail line between Aberdeen and Peterhead. However, we continue to engage with Nestrans on their Fraserburgh, Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study (FPASTS) which is considering road, rail and public tra…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the delays to CAP payments have cost the rural economy since September 2015.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government provides regular updates to Parliament on the number and timing of payments made under the range of CAP support schemes. While these do not include an assessment of economic impact, as the information is not readily available, the Scot…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding per head of population NHS Grampian receives, and how this compares to other NHS boards.

Answer · Shona Robison: Population level is only one of the factors taken into account by the Scottish Government when allocating funding to NHS Boards; other key factors include relative deprivation and need for healthcare of different Board areas. Since 2015-16 NHS Grampian has re…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average speed of broadband is in homes in Aberdeenshire, and how many homes have speeds of 30mbps or more.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the speeds being delivered by commercial suppliers. As such the Scottish Government does not hold information regarding the average speed of broadband in homes in Aberdeenshire. As commercial delivery of b…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates CO2 emissions will increase by if Air Departure Tax is reduced by 50%, and how this relates to its environmental and climate change targets.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has committed to undertaking and publishing a range of impact assessments of Air Departure Tax (ADT). These will be published in the autumn, no later than when the Government sets out its secondary legislation plans for ADT tax bands a…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when works on the A90 grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk will begin.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05287 on 16 December 2016. 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/parliamentarybusines…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vacant teaching posts there are in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Aberdeenshire, (c) Angus and (d) Dundee, and what action it is taking to reduce these numbers.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not collect formal statistics on teacher vacancies. However, to strengthen the annual teacher workforce planning exercise for 2017-18, local authorities were asked to provide teacher vacancy numbers as at 21 September 2016. Thi…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the dualling of the A96; how much the project will cost, and how much will be invested in the project by the end of the current parliamentary session.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has given a commitment to complete the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030. At this early stage of development it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of the cost of the dualling programme. The current esti…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it monitors job satisfaction of teachers and, if so, what the level of job satisfaction has been for teachers in (a) the North East Scotland parliamentary region and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not monitor teacher satisfaction. This is a matter for local authorities as employers of teachers. The Scottish Government takes the views of teachers seriously and has a number of forums, both formal and informal, for meetings w…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that Air Departure Tax is reduced by 50%, how it can ensure that this reduction is passed on to passengers.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As set out in my response to question S5W-10128 on 4 August 2017, the Scottish Government has committed to undertaking and publishing a range of impact assessments of Air Departure Tax (ADT). The Government has already commissioned an independent economic im…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the estimated increase in turnover will be for airlines for (a) domestic and (b) international flights from Scottish airports if Air Departure Tax is reduced by 50%.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As set out in my response to question S5W-10128 on 4 August 2017, the Scottish Government has committed to publishing a range of impact assessments of Air Departure Tax (ADT). The Government has already commissioned an independent economic assessment of the …

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the estimated increase in passenger numbers will be on (a) domestic and (b) international flights from Scottish airports if Air Departure Tax is reduced by 50%.

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been made by teachers in the North East Scotland parliamentary region in the last 12 months regarding changes to the curriculum and other measures it has brought forward, and what proportion of these complaints have been upheld.

Answer · John Swinney: Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence provides a broad national framework for learning and teaching. Local authorities are responsible for developing the detailed approach to the curriculum as it relates to schools in their area. Local authorities are also res…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in each local authority to promote the use of electric buses.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to public transport in Scotland and to our ambitious climate change target of reducing carbon emissions by 42% by 2020. In 2010 the Government launched the Scottish Green Bus Fund with the aim of incentivising the purcha…

3 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) promote the use of and (b) improve public transport in the North East Scotland parliamentary region.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are investing over £1 billion annually in public transport, including local bus services, and other sustainable transport options, such as cycling to encourage people out of their cars across Scotland. We are also working with stakeholders to develop legis…

6 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many ministerial meetings with (a) lobbyists and (b) other interest groups there have been in the North East Scotland parliamentary region since May 2016, and what action it has taken to ensure that these have all been logged and minuted.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Details of ministerial engagements are published regularly on the Scottish Government website at: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/?term=Ministerial&publicationTypes=transparency_data. The facts of such meetings are recorded in accordance with terms of t…

6 Jun 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many teaching vacancies it estimates there will be in the North East Scotland parliamentary region at the start of the 2017-18 school year.

Answer · John Swinney: The employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities and the Scottish Government does not estimate teaching vacancies. As part of this year's teacher workforce planning exercise the Scottish Government will again undertake a teacher vacancy survey, …

18 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it plans of the operational performance of the police and fire control centres in Dundee relative to the previous centres in Aberdeen and Inverness and, if the comparative performance is found to be poorer, what action it will take.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Responsibility for monitoring performance in relation police call handling rests with the Scottish Police Authority. Separately, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland continue to monitor progress and performance in this area following its 201…