Mike Rumbles

18 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Minister for Transport and Islands in the Sunday Herald on 16 October 2016 that overcrowding on ScotRail services "will not be solved in a few months”, when it was made of aware of the current overcrowding issues.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Ministers specify rail services and train capacity they require to see delivered by ScotRail. Abellio is now contracted to deliver these, using all available rolling stock and it is for the franchisee to decide how to manage and allocate its rolling …

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, when it first discussed the proposed third runway with representatives of Heathrow Airport, on what dates subsequent meetings took place, broken down by which (a) ministers and (b) officials attended.

Answer · Keith Brown: Proposals were first discussed in 2013. Meetings with Heathrow took place on 7 November 2013 with the Minister for Transport and Veterans; 13 November 2014 with the Minister for Transport and Veterans; 12 December 2014 with Transport Scotland officials; 25 Ma…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, what guarantees it has been given that Glasgow Prestwick Airport could be a logistics hub to support the building of a third runway; for what reason the airport has been chosen as a possible candidate to com…

Answer · Keith Brown: Heathrow Airport Ltd has agreed that a supply chain hub will be located in Scotland. Heathrow will work with the Scottish Government to identify the optimal location for the hub, considering Glasgow Prestwick Airport in the first instance. We do not hold info…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the creation of a third runway at Heathrow Airport will make it easier or harder to meet its environmental and climate targets.

Answer · Keith Brown: Scotland is showing global leadership by including both domestic and international aviation in its emissions reduction targets. While we recognise that policies to boost economic growth by improving Scotland’s air connectivity may lead to an increase in aviat…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) a copy of the memorandum of understanding signed with Heathrow Airport on 10 October 2016.

Answer · Keith Brown: We have arranged for a copy of the MoU to be placed in SPICe (BIB number 58294).

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set a target for controlling the levels of emissions from (a) international and (b) domestic aviation and, if so, what this is.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government recognises that policies to boost economic growth by improving Scotland’s air connectivity may lead to an increase in aviation emissions, we are prepared to work harder in other areas to ensure we are driving down overall emissions. Ou…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, what the value of the long-term marketing campaign signed as part of the memorandum of understanding would have been had it been obtained on the open market, and what this would involve.

Answer · Keith Brown: The marketing campaign would be worth £1.5million and would promote investment and tourism in Scotland. As with previous campaigns Heathrow and Visit Scotland will work together to ensure the marketing campaign is a success.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, prior to it signing a memorandum of understanding with Heathrow Airport on 10 October 2016, what information it had regarding the potential impact of a third runway at the airport on the environment and emissions, broken down by the potential impact (a) worldwide, (b) in the UK (c) in t…

Answer · Keith Brown: The environmental assessment of airport expansion in the South East of England is set out in the report of the Airports Commission published in July 2015. The report can be accessed at:www.gov.uk/publications/airports-commission-final-report.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional tonnes of aviation emissions will be generated by flights (a) arriving in and (b) departing Scotland if (i) a third runway is built at Heathrow Airport, (ii) it proceeds with its plan to reduce air passenger duty and (iii) both of these occur, broken down by (A) domes…

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland published initial analysis in September 2014 which estimated that reducing Air Passenger Duty (APD) in Scotland by 50% would generate a small net annual increase in emissions of between 0.05 and 0.06 Mega Tonnes of carbon dioxide. The Scott…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set a target for increasing the number of (a) international and (b) domestic aviation (i) passengers, (ii) flights and (iii) destinations and, if so, what this is.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government have identified route development priorities for the next four years. These priorities include routes to the USA, China, India and Europe. No specific targets have been set in terms of numbers of new flights, passengers and destination…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to it signing the memorandum of understanding with Heathrow Airport on 10 October 2016, whether the establishment of the £10 million route development fund to help support new domestic routes is compatible with its (a) environmental and climate commitments and (b) ambition to re…

Answer · Keith Brown: Applications for funding under Heathrow's fund for new domestic routes will be for airlines to progress with the support of airports. Whilst we recognise that support for some policies designed to promote economic growth may lead to an increase in emissions,…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its definition is of a (a) short- and (b) long-haul flight.

Answer · Keith Brown: Definitions vary among airlines but generally we regard flights between Scotland the rest of Europe to be short haul and those between Scotland and other continents to be long haul.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional (a) domestic, (b) international, (c) short-haul and (d) long-haul flights would (i) arrive in and (ii) depart Scotland each year if (A) a third runway is built at Heathrow Airport, (B) it proceeds with its plan to reduce air passenger duty, (C) both of these occur and…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. A third runway at Heathrow and a reduction in Air Passenger Duty (APD) are just two of a number of factors that would affect air route development in Scotland. Any additional capacity will be s…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish and (b) place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) the evidence that it has to support the claim made on 10 October 2016 by the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work on Good Morning Scotland that attracting more long-haul fligh…

Answer · Keith Brown: Scotland needs a stronger offering of direct routes to international destinations as well as good connectivity to world hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam. We recognise that there will always be a number of destinations around the world that will only be access…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, how the £200 million of construction-related spend it claims would be allocated, broken down by the (a) areas, (b) sectors and (c) types of company that would benefit, and how this figure was calculated.

Answer · Keith Brown: The commitment on £200 million of construction-related spend in Scotland was made by Heathrow Airport Ltd. The spend would relate to potential new business for a wide array of companies with capabilities in the construction of airport and associated infrastru…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to it signing the memorandum of understanding with Heathrow Airport on 10 October 2016 and the announcement of the £10 million route development fund, whether it has identified new domestic routes that should be created; for what reason it has identified these routes; what guara…

Answer · Keith Brown: Applications for funding under Heathrow's fund for new domestic routes will be for airlines to progress with the support of airports. Securing funding will be a competitive process but we would anticipate that new routes from Dundee and Glasgow Prestwick Airp…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, what (a) environmental, and (b) other organisations it consulted prior to deciding whether to support a third runway, and on what dates, broken down by which (i) ministers and (ii) officials attended.

Answer · Keith Brown: The report of the Airports Commission published in July 2015 sets out its environmental considerations on expansion of London Heathrow. The Scottish Government did not carry out a separate consultation process.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) copies of all correspondence and minutes of meetings it has had with Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport in the last 12 months.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government will place in SPICe all documents which are considered not to be commercially confidential or covered by other areas which are exempted from release under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what limits to the expansion of aviation travel will be necessary for Scotland to meet its climate change targets.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is taking an economy wide approach to emissions reduction. While we recognise that policies to boost economic growth by improving Scotland’s air connectivity may lead to an increase in aviation emissions, we are prepared to work harder…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the concept of unlimited expansion of aviation travel.

Answer · Keith Brown: We will continue to support Scotland's airports' ambitions to grow the number of direct routes because of the economic benefits that arise from more passengers travelling through the terminals, better business connectivity and more inbound tourism. We want al…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, how many Scotland-based firms currently do business with tier 1 Heathrow suppliers and how many more it believes would do so as a result of the procurement event that it refers to.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many Scottish based firms are doing business with Heathrow Airport's tier 1 suppliers.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 10 October 2016, Support for Heathrow expansion, where the 16,000 new jobs it claims would be generated would be located, broken down by (a) sector and (b) type of employer; when they will be created, and how this figure was calculated.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Airports Commission concluded that expansion at Heathrow would deliver up to 180,000 jobs across the UK. Heathrow Airport produced a regional disaggregation of this to arrive at an estimated 16,000 jobs in Scotland through to 2050. These jobs will come fr…

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the potential new capacity at Heathrow Airport that would result from a third runway would (a) benefit and (b) be to the detriment of each Scottish airport and its nearby communities and environment, broken down by airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: The benefits or any detrimental impact on each Scottish Airport will be determined by how airlines and passengers respond to increased capacity being available.

10 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the growth in aviation (a) passengers, (b) flights, (c) destinations and (d) emissions has been in each of the last 10 years, and how much it anticipates each would grow in each of the next 10 years were a third runway (i) to be built and (ii) not to be built at Heathrow Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: Data on growth in aviation passengers, flights and destinations is available from Scottish Transport Statistics 2015, Chapter 8, which is available from the links below: Publication: http://www.transport.gov.scot/sites/default/files/documents/rrd_reports/upl…

29 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports of excessive farming subsidies being accrued by large landowners, what it is doing to ensure that good and efficient use is made of agricultural land, and how it will monitor good land use after 2020 when the current CAP subsidy system ends.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to S5W-03324 on 27 October 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.a…

29 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers and landowners in the North East Scotland parliamentary region received under (a) £10,000 and (b) £30,000 in CAP farming subsidies per annum in 2015-16 or the latest period for which data is available.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In terms of CAP Direct Payments (Basic Payment Scheme/Greening/Young Farmer and Voluntary Coupled Support) paid by the Scottish Government to businesses in the North East Scotland parliamentary constituency to date, the number of business by the requested val…

29 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total value is of CAP subsidies to farm businesses in the North East Scotland parliamentary region.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The total amount of CAP Direct Payments (Basic Payment Scheme/Greening/Young Farmer and Voluntary Coupled Support) paid by the Scottish Government to businesses in the North East Scotland parliamentary constituency is £94,971,486.39 as of 10 October 2016.

29 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that large landowners do not exploit the current system of CAP payments to accrue excessive farming subsidies, and how it proposes to address this issue after 2020, when the current system ends.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has ensured that farmers who are actively farming receive the support they need to produce food and provide other public benefits. At the same time, we have taken a number of steps under the recent CAP reforms to address the issue of l…

29 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of farmers and landowners in the North East Scotland parliamentary region that received over £100,000 per annum in CAP farming subsidies in 2015-16 or the latest period for which data is available.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is obligated to comply with the requirements set out in EC Regulation 1307/2013 regarding the publication of beneficiaries. Those requirements mean that we are publishing, as figures become available: the name of the person or business…

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the mental health issues in (a) rural and remote areas and (b) farming communities, including ease of accessibility to treatment.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies – including NHS Boards and Local Authorities – to support implementation of policy. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, a…