Mike Rumbles

13 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the University of Dundee making staff reductions and cancelling degree level courses in history for 2016-17, what impact it considers its education policy has had on higher education in the north east and what steps it will take to ensure that budget reductions will not impa…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: These are particularly challenging times for the north east and we will continue to invest heavily in further and higher education in the region. In 2016-17, the Scottish Government will again invest more than £1 billion in our higher education sector – the …

1 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the reported comment in the Press and Journal on 22 April 2016 by Stewart MacLean of the A82 Partnership that the A82 between Onich and Fort William “needs realigning and widening as there are a high number of accidents on this stretch”, what plans it has to invest in upgradi…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government remains committed to upgrading the A82 between Glasgow and Fort William and has already invested over £5 million on the Crianlarich Bypass and £9.2 million on the Pulpit Rock Improvements. Design work is also underway on upgrading the …

1 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the reported comment in the Press and Journal on 22 April 2016 by Stewart MacLean of the A82 Partnership that “planning for the upgrade for Tarbet to Inverarnan is at an advanced stage and we had anticipated that funding would be provided for these works", what plans it has t…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government remains committed to upgrading the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan. Following route option assessment work the preferred option for the scheme was announced on 30 September 2015. The next phase of design work, which is the developmen…

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it expects to complete the distribution of common agricultural policy payments and whether this will be before the payment window closes.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We are working towards completion of all payments within the timeframe permitted.

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours in overtime staff in Rural Payments and Inspections Division area offices (a) have worked since 31 January 2016 and (b) are anticipated to work, and at what cost.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Rural Payments and Inspections Division area office staff worked a total of 3567 hours overtime between 1 February 2016 and 30 April 2016 at a cost of £106,377.27. Overtime will continue to be available to staff until all 2015 payments have been finalised.

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers' and crofters' common agricultural policy Basic Payment Scheme allocation exceeded the amount that they received under the National Basic Payment Support Scheme; what the (a) average and (b) largest difference was, and what percentage failed to repay the difference withi…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Payments under Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) are yet to be finalised. Therefore, no farmers or crofters have been required to repay National Basic Payment Support Scheme (NBPSS) payments due to NBPSS exceeding their BPS.

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many and what percentage of farmers and crofters eligible for assistance under the emergency National Basic Payment Support Scheme have not received any money from the scheme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As of 20 May 2016, 5,210 businesses have been made payments under the scheme, including all cases where the eligibility of the claimant has been confirmed. The only cases remaining unpaid are a very small number where there is doubt over the eligibility of th…

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how much money has been paid to farmers and crofters and (b) what the average payment has been under the emergency National Basic Payment Support Scheme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Payments under the National Basic Payment Support Scheme continue to be made, but as of 20 May 2016, £91,461,140.62 has been paid to farmers and crofters. The average payment is £17,554.92.

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers and crofters have (a) applied for and (b) received support under the emergency National Basic Payment Support Scheme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The National Basic Payment Support Scheme operates on an opt-out basis once an offer has been generated and so farmers and crofters are not required to apply for it. As of 20 May 2016, 5,210 businesses have been made payments under the scheme.

16 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it is charging interest on the difference if a claimant’s common agricultural policy Basic Payment Scheme payment is less than the sum received under the emergency National Basic Payment Support Scheme; what the rate of interest is, and for what reason it considers this a…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The National Basic Payment Support Scheme (NBPSS) has been designed so that a farmer or crofter’s Basic Payment 2015 total should be more than the sum paid by NBPSS. This lets the Scottish Government deduct the NBPSS payment from their Basic Payment 2015 tota…

8 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide substantive answers to questions S3W-30178, S3W-30179, S3W-30180, S3W-35364 and S3W-35365

20 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to abolish the NHS Dental Bursary Scheme

Answer · Shona Robison: There are no current plans to abolish the NHS Dental Bursary.</p>

20 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to reduce the number of undergraduate dental students

Answer · Shona Robison: A review of the dental workforce began in June 2009 and the final report is due to be published in autumn 2010. Evidence from this review will be used to determine future student intake numbers.</b></p>

19 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what five subjects were raised most often by members of the public in written correspondence with (a) the First Minister and (b) each cabinet secretary in the last 12 months, and how many representations were received in respect of each subject

Answer · Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Government replied to 31,181 items of Ministerial correspondence during the period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010.</p> <p >The top five subjects raised most often by members of the public in written correspondence specifically addressed to the Firs…

19 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest cost to date has been of the (a) National Conversation and (b) draft referendum Bill and associated white papers, including the costs for (i) publishing, (ii) consultation, (iii) marketing and advertising and (iv) other

Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30747 on 25 February 2010. The latest cost to date of the core programme of Scottish Government National Conversation events and publications, including branding and staging, remains around £400,000. We do not …

21 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly qualified dentists have taken up posts in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not held centrally. Information showing the number of dentists who qualified from a Scottish Dental School, in each of the last three years, and took up a training post (either one year''s vocational training or two year'…

21 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists there were per head of population, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) local authority area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information showing the number of NHS dentists (headcount) who provided NHS general dental services per head of population by NHS board for the years 2008 to 2010 are presented in the table.</p> <p >Published data for NHS General Dental Service Dentists by …

21 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of non-continuation of courses by students was at each dental school in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Keith Brown: The information requested is not held centrally. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publish performance indicators on non-continuation rates but not at the level of detail of specific dental schools. For further information please refer to HESA''s …

1 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) area and (b) estimated value is of (i) vacant and (ii) occupied office space (A) owned and (B) rented by each public body.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has Asset Registers that hold data on all fixed assets.</p> <p >Information on property holdings and values covering the broad spectrum of public bodies is not held centrally.</p>

1 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) area and (b) estimated value is of (i) vacant and (ii) occupied office space that it (A) owns and (B) rents, broken down by directorate.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government owns or leases space in 82 properties, with a total net internal area of 120,342m². Two of these properties are currently vacant. In one property, with a net internal area of 5,887m², plans are advanced for it to …

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what costs have been incurred by the First Minister's office in respect of (a) accommodation, (b) travel, (c) transport, (d) stationery and (e) hospitality since May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister''s office costs for the last three years can be found in the following table. It should be noted that the figures in 2007-08 represent the change of Administration. Costs for 2009-10 are not yet available.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=…

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on hospitality in each month since April 2008, broken down by directorate.

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent hosting events at (a) Edinburgh and (b) Stirling Castle since May 2007.

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the hospitality budget has been for the First Minister’s office in each year since 1999.

17 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the First Minister’s office has spent on hospitality since May 2007.

8 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change in the chamber on 29 October 2009, whether it still expects to conclude its consideration this calendar year of the reporters’ findings and recommendations following the public local inquiry into th…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Yes. The decision will be made by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth.</p>

20 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release of 28 September 2009 identifying the first tranche of secondary schools selected for investment, when the next phase of its new school building programme will begin.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question <strong>S3W-29359 on </strong><strong>26 November 2009</strong><strong>.</strong> All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be fou…

8 Oct 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will estimate the cost of building a grade-separated junction on the A90 at Laurencekirk.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The member will know from my response to his recent written question, S3W-27346, that to estimate the cost of any such junction requires thorough investigation and design. As there are no current plans to construct a grade separated junction at Laurencekirk, …

16 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that it would cost to construct a full grade-separated junction on the A90 at Laurencekirk.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The cost of any such junction cannot be determined without proper investigation and design.</p>

16 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the recommendations of the public local inquiry into the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The reporters'' report following the Public Local Inquiry into the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is currently under active consideration and we expect to make an announcement soon.</p> </bo