Mike Rumbles

3 Jul 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will replicate research carried by the Office of National Statistics in England, by collecting data on the number of suicides in the farming community in Scotland.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The following table provides figures for Scotland which are on the same basis as the statistics for England and Wales, which were made publicly available by the Office for National Statistics (on 21 January 2019). Number of farmer (1) suicides (2) , aged 20 …

26 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23853 by Michael Matheson on 26 June 2019, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether the high-speed train involved in the fire at Glasgow Queen Street station on 18 June 2019 had been overhauled and refurbished bef…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The HST power car involved in the incident on 18 June has not yet been through its refurbishment overhaul at WABTEC Rail.  

18 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-08323 by Humza Yousaf on 18 April 2017, whether the high-speed train involved in the fire at Glasgow Queen Street station on 18 June 2019 had been overhauled and refurbished before entering service with Abellio ScotRail.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The incident at Glasgow Queen Street Station involved a High Speed Train (HST) power car (locomotive) engine. ASR are currently working with the engine supplier to understand the nature of the defect that has caused this particular incident.

17 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in convening a group consisting of producer, consumer and environmental organisations to inform and recommend a new bespoke policy on farming and food production.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I can confirm that this group has now been established with membership representing producer, consumer and environmental organisations. The initial membership is listed below.   The first meeting of the Group is taking place today and it will make recommen…

13 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-03102 by Michael Matheson on 4 April 2019 (Official Report, c. 50), whether it will provide an update regarding its efforts to promote the transportation of food and drink by freight rail.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is leading the way in supporting rail freight growth with an industry first regulatory target for Network Rail to work with partners to grow rail freight on the Scottish network. Our rail freight strategy identified Food and Drink as a…

20 May 2019 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new ScotRail timetable will alleviate delays and cancellations, in light of the 73% increase in compensation payments being made by the operator in 2018-19.

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22768 by Clare Haughey on 2 May 2019, how much of the £1.4 million provided for combat stress is spent in the NHS Grampian area.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The majority of funding to Combat Stress is used to provide a national residential facility for veterans at Hollybush House, Ayrshire. As a national service, veterans living in different parts of Scotland including those within the Grampian area, can be refe…

30 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of pupils meet the national satisfactory standards in (a) reading, (b) writing, (c) listening and talking and (d) numeracy, also broken down by the percentage in the (i) Aberdeen City, (ii) best performing and (iii) worst performing council area.

Answer · John Swinney: The annual Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) return collects data relating to all pupils in Primary 1, Primary 4, Primary 7 and Secondary 3. This return measures performance in aspects of literacy and numeracy, and reports on the proportion of pu…

30 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much ScotRail has paid to passengers in compensation in each month since April 2018, also broken down by what estimate it has made of how much potential compensation has been unclaimed.

Answer · Michael Matheson: From April 2018 to April 2019 ScotRail has paid entitled passengers a total of £1,119,818.35 through the Delay Repay Scheme. It is not possible accurately to determine how much compensation is unclaimed. Passengers can apply for compensation if their journe…

30 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional action the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is taking to prevent the outbreak of wildfires, such as the recent incident in Moray, which was the largest recorded in Scotland, and following reports that 2019 has saw more such fires across the UK than any other year; …

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is aware that the risks faced by communities are changing for many reasons, as referenced in the SFRS high level transformation plan, and this includes risks associated with climate change. SFRS must therefore prepa…

26 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on encouraging local authorities to ring-fence funding received from bus shelters that are liable for non-domestic rates toward building new shelters that will not be eligible for such charges.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Non-domestic rates are levied on all ‘Land and Heritages’ and the valuation of those lands and heritages is a matter for Scottish assessors who are wholly independent of central and local government. Bus shelters are rateable and are therefore liable for non-…

25 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to encourage local authorities to install new bus shelters.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Provision of bus stops and shelters is the responsibility of local authorities. The Scottish Government has ongoing engagement with local authorities and other stakeholders about how to improve bus provision in partnership. The Transport (Scotland) Bill provi…

25 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it considers that a bus shelter can constitute part of a business’s premises, and what its position is on whether such shelters should continue to be liable for non-domestic rates.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Non-domestic rates are levied on all ‘Land and Heritages’ and the valuation of those lands and heritages is a matter for Scottish assessors who are wholly independent of central and local government. Scottish Assessors follow applicable statute and case law i…

25 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bus shelters in each local authority are liable for non-domestic rates, also broken down by how much was raised from these in 2018-19.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table shows the number of entries of bus shelters on the valuation roll and the amount of non-domestic rates income raised in 2018-19 broken down by local authority. Where multiple bus shelters have the same rateable occupier, such as a council,…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provides for mental health support services that are designed specifically for ex-service personnel and their families, and what proportion of this is spent in the NHS Grampian area.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Through commissioning arrangements with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, the Scottish Government provides Combat Stress with £1.4 million per annum to deliver specialist mental health treatment for Veterans in Scotland. In 2019-20, NHS Grampian will receive the highe…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports in the Daily Express on 17 April 2019 that 2,000 post offices throughout the UK are expected to close in 2019, what information it has regarding which branches in Scotland are (a) due to close and (b) under a threat of closure, and what action it can take to prevent …

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has no further information to that reported in the Daily Express on 17 April 2019; however, it does consistently and repeatedly make clear to both the UK Government and Post Office Ltd. that post offices are necessary for local communi…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with its programme to provide retraining opportunities for workers in the north east exiting the oil and gas sector, including (a) what the uptake has been and (b) how much it is costing to deliver.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Since its inception, the Transition Training Fund (TTF) has supported more than 4,000 people affected by the global downturn in oil and gas, against an initial target to support a total of at least 3,000 over a period of three years for which funding was made…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the tendering process for the R100 programme will be complete; when the successful contractors will start work on the project, and how much of the £600 million allocated to the programme has been spent.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The procurement process for R100 is now well underway and I can confirm that we have three highly credible bidders currently engaged in dialogue and we remain on track to award contracts before the end of this year. The procurement process is, however, comple…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has cost in staff overtime to deliver the Basic Payments Scheme in each year since 2015-16.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Year Amount 2015-16 £531k 2016-17 £430k 2017-18 £471k 2018-19 £404k The 2018-19 could be amended as the final accounts for this year are not yet finalised. Please note that the figures in each case are totals, across the Rural Payments and inspec…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the IT system for administering the Basic Payments Scheme is functioning to the required standard, and whether a loan scheme will be required to deliver payments for 2019-20.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government’s CAP IT system is functioning effectively and dealing with many thousands of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 applications and payments each year, demonstrating stability in our processes. The Single Application Form (SAF) application window for…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to support communities that have recently lost or are under threat of losing services such as post offices and banks, including how it supports workers and businesses.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government shares such concerns and recognises that access to post offices and local banking services remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many of Scotland’s communities and businesses. Like post offices and postal services, th…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what mental health support services are available in the north east that are designed specifically for ex-service personnel and their families.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Veterans in the north east of Scotland have access to the full range of primary, community, hospital and specialist mental health services provided on the basis of assessed need. These services are also enhanced by priority treatment for service related condi…

23 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Parliament agreeing motion S5M-8497, as amended, on 31 October 2017, what progress is being made in allowing every school child in the country access to cycle proficiency training.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland funds Cycling Scotland to deliver Bikeability training, which is available to all schools in Scotland. 42% of schools participated in 2018-19 reaching over 36,000 pupils, an increase from 37% in 2015-16. To compliment Bikeability training,…

29 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it tracks its policy announcements and associated deadlines; what management system it has for this, and whether it will make this information public in a transparent and accessible format.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The annual Programme for Government lays out the Government’s policy and legislative agenda, the aim of which is to work towards achieving the Outcomes in the National Performance Framework (NPF). Other policy announcements are made in Parliament and/or thro…

26 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the NHS has been subject to litigation in each year since 1999 because of alleged damage caused by vaccines, also broken down by NHS board; whether it will list the cases where the claim was upheld, and what information it has for the period from 1978 to 1998.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The information sought is not held by the Scottish Government.

26 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the transport secretary last met representatives of the Rail Freight Group.

25 Mar 2019 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government when passengers will see improvements as a result of ScotRail’s recent remedial plan.

19 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that its management of the public finances takes account of the needs of the people of the North East Scotland region.

13 Mar 2019 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is taking to ensure that offices receive post before the start of parliamentary business.

13 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet Screen Scotland.