Mike Rumbles

19 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the enzyme, PETase, might help reduce plastic pollution, whether it will (a) carry out an assessment of its effectiveness and (b) provide support for (i) additional research and (ii) establishing a safe procedure for its use.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are aware of the recent media reports indicating that researchers at Portsmouth University have succeeded in improving a naturally occurring enzyme which can digest polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It will be important to understand the full material life…

18 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-11317 and S5W-11477 by Humza Yousaf on 29 September and 4 October 2017 respectively, regarding a fire on a High Speed Train (HST) unit on 14 September 2017, what its response is to the incident on 17 April 2018, which involved a fire in a power ca…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The High Speed Train (HST) power car involved in the incident is currently on lease to Great Western Railway, they are investigating the incident and are responsible for any repairs. Any lessons learned from the incident on 17 April will be taken on-board by …

18 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, which of the refurbished class 43 units that are being introduced to the ScotRail fleet has the highest mileage, how many miles it has travelled, and in what year this train was first used.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15943 on? 26 April 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentary…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government at what stage its R100 project is at; when connection work is expected to begin, and when the first new homes will gain access to at least 30mbps internet speeds.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: R100 is a huge public investment, the biggest such investment by any government in the UK in broadband. The initial procurement - launched on 14 December 2017, is progressing well and has now proceeded to the Dialogue stage, in line with our timetable. Withi…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government at what stage is construction of the A90 grade separated junction at Laurencekirk; when construction of the road is expected to begin, and what the estimated completion date is.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10132 on? 27 July 2017. 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/…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the roll-out of its R100 programme will reach homes in Aberdeenshire, and when they will all have access to at least 30mbps internet speeds.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Telecommunications, including investment in and supporting of broadband infrastructure, is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Despite this, the Scottish Government is the only UK administration to have committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband acc…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of priority or blackspot areas for its R100 programme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Telecommunications, including investment in and supporting of broadband infrastructure, is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Despite this, the Scottish Government is the only UK administration to have committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband acc…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of homes in Aberdeenshire have access to at least 30mbps internet speeds; how this figure compares with the Scottish average, and how it plans to assess target areas for its R100 programme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Using statistics provided by thinkbroadband – the same independent analysts used by the UK Government - Aberdeenshire superfast broadband coverage (at 30Mbps or more) has increased by 60.2 percentage points from 20.3% when the first DSSB cabinet went live in …

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its priorities have been for the tendering of the R100 programme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The R100 programme aims to deliver a future-proofed infrastructure capable of delivering broadband speeds in excess of 30Mbps and of enabling a wide range of digital services and innovation. The initial procurement has been split into three lots – North, Cent…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether easy-to-reach or remote and blackspot areas should be prioritised during the roll-out of its R100 programme, and what impact targeting easy-to-reach areas first would have on the delivery time for remote and blackspot areas.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Telecommunications, including investment in and supporting of broadband infrastructure, is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Despite this, the Scottish Government is the only UK administration to have committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband acc…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on 18 April 2018 (Official Report, c.12), in light of reports that NHS Tayside has used charitable donations to purchase equipment, how much the board requires to close the funding gap.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has approved brokerage of £12.7 million for 2017-18 for NHS Tayside. This takes account of the financial governance review undertaken at the Board.

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, prior to the announcement of City Region Deal funding, how it had planned to pay for the A90 grade separated junction at Laurencekirk, and where any funds have been reallocated.

Answer · Keith Brown: In January 2016 the Scottish Government announced £24 million for the design and construction of a new grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk as part of a package of additional investment alongside the Aberdeen City Region Deal. This additional investment e…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried of the impact on local care services in areas in which the (a) NHS board and (b) local authority is awarded lower than the average national funding per head of population.

Answer · Shona Robison: The position regarding the basis of funding for NHS Boards is set out in the response to question S5W-15959 on 26 April 2018. Funding provided to Local Authorities by the Scottish Government is allocated using a needs-based formula which is discussed and agr…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of NHS boards being dependent on charitable donations to help meet funding commitments.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5O-01974 on 19 April 2018 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the Official Report can be viewed at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=11468&i=104165

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent reported funding and resource issues at NHS Grampian have contributed to (a) concerns regarding staff recruitment, retention and morale and (b) missed waiting times targets.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Grampian will receive a resource budget uplift of 2.1% in 2018-19, the highest percentage uplift of any Territorial Board. This includes a? £5 million share of additional NRAC parity funding which takes the Board’s annual resource budget to £921 million a…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent NHS boards from having to rely on charitable donations to purchase equipment.

Answer · Shona Robison: To support our twin approach of investment and reform, the 2018-19 budget increases the health resource budget by more than £400 million, taking it to a record high of over £13.1 billion and providing additional investment in frontline NHS Boards of 3.7%. In …

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average annual funding is for NHS boards, broken down by per head of population, and how this compares with how much each receives.

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. These factors are taken into acco…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average annual local authority (a) block grant and (b) total funding is, broken down by per head of population, and how this compares with how much each receives.    

Answer · Derek Mackay: Please find the 2018-19 Block Grant per head and the 2018 19 total funding per head in the following table. Local Authority Population 2018-19 Block Grant £m Block Grant Per Head £ 2018-19 Total Funding £m Total Funding Per Head £ Aberdeen City 22…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date all sections of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) will be open to traffic.

Answer · Keith Brown: In my statement to Parliament on 22 March 2018, I advised that it may be prudent to anticipate a late autumn 2018 date for the project opening. Transport Scotland will continue to work with the contractor to establish whether any further measures can be impl…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on which dates since 2007 it has announced a revised target completion date for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR), and what the reason was for each revision.

Answer · Keith Brown: The delivery programme has been set by Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the contractor for the project, who is responsible for resourcing and managing it. The delivery programme has been set by Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the contractor for the project, who i…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has cost each year to rectify the reported problems with the IT system that it introduced to process common agricultural policy basic payments, broken down by type of expenditure.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Between the start of the CAP Futures Programme in 2012 and 31 March 2017 the Scottish Government invested £166 million (of the £178 million identified in the final business case) in the design and delivery of the Rural Payments and Services IT Platform. This …

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the IT system that it introduced to process common agricultural policy basic payments is (a) fully functional and (b) delivering all of the duties for which it was originally planned and, if not, by what date it will be.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Rural Payments and Services IT platform has been operational for some time allowing compliant payments to be made. Nearly all of the key functionality identified in the final business case of the Futures Program has now been provided. Some remaining funct…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact each year on the (a) rural economy and (b) agricultural sector of the reported problems with the IT system that it introduced to process common agricultural policy basic payments.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In 2017 I increased the national loan schemes value to 90% of farmers and crofters CAP payment. The 2017 loan payments were made earlier and quicker than ever before. In fact the 2017 National Basic Payment Scheme paid more than 13,000 farmers and crofters ov…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much match funding was made available through the 2017-18 round of Pillar 2 common agricultural policy payments and what proportion was taken up, broken down by Pillar 2 scheme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has made available £75.5 million for Pillar 2 payments, broken up by scheme as follows: SRDP 2017-18 £m Total  £m   Less Favoured Area Support Scheme 12.3 Forestry Legacy (RPID) 0.8 Agri Environment Measures 21.2 Business D…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement a loan scheme for the 2018-19 round of common agricultural policy basic payments.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I published the CAP Stabilisation Plan in September last year, to tackle the major causes of poor customer service and put us on a more secure footing, this included a clear payment schedule for all our schemes payments. I will review progress with payments l…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the expected lifetime mileage capacity is of a class 43 High Speed Train, and what the average mileage is of the refurbished class 43 units that are being introduced to the ScotRail fleet.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Government does not hold this information but all 54 of the class 43 power cars will undergo significant upgrades prior to being introduced into service on Scottish inter-city routes from this summer with the first few already here in Scotland. They …

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) new and (b) refurbished rolling stock items ScotRail plans to introduce, and by what date these will all be operational.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Over the next 15 months Abellio ScotRail will gradually introduce into Scotland the following additional fleets: Seventy Class 385s electric trains for central belt routes, 26 HSTs onto Scottish inter-city routes, 5 more class 320/4 electric trains on the St…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of the reported delay in the rollout of ScotRail's planned (a) new and (b) refurbished rolling stock to (i) the rail network and (ii) passengers.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: ScotRail has put in place many measures such as maximising availability of existing fleets, rearranging maintenance as well as offering discounted rail fares on the Edinburgh-Glasgow via Airdrie/ Bathgate line to ensure that they maintain service provision an…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported delay in the rollout of ScotRail's planned (a) new and (b) refurbished rolling stock, whether it considers that an alternative action could have been taken by (i) Transport Scotland and (ii) Abellio to alleviate this, and what the reasons are for its position on…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Abellio ScotRail is obliged to provide rolling stock to deliver its service provision and has already adjusted leases of existing rolling stock, postponed upgrades and maintenance to mitigate against project slippage. It has also agreed leases for more trains…

13 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times have pest controllers been sent to schools in each local authority area in each of the last five years, also broken down by what information it has regarding how many (a) pupils, (b) staff and (c) visitors were harmed by infestations.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The health, safety and wellbeing of school pupils in Scotland is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government and it is the statutory responsibility of all local authorities to ensure they are pro…