Richard Lochhead

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all (a) food and drink and (b) other goods from Scotland that are exported via ports in the rest of the UK are identified as Scottish exports.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government produces a National Statistics publication, Export Statistics Scotland, which estimates the nominal value of Scottish exports, including food and drink and other goods. These estimates are based on the economic activity of the Scottish…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated by sportscotland to each local authority area in each of the last five years, also expressed on a per capita basis.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: As the national agency for sport, sportscotland invests Scottish Government and National Lottery resources to build a world class sporting system for everyone in Scotland. They continually strive to ensure these resources are invested wisely so as to achieve …

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the value is of (a) food and drink and (b) all other goods from Scotland that are exported via ports in (i) Scotland and (ii) the rest of the UK.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government produces a National Statistics publication, Export Statistics Scotland, which estimates the nominal value of Scottish exports, including food and drink and other goods. It does not contain information on the ports through which Scottis…

7 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has or (b) has had plans to introduce a loan fund for communities seeking to upgrade roads to a standard that would allow them to be adopted by local authorities and, if so, whether it will provide details.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has not introduced a loan fund specifically for communities seeking to upgrade roads to an adoptable standard and has no current plans to establish one for this purpose.The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 ("the 1984 Act") places the statutor…

6 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patient transfers between hospitals are undertaken by non-accident and emergency ambulance vehicles, broken down by ambulance station or equivalent.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01268 on 29 July 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/28…

6 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patient transfers between hospitals have been undertaken by accident and emergency ambulance vehicles in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) ambulance station and (b) category of patient transfer, and what average length of time or distance was travelled.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the provision of high quality, safe and effective NHS services in Scotland. The decision on whether or not a patient requires an inter Hospital transfer and the details of this transfer are made by trained clin…

6 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) accident and emergency ambulances and (b) patient transfer vehicles are based in each NHS board area, also expressed (i) on a per capita basis and (ii) as a ratio to number of patients treated by each board.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01268 on 29 July 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/28…

6 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it measures the amount of time taken by non-emergency patient transfers by accident and emergency ambulances and, if so, what the most recent result is, broken down by ambulance station or equivalent.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01268 on 29 July 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/28…

6 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many and what percentage of bus routes are subsidised in each local authority.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of routes subsidised. The Scottish Transport statistics do provide information on the levels of government spend on bus services. Table 2.9 gives figures for central and local government support for bus…

6 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated from the bus route development fund to each local authority in each of the last five years, also expressed on a per capita basis.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Bus Route Development Fund specific grant was rolled up and included in the general revenue grant funding from 1 April 2008 and, as a result, there are no allocations for individual local authorities. From that date it has been the responsibility of each …

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many countries have an interest in the coastal states fisheries negotiations; what stocks are involved; what vessels registered in Scotland are involved, and what the estimated commercial value is of each quota.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Five parties have a direct interest in coastal states negotiations: the EU group (comprising 28 member states), Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland and the Russian Federation. In addition, other fishing parties such as Greenland regularly attend as observers. …

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what nationalities of fishing vessels are entitled to fish in Scottish territorial seas.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: 12 non-Scottish nations fish in the seas around Scotland: Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Faroe, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Ireland and the rest of the UK. Of these, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands also have limited access …

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what international fisheries agreements Scotland is party to both in its own right and via the UK or EU; who the signatories are to each; how many vessels registered in Scotland receive quota allocations as a result, and what the economic benefit to Scotland is.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scotland is an integral part of the UK delegation at those international negotiations from which the Scottish quota derives. These include the annual EU December Fisheries Council (at which the UK negotiates with other EU member states in its own right), and …

27 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the provision for school pupils with additional support needs is inspected and regulated.

Answer · John Swinney: Evaluating the quality of provision for school pupils with additional support needs is an integral component of the current inspection model. All schools are inspected using five quality indicators from How Good Is Our School 3. For all children, including th…

27 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the demand for additional support needs in schools is taken into account as part of the local government funding formula and what the specific adjustment has been for Moray in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Swinney: The local government finance settlements were maintained over the period 2012-16 with extra money for additional responsibilities and the total settlement for 2016-17 amounts to over £10.3 billion. Moray Council receives its fair share of this total sum, thro…

27 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many and what percentage of (a) pupils with additional support needs and (b) hours of support provision there have been in each of the last five years, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The following tables show how many and the percentage of pupils with additional support needs in each local authority for the last five years. The information on hours of support provision is not held centrally. Number of pupils with an Additional Suppo…

23 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage stakeholders to work better together to mitigate flood risk and protect communities and the environment on the River (a) Lossie, (b) Spey and (c) Findhorn.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 has facilitated an ambitious strategic approach to reducing flood risk across Scotland. This legislation provided, for the first time, clarity as to who the responsible authorities are for implementing actions to …

23 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance is available for households that were affected by flooding prior to Storm Desmond.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The unprecedented scale of flooding, both in terms of scale of flooding situation and wide geographic coverage, required substantive and immediate action to support those communities affected. As such, in January 2016 the First Minister announced that the Sco…

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the contribution of heritage railways to tourism.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: VisitScotland monitor activities relating to ‘Visiting a Scenic or Heritage Railway’ in Scotland through the 'Great Britain Tourism Survey', a national consumer survey jointly sponsored by VisitScotland, VisitEngland and Visit Wales.

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for heritage railways, such as the Keith and Dufftown Railway in Moray.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not have any jurisdiction or influence over the activities of private heritage railway operators. However, Transport Scotland does offer advice to heritage railways in Scotland with respect industry processes and main line regulat…

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will discuss with the retail sector adopting a code of practice or agreement on the sale of food and drink to schoolchildren in the vicinity of schools, and what powers it has to regulate the price, promotion and display of unhealthy products in such circumstances.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is engaging with retailers and caterers through our supporting healthy choices framework, challenging them to rebalance their promotions and support children and families to make healthier choices. Our beyond the school gate guidance…

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question SW5-00476 by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016, whether it will express each figure on a per capita basis ranked in descending order.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Decisions about National Lottery funding of grant applications and awards is a matter for lottery distributors, including the Big Lottery Fund Scotland.

14 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average wage is in each parliamentary constituency, listed by ranking.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following table provides the median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in Scotland for 2015 by Scottish parliamentary constituency. Scottish Parliamentary Constituency Median Gross Weekly Pay (£) Rank Aberdeen Donside 595.3 1 Aberdeen S…

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is making available to (a) individuals and (b) firms in Moray affected by the downturn in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The key economic and fiscal levers that influence investment and activity in the sector remain with the UK Government; however, the Scottish Government is using our devolved powers to support the industry. We set up the Energy Jobs Taskforce, which continues …

8 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it envisages deposit and return schemes playing a role in Scotland’s emerging circular economy and the achievement of recycling targets.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government recognises the contribution that deposit return can make in supporting a more circular economy and will give further consideration to the role it could play in Scotland. We and zero waste Scotland are working with stakeholders to explo…

8 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it supports the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and how it supports the global effort to tackle the illegal trade in antiquities.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is proud to support the UNESCO Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property (the Paris convention). Membership of United Nations organisations such as U…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for social enterprises that use the outdoors to promote mental health and wellbeing.

Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00583 on 16 June 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/2…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for social enterprises that work with schools to use the outdoors for educational purposes.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government has invested heavily in developing and supporting social enterprise in recent years and has maintained direct investment of £24.5 million in the third sector in 2016-17, which includes support for social enterprise. This support is ava…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its policy is to include new cycle paths when dualling roads such as the A9 and A96.

Answer · Keith Brown: Suitable provision for all users, including cyclists, is an important part of dualling roads such as the A9 and A96. Non-motorised User (NMU) strategies have been developed for the A9 and the A96 dualling. The strategies have been developed in line with the …

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the business rates in Elgin city centre compare with the national average and other comparable cities and towns.

Answer · Derek Mackay: This information is not held, however the rateable value of all properties is published online at saa.gov.uk and the Scottish assessors use the same valuation methodologies when valuing properties across Scotland. In addition, the same poundage rate and natio…