Parliamentary questions
Tavish Scott
2,683 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify each of the specific irregularities that has been identified by the European Commission leading to the commission's decision to suspend European Social Fund support for Scotland, and what action it is taking to resolve this.
Answer · Keith Brown: Irregularities detected by the Audit Authority in the course of their Annual Control Report work in 2014 fall into three main types: final beneficiaries grant recipients failing to comply with public procurement rules, final beneficiaries failing to provide a…
20 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual spend is on the Highlands and Islands Veterinary Service Scheme, and whether this is guaranteed at existing levels for 2016-17.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The annual budget for the Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services scheme is £760,000. There are no plans to reduce this.
20 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the First Minister's recent comments about any changes to the Hunting Act 2004 by the UK Parliament, when it plans to consult on changes to the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2015-16, published on 1 September 2015, contains a commitment to review the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 to ensure that it is providing the necessary level of protection for foxes and other …
20 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the proposed deposit return system would have on the price of milk for consumers.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government commissioned a study from Zero Waste Scotland to explore the feasibility of introducing a national deposit return system in Scotland. Following publication of this study, a call for evidence sought further information. At this stage, n…
12 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that G4S always delivers prisoners to court on time.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: G4S is required to self-report performance which falls outside defined contractual targets which includes court delivery performance. In addi…
12 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions in the last year G4S has failed to deliver prisoners to court for the appointed time.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: G4S have completed 131,780 movements to court over the last year, 22,001 of which were out with time referenced contractual requirements as a…
6 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, when it procures Scottish-produced milk, how it ensures that this is purchased at above the cost of production.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has not directly been involved in procuring Scottish produced milk. We do have a contract with Sodexo for catering services in a number of Scottish Government buildings. Sodexo purchases milk from Grahams family dairy who in turn purch…
6 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has paid dairy farmers for their products in each of the last five years, and how this compares with the cost of production.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has not directly purchased products from dairy farmers in each of the last five years. We do have a contract with Sodexo for catering services in a number of Scottish Government buildings. Sodexo purchases milk from Grahams family dair…
6 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it spends on the procurement of Scottish-produced milk and what information it has regarding how much other public bodies spend.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not directly procure milk but uses a contract for the provision of Catering and Associated Services. For the financial year 2013-2014, other Scottish public bodies spent £11.9m with suppliers classified as dairies, dairy farmers a…
6 Aug 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the guidelines are regarding the public procurement of Scottish-produced milk.
Answer · John Swinney: Guidance on buying food sustainably in the public sector is available in Catering for Change and the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires public bodies to provide a statement on how their policies on food procurement will contribute, among other th…
30 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the membership is of the Emergency Authorities' 999 Liaison Committee; when it last met, and what matters it discusses.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Due to the 999/112 service being a matter reserved to the UK Government, the 999/112 Liaison Committee is chaired by the Department of Culture Media and Sport. The membership includes representatives from all of the emergency services, telecoms providers, Cab…
29 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any area other than Shetland has lost emergency call connections in the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The 999 service is reliant on local exchanges and mobile phone masts operating to deliver messages to 999 call centres. Community Isolations (faults) at local exchanges for landline and mobile phone masts occur for a variety of reasons including: severe weat…
29 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what backup to the BT system there is for connecting 999 calls for Shetland.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The security and resilience of the 999 system is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The 999 system is operated by telecoms providers including BT and as such this is a matter for those companies and the regulator (Ofcom). However local emergency responde…
29 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government at what time ministers were informed that 999 calls in Shetland could not be connected on 25 July 2015.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government was notified by BT of a telecoms failure occurring on Orkney at 15:12 on 25 July, 2015. Transport Scotland notified Ministers shortly after this time that Sumburgh Airport on Shetland has been impacted. At that stage BT had not identif…
29 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will prevent a repeat of the breakdown of emergency service calls in Shetland on 25 July 2015.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The security and resilience of the 999 service is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Officials from the Scottish Government meet regularly with representatives from BT, other telecoms providers, Ofcom and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The …
29 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much notice HMP Grampian gives G4S in order to transfer prisoners to Lerwick Sheriff Court on time.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “HMP&YOI Grampian informs G4S of prisoner escort requirements for Lerwick Sheriff Court on the same day as the establishment receives notifi…
24 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26305 by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2015, whether the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs or (b) Minister for Europe and International Development was consulted about whether the case of Shaker Aamer should be raised at the F…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The cabinet secretary for culture, Europe and external affairs is consulted about all ministerial visits overseas.
24 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26305 by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2015, whether notes on the case of Shaker Aamer were included in the First Minister’s briefing pack for her meeting with the US Deputy Secretary of State.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not routinely release information relating to the content of ministerial briefing.
24 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26305 by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2015, for what reason the answer did not address whether the case of Shaker Aamer was discussed at the meeting.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Some aspects of discussions with representatives of foreign governments must remain private in order to maintain a relationship of trust and confidence. For this reason the Scottish Government cannot always confirm whether or not a particular topic was raised.
24 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26305 by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2015, whether the First Minister plans to follow up her meeting with the US Deputy Secretary of State with a written representation on the case of Shaker Aamer.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As I previously stated, the Scottish Government fully supports any attempts that the UK Government makes to end the continued detention of Shaker Aamer. I note that the case has been raised by the UK Government and UK parliamentarians with the US administrati…
16 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take in response to Scottish Natural Heritage's report, Beavers in Scotland.
Answer · Aileen McLeod: To help inform a decision on the possible reintroduction of beavers in Scotland, Scottish Ministers are considering very carefully the Scottish Natural Heritage report Beavers in Scotland – A Report to the Scottish Government as well as listening to the views…
16 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the Scottish Crofting Federation's concern that reintroducing species such as wolves, lynx and beavers would threaten the already challenging livelihoods of crofters.
Answer · Aileen McLeod: There are no plans to reintroduce wolf or lynx to Scotland. To help inform a decision on the possible reintroduction of beavers in Scotland, Scottish Ministers are listening to the views of stakeholders and considering very carefully the Scottish Natural He…
16 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of the study that has found that the number of breeding puffins on Fair Isle has halved from 20,000 to 10,000 over the last 30 years.
Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Scottish Government is aware of this study. The research paper to which this question refers can be found at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131527
15 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what grant assistance it provides to fund technology that improves the health and productivity of livestock.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government provides grant assistance to improve health and livestock productivity through the following routes: The Scottish rural development programme (SRDP), where £45M of funding is available to improve beef efficiency. The rural affairs, f…
15 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-26169 by Jamie Hepburn on 25 June 2015, when it will announce its decision on how the funding for (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 will be distributed among the NHS boards, and what freedom each board will have in deciding on how to spend its allocation.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government intends to make an announcement about priorities for the new funding for mental health shortly. That will include details about how funding will be allocated to NHS boards, and other organisations in the public and third sector to deli…
30 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of withdrawing funding for Scottish Swimming’s Top Up programme on the number of people using public swimming pools.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26399 on 13 July 2015. 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…
30 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage children and young people to take up swimming outside of school.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The latest funding round from sportscotland has allocated to Scottish Swimming over £5 million for the four years 2015-19. This is the largest funding settlement of all the Commonwealth Games sports and will support grassroots swimming. The Scottish Govern…
30 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making swimming part of the secondary school curriculum during physical education lessons.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Curriculum for excellence aims to provide a flexible approach to learning. Learning in physical education (PE) is designed to ensure that children and young people develop the physical skills and concepts for taking part in a wide range of sport and physical …
30 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which stakeholders were consulted before the decision was taken to withdraw funding from Scottish Swimming’s Top Up programme.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Discussions took place with sportscotland and with Scottish Swimming.
30 Jun 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of withdrawing funding for Scottish Swimming’s Top Up programme on the number of children and young people swimming on a regular basis.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Swimming Top Up programme was designed as a time limited fund to enhance the work already being done by Scottish Swimming and local authorities to provide swimming lessons for primary school children across Scotland. Over the four years since the programm…