Tavish Scott

11 May 2015 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make a statement on the resignation of the convener of the Crofting Commission.

6 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what opportunity NorthLink Ferries Ltd was given during the pre-tender negotiation period to revise its tender for the contract to provide services to Orkney and Shetland in order to address concerns that its tender did not meet the minimum requirements set out in the invitation to tende…

Answer · Derek Mackay: Transport Scotland held three separate meetings with Northlink Ferries Ltd after which they were invited to submit their outline proposals. Where the proposals were considered to be at risk of falling short of the acceptable quality, this was highlighted in w…

6 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of the minimum requirements in the invitation to tender for the contract to provide ferry services to Orkney and Shetland were not met by the tender of NorthLink Ferries Ltd.

Answer · Derek Mackay: NorthLink Ferries Ltd failed to meet the quality criteria set out in ‘Package A’ of the Invitation to Submit Final Tender, Instructions to Participants guidance document.

6 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the minimum requirements were in the invitation to tender for the (a) current and (b) previous contract to provide ferry services to Orkney and Shetland.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The tender evaluation criteria used to award the current Northern Isles ferry services contract (2012-18) is set out in Section 3 of the Invitation to Submit Final Tender, Instructions to Participants, which is available from Transport Scotland’s website: ht…

6 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ask Audit Scotland to investigate the handling of the award of the 2012 contract to provide ferry services to Orkney and Shetland.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Audit Scotland discussed the Northern Isles ferry services tender with Transport Scotland early in 2014. Audit Scotland decided not to undertake any further work at that time.

23 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which budget would cover any legal costs arising from the civil action between Shetland Islands Council and Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Apportionment of costs will be a matter for the court if no out of court settlement is reached. It will be for Shetland Islands Council and/or Highlands and Islands Airports to determine how any costs will be met.

23 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the introduction of consolidated whole-of-Scotland accounts would help in the assessment of the no deterrent principle in terms of individual tax changes over the fiscal cycle of government spending.

Answer · John Swinney: The principle, and application, of no detriment will be discussed as part of seeking an agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments on a fiscal framework for Scotland. The introduction of further consolidated public accounts may provide useful informati…

23 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects the Scottish Fiscal Commission to share financial and economic information with the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government published A Consultation on the Scottish Fiscal Commission on 26 March 2015. This consultation sets out our detailed proposals for legislation to establish the commission as an independent statutory body in Scotland, including a draft …

23 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce whole-of-Scotland consolidated accounts and, if so, for which financial year.

Answer · John Swinney: I advised the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee in December 2014 that I had asked officials to develop proposals to improve and enhance financial reporting. This work is currently in progress through the Scottish Government’s Fiscal Capability 2015 prog…

15 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the (a) practicality and (b) cost of retrofitting Braille buttons at the doors and toilets of ScotRail rolling stock that is not so equipped.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-25291 on 1 May 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/parliamentarybus…

15 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of ScotRail rolling stock is provided with Braille buttons to assist blind or partially sighted people to (a) board and leave the trains and (b) locate and use the toilets.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-25291 on 1 May 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/parliamentarybus…

15 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions there are in the ScotRail contract to ensure that blind and partially sighted people can travel independently on trains in safety.

Answer · Derek Mackay: ScotRail publishes a Disabled Persons Protection Policy (DPPP) as a condition of its operating licence. The DPPP sets out in detail the wide range of services available to assist disabled passengers to use ScotRail services. This includes a telephone assistan…

15 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to retrofit Braille buttons at the doors and toilets of ScotRail rolling stock that is not so equipped.

Answer · Derek Mackay: All Abellio ScotRail trains must comply with the European rail vehicle accessibility standards (the TSI PRM) by 1 January 2020. The TSI PRM is a wide range of standards that specifies how all aspects of a train should be designed and built to facilitate the …

31 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners’ Rights' decision to brief The National newspaper on 31 March 2015 on the contents of a Cabinet paper represents routine practice or was a one-off action, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has made very clear its commitment to achieving social justice by building a fairer Scotland and tackling inequalities; including in the Programme for Government, published 26 November 2014. As shown within the Programme for Government…

31 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) regarding the planned strike action at HIAL airports on 7 April 2015.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Highlands and Islands Airports Limited management team have kept the Scottish Government informed of the discussions it has had with the Prospect Union in relation to the planned industrial action. They have also informed us of the robust contingency arra…

25 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether creel fishermen are to be excluded from any of the proposed new marine protected areas.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The responses to the consultation on marine protected area management are currently being considered by Marine Scotland. We will publish an analysis of the responses in May 2015 together with details of the proposed management measures for each of the sites.

23 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on snaring.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Scottish Parliament last debated the issue of snaring in 2011, and concluded that snaring should be allowed to continue subject to further changes to the legislation that aims to improve the animal welfare aspects of this pest control method. The legisla…

20 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' decision to change how it allocates forage area under the common agricultural policy in respect of rights to graze on common land and certain areas of shared grazing in England, and what impact it will have o…

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government notes the change of policy in relation to common land by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, following a legal challenge. However, the legal basis regarding common land in England is different from that applying to …

18 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reduced funding for the curriculum for excellence-aligned digital resource for primary schools, Tigtag, and, in light of (a) the resource being (i) reportedly the most used in the Glow network and (ii) used in over 70 other countries that compete with Scotland for …

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We are committed to supporting primary science as laid out in the Programme for Government, this includes ensuring the delivery of best value across Scotland. We are working with Education Scotland to improve the learning and teaching of science in primary sc…

18 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it first received notification from the Ministry of Defence of its proposals involving the development at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre at Kyle of Lochalsh.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government received letters from Philip Dunne MP relating to the Ministry of Defence proposal to develop the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre. The first was on 19 August 2013, followed by 25 September 2013, 3 November 2014 and 4 Marc…

16 Mar 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Crown Estate and what matters were discussed.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Government officials meet regularly with the Crown Estate to discuss a range of rural, coastal and marine issues.

12 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many comments were issued to the press, broadcasters or media outlets by (a) special advisers and (b) Scottish Government officials with media relations responsibility in each month of 2014 and in the first two months of 2015.

Answer · John Swinney: Information on the number of news releases and calling notices issued to the media is available on a monthly basis. However, we do not hold records of the number of formal and informal comments issued to press and other media outlets by Scottish Government of…

11 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £12 million allocated for the implementation of the Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce programme will be spent in 2015-16.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce programme budget for 2014-15 is £12 million, the breakdown of which is set out in the following table. The distribution of the £16.6 million budget for 2015-16 has not yet been established. Table 1: Developing the Yo…

5 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its announcement on 5 March 2015 of the introduction of a primary school building programme, whether the European statistical accounts interpretation that was delaying closure on the Scottish Futures Trust's capital schools building programme has been resolved.

Answer · Angela Constance: As outlined in the answer to question S4W-24246 provided on 2 February 2015, we expect the review of the classification issues to take a number of months. We are however taking all appropriate action to protect vital capital investment in Scotland and to reso…

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of researching and producing the Marine Scotland report, Management of the Scottish Inshore Fisheries: Assessing the Options for Change.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The cost of researching and producing this report was £50,100.

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the remit was for the production of the Marine Scotland report, Management of the Scottish Inshore Fisheries: Assessing the Options for Change, and whether it was agreed by ministers.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The research remit was to assess the economic impact of i) national and regional restrictions on the use of mobile fishing gears within one and three nautical miles of the shore and ii) limits on the number of creels. The research was to be conducted using ec…

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Shetland was excluded from the recent funding from the Attainment Scotland Fund.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Attainment Scotland Fund is targeted at schools in local authorities with the biggest concentration of primary age children from households in deprived areas. Analysis of statistics around primary school pupils whose homes are located in the Scottish Inde…

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of everyone who wrote The Digital Strategy for Justice in Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Digital Strategy for Justice in Scotland is a collaborative piece of work contributed to by organisations across the justice landscape, including officials and representatives from the Scottish Court Service, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Po…

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of the (a) people and (b) organisations outwith the Scottish Government involved in the implementation of The Digital Strategy for Justice in Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Digital Strategy for Scotland implementation programme involves a range of organisations across the justice sector, other public services, and private, third sector and voluntary organisations. We expect the list of organisations to grow as work progresse…

25 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Glasgow Prestwick Airport is its preferred Scottish location to become the first UK spaceport.

Answer · Keith Brown: The decision of where to locate the spaceport is a matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Government wants to see the spaceport located in Scotland but at this stage we will remain neutral in terms of the Scottish locations shortlisted by the UK Governmen…