Tavish Scott

25 Feb 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the 2015-16 funding for NHS Shetland is 2% below the 2015-16 NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee target allocation.

25 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it issued the comments attributed to a spokesperson for the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities on page 3 of ThePress and Journal on 25 February 2015.

Answer · Keith Brown: This was a political response provided by special advisers on behalf of ministers - in response to a direct newspaper query - and was not a Scottish Government press office comment. The full quote that issued to the Press and Journal is as follows: Spokespe…

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, following the negotiations with Abellio and Govia, how much it will cost to sub-lease back to ScotRail the five of the nine trains that were due to be withdrawn from the fleet in April 2015.

Answer · Derek Mackay: This information is commercially confidential between Abellio ScotRail and Govia Thameslink.

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trains will be required to operate on the Borders railway line and how many will be (a) new, (b) taken from other ScotRail services, broken down by service, and (c) hired from other operators.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The timetable for the Borders railway requires seven trains. The rolling stock will be from the train fleet Abellio ScotRail will be using to deliver the contractualised Abellio ScotRail franchise services.

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of how the Borders railway service will impact on other ScotRail services and whether it will publish the findings.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Planning for the delivery of the Borders railway project has been undertaken by Network Rail and the services were specified by Scottish Ministers for the franchise procurement. Abellio ScotRail are now contracted to deliver the ScotRail franchise with suffic…

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional trains will be hired to cover the shortfall of carriages because of the reduction in the number of trains in the ScotRail fleet from April 2015 and, if so, (a) on which services and (b) how much this will cost.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The ScotRail franchise commencing on 1 April 2015 was the subject of a procurement exercise. Through that exercise, Scottish Ministers specified the rail services and train capacity they require to see delivered. Abellio ScotRail are now contracted to deliver…

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) which services will be affected by short-forming because of the reduction in the number of trains in the ScotRail fleet from April 2015.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The ScotRail franchise commencing on 1 April 2015 was the subject of a procurement exercise. Through that exercise, Scottish Ministers specified the rail services and train capacity they require to see delivered. Abellio ScotRail are now contracted to deliver…

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date (a) ministers were and (b) Transport Scotland was advised that the lease agreement between ScotRail and the Eversholt Rail Group for Class 170 diesel trains was due to expire in April 2015.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The current First Group rolling stock leases with the train owners were extended until 31 March 2015 around the same time as the ScotRail franchise term extension was granted by Scottish Ministers on 6 December 2012. The expiry date for all rolling stock leas…

23 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of how the reduction in the number of trains in the ScotRail fleet from April 2015 will impact on passengers, and whether it will publish the findings.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The ScotRail franchise commencing on 1 April 2015 was the subject of a procurement exercise. Through that exercise, Scottish Ministers specified the rail services and train capacity they require to see delivered. Abellio ScotRail are now contracted to deliver…

19 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £13,938.1 million turnover in the food and drink sector identified in its growth sector statistics is attributable to the seafood and aquaculture industries when all income from fish processing is included.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Of the £13.9 billion turnover generated by the food and drink growth sector in 2012, about 14 per cent (£1.9 billion) is attributable to the seafood and aquaculture industries, including fish processing (data source: Scottish Annual Business Survey).

18 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the recently-announced £2 million in additional funding for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) for 2015-16 will have on the reported £436,000 in savings that SAS North Division has been targeted to make.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is important to recognise that all savings made by the Scottish Ambulance Service are retained for reinvestment. How resources are utilised to deliver the Scottish Ambulance Service’s Strategy, Towards 2020: Taking Care to the Patient, and achieve efficien…

18 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the recently-announced £2 million in additional funding for the Scottish Ambulance Service for 2015-16 will be allocated, broken down by regional operational division.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has invested £2 million to support delivery of the Scottish Ambulance Service’s strategy Towards 2020: Taking Care to the Patient, which was launched on 3 February 2015. The allocation of the resources to deliver the strategy is a mat…

17 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23806 by Richard Lochhead on 9 January 2015, whether it will provide an update on its assessment of how the ban on tail-docking has impacted on working dogs, and whether it has come to a decision regarding formally consulting on a potential exemptio…

Answer · Richard Lochhead: As noted in response to the question S4W-23806, the latest Scottish Government funded research investigating how the tail docking ban has impacted on working dogs was published in two peer reviewed papers in the Veterinary Record on 4 April 2014. That answer…

30 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any communications between ministers and representatives of the Crofting Commission in the last three months.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The only communication between the Scottish Ministers and representatives of the Crofting Commission in the last three months related to arranging the meeting referred to in the answer to question S4W-24249 on 5 February 2015. All answers to written parliamen…

30 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers have met representatives of the Crofting Commission in the last three months and what was discussed.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Scottish Ministers met the Convener of the Crofting Commission on 28 January 2015 to discuss operational matters relevant to crofting.

30 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of who is remunerating the legal costs involved in pursuing the Crofting Commission’s request that a special case be stated on a question of law for the opinion of the Court of Session in connection with the Land Court’s decision of 18 December 2014 in the case of Mac…

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Any legal costs incurred by the Crofting Commission in the furtherance of its operations are included in the annual budget included in the Budget (Scotland) Bill 2014-15 Supporting Document, which can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at: http:/…

30 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it had prior knowledge that the Crofting Commission planned to lodge a request that a special case be stated on a question of law for the opinion of the Court of Session in connection with the Land Court’s decision of 18 December 2014 in the case of MacGillivray v the Crofting Co…

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The regulation of crofting is an operational matter for the Crofting Commission, carried out on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Ministers were aware that a special case might be stated but took no part in the decision to do so.

29 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23998 by Shona Robison on 27 January 2015, whether it will provide the information requested as to whether the Scottish Ambulance Service made/has made any applications for additional money in its budget in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and …

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government engage with the Scottish Ambulance Service in a detailed annual financial planning exercise as part of the Local Delivery Plan (LDP) process when service demands on service and funding levels are considered. Throughout the year, month…

21 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to paragraph 165 of the Finance Committee’s 1st report 2015, Draft Budget 2015-16, when it will publish a full cost analysis of what it will take to achieve the statutory target to eradicate fuel poverty by November 2016.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will submit its response to the recommendations made in the Finance Committee’s 1st report on the Draft Budget 2015-16, prior to the Stage 3 reading of the Budget Bill on 4 February 2015.

21 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the observation in paragraph 151 of the Finance Committee’s 1st report 2015, Draft Budget 2015-16, that "it was difficult to assert whether the timetable for achieving the £1.1billion saving by March 2026 was achievable."

Answer · John Swinney: As stated in our response to the Finance Committee report on 3 February 2015, the savings targets for the first two years of police reform have been delivered. The government will continue to work closely with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland…

21 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to paragraph 151 of the Finance Committee’s 1st report 2015, Draft Budget 2015-16, what year on year savings are projected to achieve the £1.1 billion saving noted in the financial memorandum to the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.

Answer · John Swinney: The year on year savings projected to achieve the £1.1 billion savings target by March 2026 noted in the Financial Memorandum of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 are set out in table 2.1 on pages 51-52 of the Financial Memorandum to the Act.

21 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation at paragraph 132 of the Finance Committee’s 1st report 2015, Draft Budget 2015-16, whether the Scottish Fiscal Commission has now been instructed to monitor the Scottish Government's long-term investment commitments.

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in the Scottish Government’s response to the Finance Committee report on the 2015-16 Draft Budget of 3 February 2015, the Scottish Government does not consider that the monitoring of long term investment commitments as currently set out in Annex A …

21 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to paragraph 126 of the Finance Committee’s 1st report 2015, Draft Budget 2015-16, when it will provide detail on the repayments that NHS boards are incurring via the non-profit distributing model.

Answer · John Swinney: The draft budget sets out the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the upcoming year for consultation with the Scottish Parliament and the people of Scotland, while actual reporting of expenditure is included in the Scottish Government’s consolidated acco…

20 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S4W-23777 by Aileen McLeod on 13 January 2015, whether it will provide a full breakdown of the issues discussed at the meeting.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Cabinet Sub Committee on Climate Change has overall responsibility for ensuring that Scotland meets the world-leading climate change targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, contributing to the government’s purpose of creating a more suc…

13 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Ambulance Service made/has made an application for additional money in its budget in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

Answer · Shona Robison: The following tables set out additional funding made available to the Scottish Ambulance Service between financial years 2011-12 to 2014-15. (a) 2011-12 Recurring (£) Non-recurring (£) Support for carer information strategies - 15,000 Vale of Leven …

12 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a ban on single-use Styrofoam products.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is considering a number of options in line with the commitment in the national litter strategy to influence product design of frequently littered items to reduce their environmental impact. This could include looking at whether changes…

5 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who the members are of the Council of Economic Advisors and what changes there have been to the membership since October 2014.

Answer · John Swinney: The Council of Economic Advisers is an independent advisory group to the First Minister. The council last met on 12 November 2014. In her speech on 1 December 2014, the First Minister confirmed that the council would continue to be chaired by Crawford Beveri…

5 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the (a) Scottish Futures Trust and (b) hubCo consortiums pay all staff at least the living wage and, if so, since which date.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Futures Trust has operational responsibility for setting the wages of its staff, however I can confirm that since its inception in 2008 the Scottish Futures Trust has paid its staff the living wage or above. I can also confirm that all staff em…

5 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Office for Budget Responsibility's report, Economic and fiscal outlook report - December 2014, which indicated a rise in household borrowing in Scotland.  

Answer · John Swinney: Whilst the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) does not make any specific forecasts for Scottish household borrowing, its Economic and Fiscal Outlook - December 2014 included forecasts for household borrowing and debt at the UK level. The OBR projects hous…

5 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date ministers instructed civil servants to initiate the development of Wave Energy Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The name ‘Wave Energy Scotland’ was agreed in the latter half of 2014. However, the concept of a collaborative approach of support for this nascent sector was discussed as early as 14 January 2014 at a wave energy summit hosted by the former First Minister. T…