Parliamentary questions

John Scott

560 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

11 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote the employment of physician associates within the NHS.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: While the Scottish Government provides funding and strategic direction to NHS Scotland, individual Health Boards are responsible for determining the mix of professional roles within their workforce that best meets the healthcare needs of their local populatio…

12 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings it has had with representatives of the tourism industry, and what was discussed.

17 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum grant will be that coach companies and tour operators can claim from the "almost £6 million" fund that it announced on 9 December 2020.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34152 on 23 December 2020. 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/parliamentarybusine…

17 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the exact level of funding that will be made available to coach companies and tour operators from the "almost £6 million" fund that it announced on 9 December 2020.

17 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date in January coach companies and tour operators will be able to claim from the "almost £6 million" fund that it announced on 9 December 2020, and how long it anticipates it will take to process applications and distribute funding.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Tourism and hospitality businesses across Scotland are to benefit from a £104.3 million package of support in the New Year. This includes £5.8m for tour operators, including coach tourism operators. We are in the process of working with the Confederation of P…

16 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of South Ayrshire Council and what was discussed.

11 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that ScotRail plans to reduce services by 10% next month.

28 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place to improve digital access, skills and confidence for older people.

29 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve road connectivity in South Ayrshire.

15 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Ayrshire and Arran regarding measures to control the spread of COVID-19.

19 Jun 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing new face-to-face assessments for new devolved benefits.

3 Jun 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the road network in South Ayrshire.

8 May 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on encouraging behavioural change with regard to food production, in light of evidence received by the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee from the Committee on Climate Change.

1 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that fire breaks are adequately maintained by swiping or other methods on Forestry Commission Scotland-owned land and forests, following reports of many moorland wildfires in 2019, and what analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of this work r…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) take a landscape level approach to land management, endeavouring to manage the land under its care with regard to a number of risks, including wildfire. This is focused primarily on employment of best practice in land manageme…

30 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it allocates funding from the Scottish Welfare Fund to local authorities.

24 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to minimise the risks to patient care arising from warnings of budget deficits in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and other NHS board areas.

15 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with South Ayrshire Council regarding the preservation of listed buildings and other built heritage.

27 Mar 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to help NHS Ayrshire and Arran reduce waiting times for treatment for mental health problems.

19 Mar 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Ayrshire and Arran and South Ayrshire Council regarding the reported shortage of funded packages of care in South Ayrshire.

13 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the education secretary's previous comments that the Education Bill could still be introduced if "sufficient progress" is not made, whether it has ruled out doing so in 2019.

19 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its target to build 50,000 new affordable homes will be met.

19 Feb 2019 · Written Question

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Please see the following summary of Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) payment amounts for each year requested. Year LFASS Payments total (£) (a)2014 65,196,182.98 (b)2015 64,459,059.97 (c)2016 49,580,401.38 (d)2017 76,122,791.28 LFASS claim…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it can take to support the sectors in the recently released Total Farm Income (TFI) figures where the decline in income is greatest.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has laid out a five year strategy that will provide certainty and security for businesses, land managers and producers in our rural communities. In the short term measures to help cash flow through Basic Payment Scheme loans starting l…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the decline in total farm income from £729 million in 2017 to £672 million in 2018.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There is no doubt that the adverse weather conditions in 2018 had a significant effect on the industry which impacted on the Total Income from Farming (TIFF) figures. This is in part why increased feed costs (up £72 million) were a key factor on TIFF. The Sco…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what technical measures have been put in place to prevent incorrect letters from being issued again to participants in the Beef Efficiency Scheme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Officials will work closely with ScotEID to ensure that the content of the reports is being interpreted correctly. We are also in constructive talks with ScotEID to review and simplify the weights reports so that they only show data relevant to the current sc…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the reason was for incorrect warning letters being issued to farmers taking part in the Beef Efficiency Scheme.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The incorrect letters were generated due to an administrative error. This resulted in a misinterpretation of the report that had been provided by ScotEID. Once officials determined the error, a further letter was posted to all recipients of the original lett…

30 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to inform farmers regarding separating different types of plastic waste to help maximise reusing and recycling opportunities.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer to the member to the answer to question S5W-21332 on 6 February 2019. 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/parliamentarybusi…

30 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help farmers work collaboratively to establish recycling collection points for the pick-up of plastic waste.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In 2016, following the announcement of full enforcement of the ban on the burning of plastic farm waste, a working group was established to plan the transition towards a position where the ban could be enforced. The group had representatives from the National…

30 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it is giving to farmers regarding how best to store plastic waste.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: SEPA has provided clear guidance to farmers to help them decide how best to store and dispose of their plastic waste (see https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/agricultural-waste/burning-on-farm-waste/#rural ) and there are also local SEPA offices that …

23 Jan 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support tourism, including business tourism, between Ireland and Scotland.