Parliamentary questions

Murdo Fraser

2,062 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

15 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it became aware of banks no longer offering undesignated or pooled client accounts to letting agents.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government became aware that some letting agents were experiencing problems accessing an undesignated (pooled) client bank account in late Summer 2017.

15 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding which banks offer letting agents undesignated client bank accounts.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is aware that many UK banks offer an undesignated client bank account, however, access to these accounts is often dependent on the applicant meeting criteria that a bank specifies.

15 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that letting agents are able to comply with the separate client bank account provision of the Letting Agent Code of Practice.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is liaising with UK Finance, HM Treasury and a number of individual banks to address concerns that some letting agents have been unable to open a suitable undesignated client bank account. This engagement has led to increased access to…

15 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which banks it has engaged with regarding (a) undesignated client bank accounts, (b) money laundering regulations and (c) the Letting Agent Code of Practice.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has engaged directly, or through British Bankers Association/UK Finance, with the following banks regarding (a) undesignated client bank accounts, (b) money laundering regulations and (c) the Letting Agent Code of Practice:Bank of Scot…

5 Mar 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to educate children regarding using the internet safely.

22 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Inventory of Historic Battlefields is a statutory consultee in the A9 planning process.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Inventory of Historic Battlefields in itself is not a statutory consultee. The Killiecrankie Battlefield site is a nationally important battlefield and forms part of Historic Environment Scotland’s Inventory of Historic Battlefields. Historic Environment …

22 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what protection from development there is for historic battlefields.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Historic Environment Scotland has a statutory duty to compile and maintain an Inventory of historic battlefields of national importance. The inclusion of a battlefield on the Inventory identifies it as an area of added protection where particular consideratio…

22 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates archaeological assessments were made at the A9 at Killiecrankie prior to the current groundwork excavations.

Answer · Keith Brown: An archaeologist was present on site between November 2017 and February 2018 to review each ground investigation location, assess potential impacts on archaeological sites and cultural heritage assets, and to identify appropriate mitigation.

22 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Historic Environment Scotland was consulted prior to the start of the excavations at the Killiecrankie battlefield as part of the A9 dualling process.

Answer · Keith Brown: Historic Environment Scotland was informed of the geotechnical investigation in August last year before work started in December. The A9 Dualling Killiecrankie to Glen Garry project has been carefully developed taking into account available research and speci…

14 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Transport Scotland and Jacobs regarding the preferred route for the dualling of the A9 at Killiecrankie.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Following an assessment of environmental, economic, engineering and traffic criteria, the preferred route for the A9 Dualling Killiecrankie to Glen Garry project was announced in March 2016 at public exhibitions held in Killiecrankie and Blair Atholl. The the…

16 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Health Improvement and Protection budget is decreasing in 2018-19.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Health Improvement and Protection budget is actually increasing by £16.6m (36%) in 2018-19, up from £46.1m in 2017-18 to £62.7m in 2018-19. This is driven by significant, additional investment in treatment and support services for alcohol and drugs. Bac…

12 Dec 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its Draft Budget will grow the Scottish economy.

22 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Tayside.

8 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of bail-related offences.

24 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding the issues around devolving the administration of air departure tax to local authorities.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As I informed the Parliament during my statement on Air Departure Tax on 5 October, the Scottish Government has carefully considered the proposal to devolve the tax to local councils and does not believe this can be done in a way which is compatible with stat…

27 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new national public bodies (a) it and (b) its agencies have announced in each local authority area in each year since 1999, and how many bodies were created.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Since 1999 the Scottish Government has established 57 new devolved public bodies. Scottish Government agencies do not establish new public bodies. A breakdown of the number of public bodies established in each local authority area since 1999 through to April …

27 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new public sector jobs (a) it and (b) its agencies have announced in each local authority area in each year since 1999, and how many jobs were created.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Information on Public Sector job announcements are not tracked or held centrally. Whilst the Scottish Government's Human Resources system is able to provide the net change between the number of staff in post at points in time - and this is published in the S…

27 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the economic impact on Scotland of digital currencies, such as the bitcoin, and whether it has discussed with the Treasury what can be done to ensure that their use complies with anti-money laundering regulations.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is aware of the potential uses and limitations of digital currencies and monitors closely all developments in the financial and banking sector in Scotland. New money laundering regulations were published by Treasury in June 2017.

26 Sep 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will publish its proposals for setting the level of income tax.

28 Aug 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the Barclay review of non-domestic rates.

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many tram tickets for travel to Edinburgh Airport were purchased by passengers departing from Edinburgh Gateway Station since it opened, and how many of these tickets were prepaid.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: ScotRail reports earnings and journeys by ticket type on a period by period basis at an aggregate level to take account of commercial sensitivity information. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not hold information at the level of detail requested.

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many joint train and tram tickets have been purchased for journeys starting in Fife and connecting through Edinburgh Gateway Station, since it opened.

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Public Health England and (b) the Food Standards Agency regarding the threat of hepatitis E from pork products purchased in supermarkets in Scotland.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is part of the Scottish Health Protection Network Hepatitis E sub-group, a multi-agency group which includes representatives from Health Protection Scotland, Public Health England and Food Standards Scotland, which is leading work to i…

10 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are plans to enact Part 7 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Part 7 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 would give Scottish Ministers powers to assess a planning authority's performance or decision making. We currently have no plans to commence this part of the Act. The Scottish Government’s relationship with aut…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of the R100 review.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The results of the R100 Open Market Review are used to generate a draft 'intervention area' for the R100 programme which is then tested through a State Aid public consultation. This will be published in due course.

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can offer residents in the Loch Rannoch area who have reportedly been waiting for improved broadband access for a number of years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Over 100 premises to the east of Loch Rannoch will gain access to fibre broadband as a result of Gainshare - a clawback mechanism built into the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) contracts. This funding is being made available to accelerate high spe…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the R100 open market review will help communities that are currently waiting at the bottom of a queue for Community Broadband Scotland funding.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Broadband, like defence and foreign affairs, is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament. Despite this, the Scottish Government has committed to extending superfast broadband access to 100% of premises by 2021 through the Reaching 100% (R100) programme. The R1…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made to Community Broadband Scotland in each year since August 2012, and how many of these were approved.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Since August 2012, Community Broadband Scotland has received a total of 90 applications for grant funding from community organisations. Of the 90, 86 applications were approved. The remaining four applications were withdrawn before a decision was made. The br…

15 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09650 by Annabelle Ewing on 14 June 2017, what the time frame is for its consideration of the recommendations made by the Scottish Law Commission.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government has not set a time frame for its consideration of the recommendations made by the Scottish Law Commission following their review of law of trusts and set out in the Report on Trust Law (Scot Law Com No. 239) in August 2014. This work i…

13 Jun 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the opening of the Scottish Growth Scheme.