Murdo Fraser

21 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on cross-border rail passenger numbers of a 50% reduction in air passenger duty.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government is aware of the potential impact on cross-border rail passenger numbers of a 50% reduction in the overall burden of Air Passenger Duty (APD) in Scotland, and is factoring this into policy decisions for the tax which will replace APD in…

21 Sep 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the results of The Scottish Health Survey.

Answer · Shona Robison: I welcome the results of the Scottish Health Survey which highlighted a number of key areas where we are making progress, for example, the proportion of children of healthy weight (72 per cent) increased in the last year and for boys has increased year on yea…

13 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it offers Police Scotland to deal with online and cybercrime.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government works closely with Police Scotland and a range of business and other stakeholders in relation to cyber-crime and cyber-resilience. We launched our cyber-resilience strategy ‘Safe, Secure and Prosperous’ in November last year.

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in relation to its proposed Scottish Growth Fund, it will be providing a guarantee of 100% of the loans and guarantees provided.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what level of security will be provided by businesses that apply for a loan or guarantee from its proposed Scottish Growth Fund.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to its proposed Scottish Growth Fund, whether banks will be taking the lead in funding decisions, and what action it will take to guard against risk to the taxpayer.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in relation to its proposed Scottish Growth Fund, businesses in receipt of a loan or guarantee will pay an annual premium to the bank in charge of these.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the annual default rate of businesses receiving a loan or guarantee under its proposed Scottish Growth Fund scheme, and how much it expects to pay out due to defaults in each of the three years of the scheme.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish banks regarding the delivery of its proposed Scottish Growth Fund.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what size of business will be able to apply for a loan or guarantee from its proposed Scottish Growth Fund.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide for the administration and audit of its proposed Scottish Growth Fund and whether independent audit checks will be undertaken.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02378 on 28 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…

7 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has given to providing organisational infrastructure and resources for the First Minister’s Reading Challenge.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has allocated £334,144 to enable the Scottish Book Trust to develop, promote and administer the First Minister’s Reading Challenge. This includes teacher resources and marketing materials for every primary school and branch library in …

7 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to make the recommended books listed in the First Minister’s Reading Challenge available in public libraries.

Answer · John Swinney: 100 places to start your reading journey was shared with public libraries ahead of the First Minister’s Reading Challenge being launched. This allowed librarians to consider their current children’s book stock in light of the new programme before schools bega…

7 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many public libraries have (a) had their opening hours reduced or (b) closed in each year since 2011.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The information requested is not held centrally, however I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02014 on 13 September 2016 which contains information on the number of libraries in Scotland. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availabl…

31 Aug 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the Department for International Trade's recently published figures on inward investment in Scotland.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies continually analyse inward investment data, including data from the Department of International Trade. We also engage with existing and potential investors to understand and respond to their needs and prio…

7 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement to end the vacant non-domestic property water charge exemption, how much of the predicted £15 million charge will be raised in each local authority.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Licensed providers, also known as retailers, are responsible for billing and collecting charges from non-domestic properties across Scotland. The £15 million additional revenue was calculated on an all-Scotland basis based on data held by Scottish Assessors V…

15 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers were made aware of delays in the construction of the Queensferry Crossing that would result in the project falling behind the programmed slippage time.

Answer · Keith Brown: On 26 May 2016, ministers were informed that Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) were looking specifically at the recent weather impacts on the delivery of the project as part of their six monthly programme review. On 1 June 2016, FCBC ratified their…

15 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many construction days were lost on the Queensferry Crossing as a result of inclement weather in (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014 and (e) 2015.

Answer · Keith Brown: Inclement weather affects construction activities in different ways ranging from the need to alter a method of work to completely cancelling a piece of work. Consequently, it is not possible to quantify how many construction days were lost on construction of …

15 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether delays in the construction of the foundations on the Queensferry Crossing have contributed to the delayed opening of the bridge.

Answer · Keith Brown: Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) have advised that the construction of the foundations of the Queensferry Crossing have not contributed to the revised opening date for the bridge. FCBC have confirmed that weather alone caused this revised opening dat…

6 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains the case that the Queensferry Crossing is due to open to the public in 2016.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00533 on 8 June 2016. 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/parliamentarybusiness/288…

6 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether construction of the Queensferry Crossing is on schedule.

Answer · Keith Brown: The contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors’, has advised Transport Scotland that due to adverse weather conditions in April and May 2016 exceeding expectations and resulting in an increase in days lost to weather, they are unable to achieve the target…

6 Jun 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister, in light of the findings of the latest Bank of Scotland research series report on oil and gas, what support the Scottish Government will offer the industry.

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work the Minister for Mental Health will carry out regarding child and adolescent mental health waiting times.

Answer · Maureen Watt: As part of the £54.1 million package of support announced by the First Minister in January 2016, £4.8 million will be awarded to Healthcare Improvement Scotland to establish a mental health access improvement support team. This team will provide support to bo…

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates since January 2016 it has met officials of NHS Forth Valley to discuss waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish Government officials, Health Improvement Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland met with NHS territorial boards, including NHS Forth valley, to discuss current performance and provide information on the mental health improvement programme in May 201…

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers NHS boards that (a) miss or (b) expect to miss their referral to treatment timescale for child and adolescent mental health services.

Answer · Maureen Watt: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.

25 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to introduce an independent appeals service, similar to that which exists in England, for the private parking industry in Scotland.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the progress of the Independent Parking Committee's (IPC) Independent Appeals Service, which was extended to Scotland in April 2015, without the need for keeper liability following the publication of Citizens Adv…

25 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with partners in the private parking industry in relation to those not following the voluntary code of conduct.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Stakeholder Working Group on private parking, which includes representatives from the parking industry, Citizens Advice Scotland and the Trading Standards Scotland met in November 2015. The discussion at this meeting focused on how we can improve private …

25 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to regulate the private parking industry during the current parliamentary session.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is working with the private parking industry, Citizens Advice Scotland and Trading Standards Scotland on how to improve industry practices in Scotland. As part of this work, we are looking at the standardising of signage, improving tra…

16 Mar 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to employers in the care sector to help them pay the living wage.

14 Mar 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government expects a new film studio for Scotland to be delivered.