Parliamentary questions
John Wilson
696 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-30097 by John Swinney on 7 March 2016, whether it considers that additional funds to take forward particular workstreams should be taken into account when calculating overall budget reductions.
Answer · John Swinney: Any budget comparisons should take into account all funding available to local authorities to support their expenditure on services.
9 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the key deliverables of its 2020 Vision for achieving sustainable quality in the delivery of healthcare services across Scotland.
Answer · Shona Robison: We have made significant progress against the key deliverables of the 2020 Vision route map and these include: Improvements in care for people with long term conditions have resulted in the avoidance in 2009-10 of over 125,000 bed days for people aged over 6…
9 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to improve the assistance that it can give to local authorities to reduce the interest rates on their PFI contracts.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish Futures Trust continues to work with public authorities in Scotland to assist in making savings and improving performance across PFI/PPP contracts. In relation to interest rates, there is a mechanism within PFI/PPP contracts for the private sector t…
9 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will introduce to assist with the enforcement of the Footway Parking and Double Parking (Scotland) Bill in areas where no current traffic enforcement bodies are employed by local authorities.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Consistent enforcement was one of the key issues identified by the Local Government and Regeneration Committee, which required detailed consideration. If re-elected, the Scottish Government will bring forward suitable legislation in the next parliamentary ses…
9 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the recommendations in its report, Pulling together: transforming urgent care for the people of Scotland: The Report of the Independent Review of Primary Care Out of Hours Services, are being met, in light of recent reports of varying standards of immediate care…
Answer · Shona Robison: I welcomed the publication of Pulling together: transforming urgent care for the people of Scotland in November 2015, which highlighted the variability of responding to uninjured fallers. The Scottish Government continue to work with delivery partners at bo…
25 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress the Scottish Steel Task Force is making in securing the future of the Tata Steel plants in Lanarkshire.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government and Scottish Steel Task Force is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a sustainable future for the steel sector in Scotland. To this end, we have made significant progress in five key areas: business rates, energy costs, support for sta…
25 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a taskforce to support local government workers facing potential redundancy as a result of local government funding reductions.
Answer · John Swinney: Like the rest of the public sector, councils face significant financial and other pressures but it is for the councils as independent bodies, accountable to their electorates, to decide how to respond to those pressures. The Scottish Government remains commit…
25 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) local authorities in the Central Scotland region and (b) trade unions regarding potential job losses due to local government funding reductions.
Answer · John Swinney: I held a series of meetings with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) both in the lead up to, and following, my announcement of the 2016-17 local government finance settlement on 16 December 2015. I have also met trade union representatives fr…
25 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact on jobs, what discussions it has had with the UK Government since September 2015 regarding the decision to close tax offices in Cumbernauld and East Kilbride and what assessment it has made or plans of the potential impact on the local communities.
Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister has spoken personally with senior Whitehall officials regarding the impact of HMRC’s organisational change programme which will see the closure of smaller tax offices over a 10 year period, including Cumbernauld and East Kilbride. Much of t…
22 Feb 2016 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it disposes of food that is left over from events and functions.
1 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being by Health Protection Scotland in its consultation on the health impact of extracting unconventional oil and gas and when it will make publish the responses to the first round of the consultation.
Answer · Shona Robison: Health Protection Scotland are undertaking a Public Health Impact Assessment of unconventional oil and gas extraction as part of the wider programme of evidence-gathering work that will take place prior to a Scottish Government-led public consultation on this…
1 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many responses it has received for the tender to carry the (a) transport impact, (b) decommissioning and aftercare and (c) seismic activity and monitoring research projects of its consultation on unconventional oil and gas, and which minister will make the decision on who to appoint …
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government’s research projects for the consultation on unconventional oil and gas has received the following number of tenders: a) Understanding and mitigating community level impacts from transport – five tenders. b) Decommissioning, site rest…
1 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-29191 by Fergus Ewing on 20 January 2016, how it will engage with the community, industry and environmental stakeholders.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is committed to engaging widely on the issue of unconventional oil and gas. A variety of engagement tools and platforms will be used before and during the formal public consultation. This will include meeting with community, industry a…
13 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who will be responsible for bringing together the findings of the unconventional oil and gas research streams into a single consultation response and what weighting will be applied to each stream.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government will ensure that the findings of the research projects are presented in a clear and accessible way, and made publicly available in advance of the consultation. Access to this wide-ranging evidence base will enable members of the public…
13 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which research elements of the consultation on unconventional oil and gas will cover worker health and safety and socioeconomic impacts.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The research package includes a specific project on the economic impacts of unconventional oil and gas. Health and safety in the workplace is currently a reserved matter, and is therefore the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Informati…
12 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Scottish Water.
6 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) what the timescales are and (b) how many responses it has received for the tender processes for the research projects, (i) Transport Impacts, (ii) Decommissioning and Aftercare and (iii) Seismic Activity and Monitoring, which are part of its consultation on unconventional oil and gas.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The three research projects are currently out to tender. Responses to the tenders are due on 22 January 2016 for the transport and decommissioning projects and 29January 2016 for the seismic activity project.
6 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will conduct the pre-consultation public engagement exercise on unconventional gas and oil.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is committed to engaging widely on the issue of unconventional oil and gas. For example, the research projects that we announced on 8 October 2015 include opportunities for a range of stakeholders to input their views at the outset of …
6 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of attendees at the Health Protection Agency's public health impact assessment workshop for community stakeholders that was held on 23 November 2015 as part of the consultation on unconventional oil and gas.
Answer · Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-28714 on 9 December 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/parliamentary…
16 Dec 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the council leader and chief executive of North Lanarkshire Council.
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support the introduction of driver-controlled/driver-only operation on the ScotRail franchise.
Answer · Derek Mackay: 42% of services on the Scottish rail network are currently driver-controlled operation, accounting for 59% of journeys. The ScotRail franchise sets out our requirements for service provision, including that the franchisee must plan to have a second member of …
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what involvement trade unions will have in the commissioning of new rolling stock for the ScotRail franchise.
Answer · Derek Mackay: ScotRail intends to engage fully with trade unions before the introduction of the new Hitachi electric rolling stock to passenger service. This process will also involve the relevant regulatory authorities to ensure the efficient and safe operation of the rai…
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any new rolling stock commissioned for the ScotRail franchise will be configured for driver-controlled operation/driver-only operation.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The output specification of the new Hitachi electric fleet has requirements for door opening including targets on station dwell times and also the capability for drivers to open doors from the leading cab. The final design of the train contains equipment to e…
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Abellio in respect of the clauses in the ScotRail franchise contract allowing the Scottish Government to indemnify it against industrial action.
Answer · Derek Mackay: No discussions have taken place on this topic.
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it would consider exercising the clauses in the ScotRail franchise contract to indemnify the operator against industrial action.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The franchise agreement with ScotRail gives the circumstances in which the clauses referred to may apply. This includes a parity clause, giving workers’ representatives and other stakeholders input into ministers’ consideration, which is unique in rail franch…
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent representations it has made to the UK Government regarding the Scotland Bill and the requirement to put the (a) ScotRail and (b) Caledonian Sleeper services out to tender.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The requirement to put the ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper contracts out to tender was a condition of the current UK railways legislation, which the Scottish Parliament has no powers to change. As proposed by this government, there is provision within the dr…
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on consultants for the last Caledonian Sleeper franchise tendering process and what consultants.
Answer · Derek Mackay: There were three sets of specialist advisors, each procured through competition as part of the franchise tendering process. Atkins Limited advised on rail technical matters, Ernst & Young LLP advised on financial matters and DWF were legal advisors. The cost …
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on the last Caledonian Sleeper franchise tendering process and what information it has on the cost for bidders.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The cost to the Scottish Government for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise tendering process was £5,672,393. The Scottish Government does not have information on the cost for bidders.
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on consultants for the last ScotRail franchise tendering process and what consultants.
Answer · Derek Mackay: There were three sets of specialist advisors, each procured through competition as part of the franchise tendering process. Atkins Limited advised on rail technical matters, Ernst & Young LLP advised on financial matters and DWF were legal advisors. The cost …
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the last ScotRail franchise tendering process cost and what information it has on the cost for bidders.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The cost to the Scottish Government for the ScotRail franchise tendering process was £7,905,099. The Scottish Government does not have information on the cost for bidders.