Jackson Carlaw

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards there are to ensure that all of the information provided by the homeowner and applicant is (a) relevant to the registration of a Notice of Potential Liability for Costs (NPLC) on a property’s title deeds (b) made available to both parties prior to the registration of the …

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: When registering a Notice of Potential Liability for Costs (NPLC) the applicant has to provide a range of information. The property must be described in a way that is sufficient to identify it. Where the property has a postal address, the description must in…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures there are to allow homeowners the opportunity to challenge a Notice of Potential Liability for Costs (NPLC) on a property’s title deeds without incurring monetary loss through (a) Registers of Scotland or (b) legal recourse.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: A Notice of Potential Liability for Costs (NPLC) expires after three years unless renewed. There are no fees or charges incurred when an NPLC expires. If a homeowner wishes to challenge an NPLC they can discuss the issues with the person who registered the N…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what legal provisions protect homeowners against the registration of a potentially fraudulent Notice of Potential Liability for Costs (NPLC) on a property’s title deeds.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: There are a number of protections in place. First of all, to take effect the Notice of Potential Liability for Costs (NPLC) must be registered at least 14 days before the incoming owner becomes the new owner, to allow time for the property registers to be s…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has been given evidence that the use of remote training collars, anti-bark collars and electronic boundary collars can be harmful to the health and development of dogs.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The public consultation on 'Potential controls or prohibition of electronic training aids in Scotland' asked for such evidence. Responses to this consultation can be found at https://consult.gov.scot/animal-welfare/electronic-training-aids/consultation/publi…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the impact of the prohibition and restrictions placed on remote training collars, anti-bark collars and electronic boundary collars for dogs, which have been introduced in (a) Wales and (b) other countries.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We considered the impact of the prohibition and restrictions placed on electronic training collars in other countries, including the Welsh ban, when preparing the public consultation on 'Potential controls or prohibition of electronic training aids in Scotlan…

15 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on making it a legal requirement for people wanting to describe themselves and practice as dog trainers or behaviourists to obtain a national standardised qualification on the subject.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Dog trainers and behaviourists are not currently governed explicitly by animal welfare legislation. The welfare of dogs subject to these services is, however, protected by the general requirements of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. The poss…

15 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what regulations and safeguards are in place to protect dogs and other animals from poor treatment by (a) owners and (b) trainers or behaviourists.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 makes it a criminal offence for any person to cause an animal unnecessary suffering or to not take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure the needs of an animal are met. Any person convi…

15 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next review the use of remote training collars, anti-bark collars and electronic boundary collars for dogs.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Programme for Government 2017-18 announced that we will tightly control the use of electronic dog training collars to allow responsible use under supervision while minimising the potential misuse of low quality devices. Regulations will be prepared for th…

14 Nov 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what further progress has been made with the implementation of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012.

2 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Momentous Change Ltd (a) has been contracted and (b) is being considered to undertake any work for (i) it, (ii) its arms length bodies and (iii) any other organisations associated with it.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has not awarded any contracts to Momentous Change Ltd and it is not aware of the company being considered for any of its work. The Scottish Government does not hold centrally records for contracts awarded by its arm’s length bodies and…

2 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the (a) directors and (b) staff of Momentous Change Ltd.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12447 on 20 November 2017. 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/parliamentarybusines…

24 Oct 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the implementation of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012.

Answer · Shona Robison: The court case on minimum unit pricing of alcohol was heard by the UK Supreme Court in July and we are currently awaiting the judgment. Minimum unit pricing of alcohol was passed unopposed by this Chamber in 2012 and would have been in place now for over fou…

4 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards it has in place to ensure that its international development funding to the Palestinian Authority is not used for the payment of so-called terror salaries or given to the families of so-called martyrs.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not provide any international development funding either directly to the Palestinian Authority or to Scottish NGOs working in Palestine. As a result there is no question that such funding is used for payment in the way the member …

4 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been undertaken of its international development funding to the Palestinian Authority.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Since the inception of the Scottish Government's International Development Programme in 2005, at no time has funding been provided either directly to the Palestinian Authority or to Scottish NGOs to deliver international development projects on our behalf. As…

4 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much international development funding it has given to the Palestinian Authority in each of the last five years, broken down by the (a) organisation funded and (b) objectives behind the funding.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: During the last 5 years (2013-14 - 2017-18) the Scottish Government has not provided any international development funding either directly to the Palestinian Authority or to Scottish NGOs to deliver projects on our behalf.

30 Aug 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact has been of the Capital Acceleration Programme.

8 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of discussions that it has had with the Irish Government regarding the possible co-funding of the drug, Orkambi, for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, and what progress the NHS has made regarding establishing a so-called pipeline deal with the drug's manuf…

Answer · Shona Robison: The deal between Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals is commercially confidential. I wrote to Vertex Pharmaceuticals in March to encourage them to take forward discussions about the cost of Orkambi with colleagues in NHS Nati…

30 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the impact of the judgments in ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 and Vehicle Control Services Ltd v Mackie [2017] SC DUN 24 on the (a) contractual enforcement and (b) standing of private parking schemes.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are aware that improvements could be made to various aspects of the private parking schemes, and for this reason, we have set up a Stakeholder Working Group with representatives from the private parking industry, Trading Standards Scotland and Citizens Adv…

30 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the £24,500 liability in Vehicle Control Services Ltd v Mackie [2017] SC DUN 24 as a mechanism to protect parking amenity.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are aware that private parking operators can levy reasonable charges that are contained within their Accredited Trade Association code of practice. However, we will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that consumer rights are protected. The Land…

23 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent (a) discussions it has had with and (b) advice it has received from (i) the Scottish Medicines Consortium and (ii) other bodies regarding the drug, Orkambi, being made available on the NHS for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Answer · Shona Robison: Decisions made by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) are independent of Ministers and Parliament and are based on clinical and cost-effectiveness at a national population level for all Scotland. The SMC did not accept Orkambi® for routine use in Scotlan…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the (a) postnatal and (b) antenatal support available for multiple pregnancies.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: It is important all women have early and timely access to appropriate, safe and effective antenatal and postnatal care, that is tailored to their needs. The Scottish Government works with NHS boards to continually improve the quality and safety of postnatal a…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what reviews have been carried out of the Infant Formula and Follow-On Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Infant Formula and Follow-On Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (as amended) implement current EU requirements (Directive 2006/141/EC) for relevant products. I am advised by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) that following a European Commission review of th…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of (a) private and (b) public sector employers registered with the Scotland Childcare Voucher Scheme.

Answer · Mark McDonald: By funding and actively participating in the Family Friendly Working Scotland partnership, the Scottish Government promotes a wide range of family friendly working policies to employers, including in relation to childcare. For parents and carers, the Scottis…

16 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its current and developing position is on the introduction of a 50p rate of income tax.

14 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Welsh Government regarding organ donation since the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 came into full effect in December 2015.

15 Mar 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on 72% of respondents to its consultation on social security in Scotland believing that it should aim to deliver social security through already available public sector services and organisations.

7 Mar 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of the discussions between it and the Scottish Council for Jewish Communities regarding the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will reconvene the Home Report Implementation Group to consider the findings of the five-year review of the Home Report.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is considering the best ways to engage with stakeholders to consider the findings of the five year review of the Home Report within the wider context of the development of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme, given the potential rol…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on home reports mainly being used for valuations and alterations, as opposed to providing energy efficiency information, given they are not as detailed as Scheme 2 surveys.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Home Report was introduced to provide information on the condition, valuation and energy efficiency of a property upfront, and contains three documents – a single survey, which is broadly equivalent to a Scheme 2 survey and includes condition and valuatio…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the recommendations in the five-year review of the Home Report.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government believes it is important to consider the Home Report within the wider work to take action to improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s properties as part of the development of Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme. We therefore inte…