Parliamentary questions
Jeremy Purvis
909 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Fit4Fun programme, which has been tackling childhood obesity in the Borders, is having its funding reduced.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not fund the Fit4Fun programme directly, it is funded through monies allocated to NHS Borders for delivery of their Child Healthy Weight Intervention in support of the HEAT 3 target. Each health board in Scotland are allocated fun…
4 Mar 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what total funding has been received in the Borders from the £11 million targeted to school-age children under the Healthy Eating, Active Living programme and by which organisations
Answer · Shona Robison: Given that the majority of the projects set out in Healthy Eating Active Living are delivered nationally it is not possible to break down the cost to individual areas of Scotland; for example the Scottish Cooking Bus incurs running costs which are not associa…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many rural development grants have been awarded in the Borders and at what (a) total and (b) average value, in each year since 2007.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The following table sets out funding value and cases per year in the Borders for schemes under the current Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-13, worth some £65.8 million in total. The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme was the only scheme to begin paym…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the over €40 million of regional development funding suspended by the European Commission will be released.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on Scottish projects of the decision by the European Commission to suspend over €40 million of regional development funding for 2010-11.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what direction the European Commission has provided on the action that it requires the Scottish Government to take in order to release the €40 million of regional development funding that is being withheld and what action it has taken as a result.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to resolve the reported significant shortcomings indentified by the European Commission in the way that regional development funding is allocated in Scotland.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the European Commission since the suspension of over €40 million of regional development funding for 2010-11.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons the European Commission has decided to withhold over €40 million of regional development funding for 2010-11 from Scotland.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding the allocation of regional development funding and when they took place.
Answer · Jim Mather: For the 2007-13 period, European Structural Funds in Scotland comprise four programmes: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in each of the Highlands and Islands and in Lowlands and Uplands programming areas.</p> <…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first made aware that the European Commission had concerns over the allocation of regional development funding in Scotland.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first made aware that over €40 million of European regional development funding for 2010-11 had been officially suspended.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
24 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first made aware that over €40 million of European regional development funding for 2010-11 was at risk of being withheld from Scotland.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39835 on 9 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…
4 Feb 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses in each parliamentary constituency have received (a) free and (b) partially subsidised insulation under the Home Insulation Scheme since it was introduced.
Answer · Alex Neil: Based on delivery as at 2 January 2011, within all Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) areas since the scheme was introduced:</p> <p >11,539 households had at least one insulation measure that was free under HIS, broken down by constituency as follows:</p> <table …
12 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles used, and how much revenue was raised by, the car park at the Forestry Commission visitor centre at Glentress, Peebles, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The amount of vehicles and revenue raised at the Forestry Commission visitor centre and car park at Glentress, Peebles in each of the last five years is listed in the following table.</b></p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valig…
12 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many visitors the Forestry Commission visitor centre at Glentress, Peebles, has had and how many of these were mountain bikers, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The amount of visitors to the Forestry Commission visitor centre at Glentress, Peebles in each of the last five years is listed in the following table.</b></p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > <p align=center >Fina…
12 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial estimated cost was and (b) current forecast cost is of the development of the new Forestry Commission visitor centre at Glentress, Peebles.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Initial cost estimates were based on a small scale re-development of the existing facilities budgeted at approximately £2 million. This was based on an upgrade of the existing facilities at the Osprey Car Park. This would significantly have reduced car park c…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects 2010 rates revaluations appeals to be concluded.
Answer · John Swinney: 2010 Revaluation appeals must be disposed of by the Valuation Appeal Committees no later than 31 December 2013, although in practice many will be resolved well in advance of that date.</p> <p >In addition, in certain circumstances, appeals may be referred to…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the properties subject to the proposed large retail supplement is appealing the 2010 revaluation figure.
Answer · John Swinney: Information on whether an individual retail property with a rateable value of over £750,000, and therefore liable for the large retail supplement, is under appeal is not held centrally but is available on the Scottish Assessors'' website at www.saa.gov.uk.</b…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the non-domestic rates income would be in 2011-12, broken down by category of rateable value (RV), if the following supplements were applied for properties with the following RV: 2.5p for more than £750,000 but not exceeding £1,000,000; 5p for more than £1,000,000 but no…
Answer · John Swinney: It is not possible to provide fully accurate estimates because appeals and reliefs will reduce expected income. However, the additional income generated in 2011-12 over and above the large business supplement, before taking account of appeals and reliefs, is …
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount of non-domestic rates payable by all retail properties with a rateable value in excess of £750,000 is in 2010-11.
Answer · John Swinney: The combined rateable value of all non-domestic properties classified by the Scottish Assessors as shops with an individual rateable value over £750,000 is £330 million. For these properties in 2010-11, the business rates bill is estimated to be £137 million.…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) total rateable value and (b) number of rateable properties will be in 2011-12, broken down by (i) sector and (ii) bands of (A) more than £750,000 but not exceeding £1,000,000, (B) more than £1,000,000 but not exceeding £1,099,999, (C) more than £1,099,999 but not exceeding £1…
Answer · John Swinney: The total number of properties and combined rateable values of all properties broken down by band and sector is as follows.</b></p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td rowspan=2 valign=top > <p align=center >Sector</p>…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) total rateable value and (b) number of rateable properties will be in 2011-12, broken down by (i) sector and (ii) bands of (A) up to £18,000, (B) £18,001 to £34,999, (C) £35,000 to £49,999, (D) £50,000 to £64,999, (E) £65,000 to £89,999, (F) £90,000 to £119,999, (G) £120,000 …
Answer · John Swinney: The total number of properties and combined rateable values of all properties broken down by band and sector is as follows.</b></p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=654 > <tr > <td nowrap rowspan=2 valign=top > <p align=center >Secto…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional revenue would be raised if a new supplement of 0.1p was applied to all properties with a rateable value in excess of £1 million.
Answer · John Swinney: It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate. While an estimated £1.7 million could be raised in 2011-12 by applying a 0.1p universal supplement to all property with a rateable value over £1 million, the actual amount would be lower once appeals and rel…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional revenue would be raised if the large retail supplement were increased from 0.7p to 0.8p in 2011-12.
Answer · John Swinney: The large retail supplement applies to properties with a rateable value of over £750,000 and involves a range of levels starting at 2.5p. The large business supplement, which applies to properties with a rateable value over £35,000 and has been in place for m…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the number of jobs in construction and associated trades supported by investment from retailers since 2007.
Answer · Jim Mather: As with the UK and other developed economies, an estimate of the impact of business investment by specific sectors, such as retail, on other sectors of the economy is not carried out as part of any assessment of the economy. Business investment is however an …
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the number of jobs created by retailers since 2007.
Answer · Jim Mather: There is no information held centrally on the number of jobs created in Scotland. However, data are available on the net change in jobs over time. Data on the number of workforce jobs by broad sector are available on a quarterly basis. Table 1 shows the numbe…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the amounts raised from businesses through Business Improvement District levies came from retailers.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. Amounts raised through Business Improvement District (BID) levies are a matter for each BID company.</b></p>
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is for each Business Improvement District (BID) project, showing (a) amounts raised from businesses by BID levies and (b) grants.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. Business Improvement District (BID) companies are organisations which are independent of the Scottish Government. Projects, including the budgets and funding for these, which individual BID companies take forward are th…
11 Jan 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the percentage increase in business rates bills for retail properties with a rateable value greater than £750,000 in 2011-12 compared with 2010-11, expressed in (a) cash and (b) real terms.
Answer · John Swinney: At an individual property level, the percentage increase in business rates bills for retail properties that will apply from 2011-12 compared to 2010-11 ranges from between 8.9% in cash terms, or 6.4% in real terms, for those retail properties with a rateable …