David Stewart

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide additional funding to local authorities to help establish and maintain low emission zones and, if so, how much.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00826 on 30 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/28…

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects its air quality standard targets to be fully met.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: 'Cleaner Air for Scotland - The Road to a Healthier Future', Scotland's first distinct air quality strategy, was published in November 2015. It commits to significant progress towards revocation of all air quality management areas by 2020 - the criterion agai…

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the SNP 2016 manifesto commitment for “the first low emission zone to be put in place by the end of 2018”, whether the location for the first zone will be announced prior to 4 May 2017, and what criteria it will use to select the zones.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00826 on 30 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/28…

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the SNP 2016 manifesto commitment to “the first low emission zone to be put in place by the end of 2018” means that such a zone will be fully operational by that date, or that notice will be given to the affected parties by that date.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy sets out the phased approach required to develop measures, such as low emissions zones (LEZ), as part of the National Low Emission Framework (NLEF). A key part of this is the gathering of new traffic data to inform air qu…

14 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting time at NHS Highland is for cataract operations and how this compares with the other NHS boards.

Answer · Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not available centrally - waiting time information is only collected at specialty level. For the quarter ending 31 March 2016 the median wait for a patient to receive inpatient or day case treatment in the specialty of op…

25 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce drug driving limits.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There is long-standing legislation in place that makes it an offence to drive while impaired through the use of drugs. The Scottish Government published in 2015 an analysis of responses received to a consultation on introducing drug driving limits and we are …

25 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the introduction of drug field testing kits (drugalysers) for use by police officers.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A decision on the use of drug field testing kits by police officers is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

19 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the final cost is of CalMac Ferries Ltd’s bid for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The cost to CalMac Ferries Ltd of its successful bid for the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services contract is commercially sensitive.

18 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) the European Commissioner for Transport and (b) European Commission officials regarding procurement regulations and publicly-contracted ferry services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government and RMT union jointly wrote to Commissioner Violeta Bulc on 1 April 2016 seeking clarification on the application of the Teckal exemption to ferry procurement. The approach was agreed at a meeting in January 2016, hosted by David Stewa…

16 Mar 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to communities in the Highlands and Islands.

9 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average (a) seating capacity and (b) number of carriages has been for (i) electric and (ii) diesel services on the Edinburgh-Falkirk-Glasgow railway line in each year since 2011.

Answer · Derek Mackay: All services on the Edinburgh-Falkirk-Glasgow railway line are diesel-powered. Year Trains per weekday Six-car Three-car Seating (total) Average seating per train 2011 124 42 82 31,393 253 2012 124 43 81 31,707 256 2013 124 42 82 31,518…

9 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the new procurement regulations will prevent firms who are using tax avoidance schemes from applying for government contracts.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is determined to act decisively on tax avoidance where we have the powers to do so. We have taken a simple and clear but robust approach to tackling avoidance of the devolved taxes. The new procurement regulations contain grounds for …

8 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total topline spend on buses has been in each regional transport partnership area in each year since 2011, also broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Information is not held centrally in the form requested. Table 2.9 of Scottish Transport Statistics provides Scotland-wide figures for central and local government support for bus services between 2004-05 and 2014-15 and Table 2.8 provides figures for passeng…

8 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bus services have been reduced, altered or withdrawn in each regional transport partnership in each year since 2011, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We do not hold this information centrally. The Central Licensing Office provides figures on service registrations for the Traffic Commissioners annual report. Figures are broken down by traffic areas (including Scotland) but no further. Table 2.3b of Scottis…

8 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many passenger journeys have started in each regional transport partnership area and how many of them terminated inside the area in the last year for which information is available.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Information is not held centrally in the form requested. Table 2.2b of the 2015 edition of Scottish Transport Statistics provides a regional breakdown of bus passenger journeys between 2004-05 and 2014-15, although the four regions used do not correspond to r…

8 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what change there has been in the price of the average bus fare in each regional transport partnership area in each year since 2011.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Information is not held centrally in the form requested.

8 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28523 by John Swinney on 30 November 2015, in light of the commitment that it would "publish a policy consultation paper in early 2016", whether it will now publish its plans regarding the replacement to air passenger duty and what the reason is for…

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30551 on 14 March 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.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybu…

8 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on integrated active travel in light of the recent open letter from Spokes to the Minister for Transport and Islands regarding the 50% reduction in cycle carrying capacity on the Edinburgh-Glasgow rail line and 66% reduction on the West Highland Line from Glasgow to …

Answer · Derek Mackay: On train cycle capacity on the Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk route will not reduce and when ScotRail introduces new electric trains onto the route it is looking at options which have worked successfully elsewhere on the network such as in Ayrshire and North B…

7 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants the University of Dundee received for its MSC programme in educational psychology for 2015-16 and how this will impact on the statutory duty of local authorities to provide a certain number of educational psychologists.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Dundee University is still accepting applications for the MSc in educational psychology for its 2016 intake. There is no statutory duty for local authorities to provide a certain number of educational psychologists. Section 4 of the Education (Scotland) Act …

7 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how plans to reduce local authority budgets will affect the number of educational psychologists employed.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: It is the responsibility of each individual education authority to take their statutory duties into account, establish their priorities in light of local circumstances and to allocate their resources appropriately. In this context, it is for each local author…

7 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24042 by Alasdair Allan on 29 January 2015, what developments there have been to support educational psychologists and what work the secondee with Education Scotland has been doing.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government continue to work with the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP). Throughout 2015, the focus of the group was to undertake a workforce planning project. The secondee worked with the group to develop and…

7 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants there have been for postgraduate educational psychologist positions for each year from 2010-11.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The University of Dundee and the University of Strathclyde run, with an intake in alternate years, two year Master of Science courses in educational psychology. The number of applications for each intake year since 2010 is shown in the following table: Intak…

7 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if the ferry service between Dunoon and Gourock remains passenger only under the next contract, whether the port of Gourock will be maintained as a port of refuge with vehicle handling capability for that contract period.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The appointed service operator shall be required to operate a subsidised passenger only ferry service between Gourock and Dunoon town centres. Potential participants will also be encouraged to provide an unsubsidised vehicle-carrying service at their own comm…

7 Mar 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the RMT-commissioned report on the future of Scottish ferry services.

2 Mar 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support culture in the Highland and Islands.

1 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the reported seven-month waiting list for drivers whose licences have been suspended for medical reasons to be re-tested at the Scottish Driving Assessment Service in Edinburgh.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: During 2015 the Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS) experienced long term absence and staff turnover. The recruitment and training of replacement staff takes several months, which has meant that the waiting time for those drivers awaiting assessment fo…

1 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27940 by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015, what Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd’s planned expenditure on proposals in the Ferries Plan is for each year from 2015-16 to 2021-22.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd have set out their medium term spending plans within their 3 Year Corporate Plan 2015-2018 available at http://www.cmassets.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Final-3-Year-Corporate-Plan-2015-2018.pdf. However, these plans are sub…

1 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27940 by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015, what its estimate is of the expenditure on proposals in Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan (2013-2022) for (a) Northern Isles and (b) Clyde and Hebrides ferry services for each year from 2015-16 to 2021-2…

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30219 on 15 March 2016. 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/parliamentarybusine…

1 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27940 by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015, what the annual expenditure on proposals in Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan (2013-2022) was for (a) Northern Isles and (b) Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As stated in the response to question S4W-27940, the costs of the ferries plan proposals are not available in the format requested. The undernoted table details the actual spend by the Scottish Government in supporting ferry services in financial years 2013-…

1 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27940 by Derek Mackay on 29 October 2015, whether it will provide a breakdown of the annual expenditure on piers and harbours and vessels by (a) Northern Isles and (b) Clyde and Hebrides network.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The following table shows the breakdown of piers and harbour and vessel expenditure according to the network they relate to: 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 (Forecast as at early March 2016) Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service £13,295,693 £20,181,865 £48,097,6…