Parliamentary questions
Liam McArthur
3,644 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
22 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what projects and services received support from the £4.5 million that it set aside for autism development funds as part of the Scottish Strategy for Autism, also broken down by how much of this money was allocated to (a) local authorities and (b) stakeholder organisations.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of autistic people through the Scottish Strategy for Autism. I refer the member to Annex 4 of the 'Scottish Strategy for Autism Progress Report - Foundation Stage (2 years)' which details the alloca…
22 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new masts have been located in Orkney under the Scottish 4G Infill programme since April 2019.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: No further mast locations on Orkney have been introduced since April 2019.
22 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether any mobile phone operators have committed to using the new mast locations in the vicinity of Burray, Hoy and Stromness.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28071 on 6 February 2020. 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…
22 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made on installing new mobile phone masts in the vicinity of Burray, Hoy and Stromness.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Despite regular engagement with the four mobile network operators, to date no operator has shown interest or committed to using any of the candidate mobile mast sites in the vicinity of Burray, Hoy and Stromness. Since the outset of the programme, we have bee…
22 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with mobile operators since April 2019 to encourage greater participation in the Scottish 4G Infill programme in Orkney.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I met with representatives from the four mobile network operators in October 2019 to discuss these matters and the development of the Shared Rural Network. There has also been regular engagement at official level, and through our Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) del…
17 Jan 2020 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Highlands and Islands Airports Limited regarding the announcement of plans to centralise air traffic control services.
10 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24536 by Joe FitzPatrick on 21 August 2019, whether it will provide an update regarding when the final neurological conditions national action plan will be published.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The final neurological conditions national action plan, re-titled as Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action 2020 – 2025 was published on Wednesday 18 December 2019. It can be accessed here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/neurolog…
8 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what workshops Transport Scotland has organised with local authorities in the last 12 months regarding the expansion and improvement of the ChargePlace Scotland network.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland communicates regularly with Scottish local authorities to discuss the development and growth of the ChargePlace Scotland network. This includes one-to-one meetings and larger workshops. In the past 12 months Transport Scotland has held 2 lo…
8 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings Transport Scotland has organised with electric vehicle owners in the last 12 months regarding the ChargePlace Scotland contract, and what communications there have been.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland regularly engages with electric vehicle owners across Scotland through meeting and events. This includes having quarterly meetings with the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland where the ChargePlace Scotland contract is regularly discussed…
8 Jan 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the holding reply to question S5W-26005 by Humza Yousaf on 11 November 2019, whether it is in a position to provide a substantive answer and when.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: A substantive reply to S5W-26005 was issued on 8 January.
25 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of BT being confirmed as the preferred bidder for each contract in the R100 programme, what the timescale is for the company signing the contracts for the regional lots, and what the expected (a) coverage, (b) technology mix and (c) completion timescale will be for each of thes…
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Subject to further due diligence and governance, we intend to proceed to contract with BT for the Central and South lots before the end of this calendar year, and as soon as possible for the North lot. Further details on coverage, technologies and completion…
18 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that removing business-related travel from the Air Discount Scheme has had on businesses in the Highlands and Islands, and what consideration it has given to reinstating business-related travel within the scheme.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Business-related travel was not removed from the Air Discount Scheme as it has never been eligible under the scheme. The then Minister for Transport and the Islands stated in June 2017 that we did not have the financial resources to extend the scheme to busin…
18 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to make an announcement on the future of the Air Discount Scheme post March 2020.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to the continuation of the Air Discount Scheme and earlier this year we renewed it until 31 December 2020. We will make a formal announcement on the continuation of the scheme beyond that date in due course.
18 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of Brexit on the future of the Air Discount Scheme.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Brexit will have no impact on the operation of the Air Discount Scheme. The scheme is notified to the European Commission in order to ensure compliance with EU State Aid rules rather than being necessary for the scheme to function.
18 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been contacted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and invited to make a victim impact statement under the terms of section 14 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, and how many of those contacted chose to make such a victim statement in each of …
Answer · James Wolffe QC: 2014-15 to 2017-18 2014 - 2015 2015 - 2016 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018 Victim Statements Issued 6647 6799 6624 6217 Victim StatementsReturned 1161 1127 1077 1037 Explanatory Notes: 1. For the years 2014-2015…
13 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Destination Orkney and Orkney Islands Council about the future needs of the tourism sector.
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that Air Discount Scheme membership cards that have been blocked or cancelled cannot still be used to book flights.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Card numbers that are blocked or cancelled are removed from the system which means that an airline’s booking system will not be able to validate the card number during the booking process. This would result in the airline booking system rejecting the discount.
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out into the effectiveness of current arrangements for ensuring that address and contact details for Air Discount Scheme members are kept up to date.
Answer · Michael Matheson: It is a requirement under the terms and conditions of the scheme for members to inform us if they change address. Whenever a member phones the ADS Admin Team they are asked to confirm their address. If we receive an application from an address where someone w…
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many fines or repayments have been imposed for the alleged misuse of Air Discount Scheme (ADS) membership cards in each of the last five years, also broken down by how many times the difference between the full price and the ADS fare has been sought as a penalty.
Answer · Michael Matheson: We do not fine people for misuse of the Air Discount Scheme. There are around 77,000 scheme members. Any member that has received a discount that they were not entitled to is requested to repay it. In the last five years the number of repayments has been: Ye…
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many members of the Air Discount Scheme have had their membership cards blocked or cancelled in each of the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: There are around 77,000 Air Discount Scheme members. The number of scheme members who have had their membership cards blocked or cancelled is: Year Number of membersblocked Number of memberscancelled 2014-15 948 127 2015-16 718 109 2016-17 798 133…
1 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what independent econometric research it has commissioned since January 2019 to establish what constitutes fair delivery charges in rural areas, and what the outcome was.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26135 on 13 November 2019. 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it uses the Improving Consumer Outcomes Fund to tackle unfair and misleading delivery charges in rural areas, and what analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of this.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26135 on 13 November 2019. 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made since January 2019 regarding postcode accuracy for parcel deliveries in rural areas.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26135 on 13 November 2019. 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support its Statement of Principles for Parcel Deliveries by retailers.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26135 on 13 November 2019. 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date its fair delivery charges map for parcels will be launched.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26135 on 13 November 2019. 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its development of an interactive data hub to measure the fairness of delivery pricing in rural areas is expected to commence before 2020 and, if not, by what date it will do so.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Fairer Deliveries For All: An Action Plan sets out eight clear actions designed to tackle longstanding issues surrounding parcel deliveries, with particular regard to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. As part of the Action Plan, the Scottish Government …
30 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the proposed Deposit Return Scheme Islands Forum to be established; what its (a) remit and (b) membership will be, and how often it will meet.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The first meeting of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Islands Forum is scheduled for 15 November 2019; the group will meet monthly thereafter. The purpose of the forum is to ensure that key considerations for islands and rural communities are integrated into …
29 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) that “at St Leonard’s Police Station, the delegation was informed that it was not the duty of custody staff to register or to report any complaints of potential abuse by arresting…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government condemns any form of abuse. The care and welfare of persons held in custody is of paramount importance to Police Scotland and any complaints made, or that become known to the police, are investigated in line with paragraphs 21.1 and 2…
29 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which prisons have officials qualified to administer first aid overnight.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: Emergency Response Training is compulsory for all SPS operational staff. This training provides staff with the skill to perform immedi…
29 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many transfers have been made from prisons in Scotland to Rampton Hospital in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: There have been no transfers made directly from prisons in Scotland to Rampton Hospital in each of the last 10 years. However in the …