Willie Coffey

29 Aug 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the completion status and final outturn costs of the William McIlvanney school campus in Kilmarnock.

18 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress the Scottish Sentencing Council is making with guidelines on sentencing in relation to deaths caused by driving.

21 Mar 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Treasury’s draft audit and accountability framework and its proposals for effective scrutiny of shared services.

14 Mar 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the provision of more direct rail services between Ayrshire and Edinburgh.

7 Mar 2018 · General Question

To ask Scottish Government when it last met East Ayrshire Council and what matters were discussed.

Answer · Angela Constance: Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including East Ayrshire Council, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the …

14 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses and monitors flood risk in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 requires SEPA to prepare a flood risk assessment which covers every flood risk management district in Scotland. SEPA are currently reviewing this assessment and will publish an updated assessment later this year.

31 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the Ayrshire economy, particularly the hospitality sector, of the UK leaving the EU.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government has clearly set out the implications of Brexit and the impact that leaving the single market and customs union will have on Scotland’s visitor economy. Our rural communities, such as Ayrshire, depend on workers from the EU across a ra…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-04782 by Alasdair Allan on 12 November 2015 (Official Report, c. 2), how many people have graduated in computer science from Scottish universities in each year since 2013-14, broken down by gender, and whether it will provide an update on the action…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The latest Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data shows there were 3,450 qualifiers from computer science courses at Scottish Universities in 2015-16. Of this, 2,700 were male and 755 were female which is a split of 78% male, 22% female. Related fig…

11 Sep 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the economy in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency.

Answer · Keith Brown: This Government is committed to promoting economic growth across all our communities, including those in East Ayrshire. Our substantial investment in infrastructure, regeneration and business support helps to deliver inclusive growth and economic resilience, …

4 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in order to meet its climate change targets, how it will support local authorities and individuals to make the transition to fully-electric vehicles.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The ambition that we set out in the Programme for Government is underpinned by our recently published Switched on Scotland Action Plan and builds on the range of incentives we already provide to local authorities and individuals. We will set out detailed plan…

28 Aug 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many EU citizens work in the Scottish labour market.

Answer · Keith Brown: It is estimated from the National Statistics Source, the Annual Population Survey for January to December 2016, that there are 128,000 EU nationals in employment in Scotland.

15 May 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports gifted primary school pupils who it is believed may have autism.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential. Education authorities have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, to identify, provi…

24 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has provided to East Ayrshire Council since 2012 to support affordable housing.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Between April 2012 and March 2016, the Scottish Government invested over £19m in the provision of affordable housing in East Ayrshire Council.

19 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00873 by Fergus Ewing on 19 April 2017, what engagement it has with the UK Government regarding matters of shared interest in relation to broadband and mobile services.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: At official level, the Scottish Government has regular engagement with the UK Government on a range of policy and operational issues relating to broadband and mobile, including broadband rollout in Scotland as part of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband …

19 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00873 by Fergus Ewing on 19 April 2017, whether it will publish the reply it received from the UK Government.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I have written to Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, on a number of occasions since 25 October 2016 on a range of digital connectivity issues. I have not yet received a substantive reply to the issues I raised in these letters.

19 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00873 by Fergus Ewing on 19 April 2017, whether it has received assurances from the UK Government regarding continued access to the digital single market.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: To date, the Scottish Government has received no assurances from the UK Government regarding continued access to the Digital Single Market. In spite of continued lack of meaningful engagement on the part of the UK Government, the Scottish Government will con…

19 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00873 by Fergus Ewing on 19 April 2017, in light of the EU abolishing mobile roaming charges from June 2017, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding these charges after the UK exits the EU.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the UK Government on mobile roaming charges after the UK exits the EU. This, as with all aspects of telecoms policy and regulation, is a reserved issue. I have written to Matt Hancock, Minister of State for…

10 Apr 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on the impact on Scotland's rural economy of a withdrawal from the digital single market.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has had no formal discussions with UK Government on the Digital Single Market to date. I first sought a meeting with the UK Government in my letter of the 25 October 2016; it took six months to issue a reply.

23 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will help meet the upfront costs of digital and skills training.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Our recently published Digital Strategy for Scotland underlined the immense importance of digital skills to Scotland's citizens, businesses and the economy as a whole. These skills are clearly vital to the successful growth in key areas such as financial tech…

27 Feb 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much support will be provided to schools in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency through Pupil Equity Funding, and when this will commence.

9 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Bank of Scotland Business Digital Index.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government welcomes the results of the recent UK wide Bank of Scotland Business Digital Index, which explores attitudes and usage of digital technology and measures how SMEs are adopting digital technologies in their day to day business. Advance…

14 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the lives of disabled people and break down barriers to opportunity.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: On 2 December 2016 we launched A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Our Delivery Plan to 2021 for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Plan has five long term ambitions: support services that meet disabled people’s n…

5 Dec 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to remove the barriers to employment for disabled people.

21 Nov 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Ayrshire and Arran and what matters were discussed.

7 Nov 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling poverty, including fuel poverty, in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency.

31 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a timetable for the installation of superfast broadband indicating when the service will be available in each area.

17 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what level of response there has been to its consultation on social security in Scotland.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The consultation on social security launched on 29 July and will close at the end of the month. As of today, around 120 events have been held, or are due to be held, across Scotland including Rugby Park where we held a discussion earlier this month. As of t…

19 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that there is equality in admissions to university places for people who meet the entrance requirements.

6 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure fair access to universities for young people from every community.

7 Mar 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will use the funding to be raised from council tax as well as that announced as part of the budget to address educational attainment.

Answer · Angela Constance: An additional £100 million a year will be invested in schools across Scotland as a result of a package of reforms to council tax outlined earlier this month by the First Minister. The Scottish Attainment Fund is already delivering dedicated support to more …