Ross Thomson

24 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the recently announced plans to update regulations for the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding and dealing will cover the sale and breeding of exotic pets.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The plans that I announced on 11 May 2017 listed the areas of animal welfare legislation that the Scottish Government will take forward as a priority. The breeding and sale of exotic pets will be taken forward in due course, and will be informed by matters ra…

24 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be a public consultation on the recently announced plans to update regulations for the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding and dealing.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will bring forward plans to update regulations for the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding and dealing for appropriate public consultation in due course.

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report in The Press and Journal on 11 May 2017 that "thousands of pounds worth of building tools" have been stolen from the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) construction site, and whether it plans to introduce additional security measures.

Answer · Keith Brown: Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the project contractor, is responsible for the security of the project site. ARL has confirmed it is reviewing its security arrangements to prevent similar occurrences.

10 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it reached its estimate of £150 million annual running costs for the new social security agency.

13 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what constitutes a lost time incident (LTI) on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project; what the procedure is for notification of an LTI; how many LTIs have been reported throughout the duration of the project; what the aggregate delay to the project is as a result of LTIs; …

Answer · Keith Brown: Any injury is regrettable and in order to avoid a reoccurrence, Transport Scotland ensures that Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the project contractor, reports, records and fully investigates all work related health and safety incidents, or potential incidents,…

13 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is an independent monitor of safety on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project.

Answer · Keith Brown: Health and safety is embedded into each site operatives core function, from the day that they start work on site. The Health & Safety Team from Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the project contractor, monitors work and undertakes regular audits and inspections. …

13 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) initial and (b) current projected total cost is of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project.

Answer · Keith Brown: There has been no change to the cost for the AWPR/B-T project since contract award in December 2014 which is £745m in 2012 prices.

11 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what contingencies are in place to mitigate the impact on students, particularly those with upcoming exams, of reported planned strikes by college lecturers.

5 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report in The Press and Journal on 3 April 2017 that 115 workers on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project have been injured; what additional (a) costs and (b) delays to the project have arisen as a result of these injuries; what discussions it h…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government takes Health and Safety issues very seriously which is reflected in the obligations placed upon Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the project contractor. ARL holds regular safety stand-downs, both planned and ad-hoc, in order to ensure sa…

23 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources it plans to invest in the Aberdeen area to tackle teacher shortages.

Answer · John Swinney: There is a shortage of teachers in a number of areas in Scotland and this is reflected in many other countries. We have taken a series of actions to help address issues around teacher recruitment. These include increasing student intake targets for the sixth…

23 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Konrad Rekas has ever (a) (i) attended and (ii) been invited to any of its events and (b) had meetings with (A) ministers and (B) representatives of the Scottish Government.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: We have no record of Konrad Rekas attending any Scottish Government events or meetings. He has not been invited to meet with Scottish Ministers or officials.

15 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting time is from the point of referral to an appointment at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary cataract clinic; what the average time was in each of the last four years, and how many people have been waiting (a) three to six and (b) over six months.

Answer · Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Information is provided at speciality level only. The following tables provide information on waiting times for first outpatient consultation at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. NUMBER OF PATIENTS SEEN…

15 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people on the waiting list for an appointment at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary cataract clinic in the last year have sought private treatment.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that local authorities raise more in non-domestic rates than the sum allocated to them in the local government settlement, whether they will retain the difference.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As each local authority retains all the business rates collected within their area, I can confirm that if a local authority raises more non-domestic rates than allocated to them in the local government finance settlement then they will retain that difference.

8 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of non-domestic rates is retained by local authorities.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Local authorities retain 100 per cent of all the business rates collected within their area.

8 Mar 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation regarding the impact of the common fisheries policy.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government works closely with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, and with other fishermen’s representatives, to manage sea fisheries in Scotland. Working together, we have made sure that the Common Fisheries Policy has been implemented in as se…

2 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to tackle anti-Semitism.

Answer · Angela Constance: We promote and support the development of inter-faith relations and dialogue through funding of £145,000 (2016-17) for Interfaith Scotland. We support the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and Interfaith Scotland to deliver Scotland’s National Holocaust Memorial D…

2 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05829 by Angela Constance on 11 January 2017, whether it has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism.

Answer · Angela Constance: We agree with the definition produced by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and consider the resolution they have adopted to be a helpful guide to the different manifestations of anti-Semitism.

1 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation regarding an independent Scotland applying for membership of the EU, in light of membership requiring member states being obliged to adhere to the common fisheries policy.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: No specific discussions with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) regarding an independent Scotland applying for membership of the EU have taken place. I met with the SFF on both 26 October and 2 November last year, however, and am in regular contact wit…

1 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation regarding the policy of supporting continued membership of the EU, in light of the concerns expressed by the federation regarding the common fisheries policy.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: No specific discussions with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation regarding the policy of continued membership of the EU have taken place. We continue, however, to work with stakeholders on areas of mutual interest, and to ensure that their views are given due…

1 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation that “Brexit really is a sea of opportunity for our coastal and island communities. Scotland sits strategically on the northern continental shelf right in the middle of some of the richest f…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government supports the taking advantage of all opportunities to promote the sustainable growth of the Scottish fishing industry, and our rural and coastal communities more generally. As set out in “Scotland’s Place in Europe”, the Scottish Gover…

23 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the impact of retained primitive reflexes on children who experience difficulties in education.

Answer · John Swinney: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and to review the additional support needs of their pupils. The statutory code of practice which supports the implementation of…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the reported increased use of B and C roads because of the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) will cost in maintenance charges, and who will meet this.

Answer · Keith Brown: Once the AWPR/B-T is open to traffic, we predict a reduction in traffic levels on local roads. Each local road authority has a statutory duty to manage and maintain all local roads in their area. Other than specific larger roads the AWPR/B-T contractor has t…

30 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what costs were incurred through the Lord Advocate’s intervention in the case of R (on the application of Miller and another) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-07107 on 17 February 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/parliamentarybusine…

30 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made, in advance of the Lord Advocate doing so, of the cost of the intervention in the case of R (on the application of Miller and another) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government managed costs of the case as part of on-going financial management processes in the normal way for unexpected financial pressures. It was recognised that the costs had not been included in budgets for 2016-17 as the case could not have…

30 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each sector pay the large business supplement, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The data requested has been placed electronically in SPICe with Bib number 58579

18 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £5 million, which has been announced to help mitigate the delay in delivery of trauma centres, will be given to the Aberdeen Trauma Centre.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06325 on 31 January 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…

18 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what level of investment would be required to deliver the Aberdeen Trauma Centre on time.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer that I gave to his question in the chamber when we discussed my statement on trauma on Wednesday 18 January. In reply to his question I said: “I laid out in my statement the initial priorities for the £5 million spend, which …

16 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the wages paid to workers employed on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.

Answer · Keith Brown: The project contractor, Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), has confirmed that all operatives it employs directly are paid in accordance with the CIJC (Construction Industry Joint Council) Working Rule Agreement, which sets out a minimum wage for employees. ARL req…

16 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether workers employed on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project were assessed on their English language skills to determine health and safety risk.

Answer · Keith Brown: Safety is a key priority for the project contractor, Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL). ARL has assured us that workers employed on the project require basic English skills. ARL has also confirmed that where a group of workers share a common first language which …