Ross Thomson

21 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that proper procedures are not always followed when people are detained under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, and what action it plans to take on this issue.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Mental Welfare Commission is an independent organisation and has been tasked with ensuring that the care, treatment and support for people with mental illness, learning disability and related conditions is lawful. They carry out statutory duties which i…

21 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whose responsibility it is to ensure that a person who is subject to a short-term detention certificate is provided with information on appealing to the Mental Health Tribunal.

Answer · Maureen Watt: A Short Term Detention Certificate (STDC) is granted where the patient is not already subject to compulsory measures. It may also be granted where the patient is subject to an Emergency Detention Certificate (EDC). The patient and the patient's named person…

20 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the mechanism will be for distributing monies from the Attainment Scotland Fund to schools.

11 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual spend for the Detect Cancer Early Programme in (a) Scotland and (b) NHS Grampian (i) will be for 2016-17 and (ii) was in each year since 2013-14.

Answer · Shona Robison: £41 million in total has been allocated to the Detect Cancer Early programme since 2013-14. £5.6 million was made available to territorial NHS boards recurrently from 2014-15 and an additional £2.25 million made available recurrently to NHS boards from 2015/…

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project has cost to date.

Answer · Keith Brown: The total spend to date on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is £202 million. This includes, land purchase; compensation to landowners; utilities; site investigation and environmental surveys, and the costs of technical / legal / financial support.

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is on schedule to be completed by winter 2017 and the Balmedie to Tipperty section will open in spring 2017.

Answer · Keith Brown: Construction work is continuing across the site of the longest road construction project currently underway in the UK which, over the next 30 years, is expected to generate an additional £6 billion to the north-east economy and create around 14,000 new jobs. …

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to improve the provision of superfast broadband in (a) the City of Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire, and what steps it will take to improve that provision.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government and our partners are delivering a number of national broadband projects that will benefit the City of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) Programme will extend fibre broadband access to at leas…

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what level of coverage the roll-out of superfast broadband has achieved in (a) the City of Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: By the end of April 2016, the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) Programme had extended fibre broadband access to at least 91% of premises in the City of Aberdeen and to 74% of premises in Aberdeenshire. By the end of DSSB deployment, those coverage …

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with BT regarding the (a) use of current and (b) building of new infrastructure as part of its commitment to delivering superfast broadband to all premises.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of properties in (a) the City of Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire has technical access to broadband achieve internet speeds of 24 Mbps or better.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: By the end of April 2016, the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) Programme has delivered speeds of 24Mbps or more to at least 90% of premises in the City of Aberdeen and to 70% of premises in Aberdeenshire. By the end of DSSB deployment, those covera…

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it offers to businesses so that they can meet new energy efficiency obligations under the Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: In common with most regulations no specific financial support is offered for compliance. However, the level of improvement set out by these regulations is relatively modest, with investment paid back within a few years. The resulting improved buildings should…

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to mitigate the impact on business during upgrades to older buildings under the Assessment of Energy Performance of Non-domestic Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The regulations provide for mitigation of impact. Within a framework, building owners decide the improvement measures they will undertake within three and a half years. Should they not be in a position to do the work, it may be deferred by the reporting of op…

18 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, to allow councils more flexibility in making decisions that suit the needs of their area, what its position is on reviewing the statutory requirement for every local authority to implement a Gaelic language plan.

Answer · John Swinney: The statutory requirement for public authorities to produce Gaelic language plans aims to support and enhance the use of Gaelic across the whole of Scotland, ensuring that users of the language have access to services through the language of their choice. All…

16 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what powers local authorities have to (a) deal with and (b) move on Gypsy/Traveller sites on land that is owned (i) privately and (ii) by the councils.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: There are a range of civil and criminal powers in relation to unauthorised Gypsy/Traveller sites, some of which fall under legislation relating to trespass and roads. Landowners, whether private or a local authority, are also able to take legal action in rela…

16 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if Gypsy/Traveller halting sites are made available by a local authority, what powers Police Scotland has to (a) deal with and (b) move on sites on land that is owned (i) privately and (ii) by the council.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01965 on 6 September 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/parliamentarybusine…

16 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who is responsible for the clear up of waste from evicted Gypsy/Traveller sites on land that is owned (a) privately and (b) by a local authority.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Private land owners are responsible for the removal of waste from their land. Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 enables a local planning authority to require the owner and occupier of land to take specific steps to remedy the la…

16 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what powers Police Scotland has to (a) deal with and (b) move on Gypsy/Traveller sites on land that is owned (i) privately and (ii) by a local authority.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The main responsibility for dealing with unauthorised encampments lies with the local authority where the unauthorised encampment is situated. The local authority or the landowner may apply to a court for an eviction notice to remove any unauthorised encampme…

15 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are on waiting lists for treatment at Woodend Hospital, broken down by department, and what action is taking to reduce the number.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of patients on the first outpatient waiting list and the inpatient and day case waiting list at Woodend Hospital on 30 June 2016 by specialty is provide in the following tables. Waiting list for a first outpatient appointment at Woo…

15 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported high level of "no awards" for students sitting Higher Media at Inverness College UHI and what action it is taking to prevent this being repeated.

Answer · John Swinney: I understand that Inverness College is working with the Scottish Qualifications Authority to identify how this position occurred, and to establish what action may be necessary to address any identified problems.

8 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00074 by Jeane Freeman on 29 June 2016, what process will be used to identify the location for the social security agency; what the timeline will be, and when the final decision will be announced.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As set out in our response to question S5O-00074, we are not yet at the stage of making a decision on the location of the new social security agency. We are undertaking a detailed business case to explore how the agency and wider social security system will w…

15 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Brimmond Primary School in Bucksburn is showing signs of subsidence; what discussions it has had or plans with Aberdeen City Council regarding the issue; what contingencies are in place should the school face a period of closure, and whether it will c…

Answer · John Swinney: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.

14 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the improvement works on the Aberdeen to (a) Glasgow and (b) Edinburgh rail line will (i) commence and (ii) end.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has set out its aspirations for improvements in journey times and performance between Aberdeen and the central belt. Phase one of the Aberdeen to central belt project commenced in 2014, which will deliver line speed improvements, impro…

6 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will hold an inquiry into the 2016 National 5 examination in computing science in light of complaints regarding wording and content.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is responsible for the setting and marking of exam papers. Dr Janet Brown, Chief Executive of the SQA, has assured ministers that the 2016 National 5 computing science exam was set to the correct standard and was i…

26 May 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the £254 million infrastructure investment that it announced in January 2016 will be included as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal governance structure.

19 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people had received assistance from the Transition Training Fund by the end of 2015-16 and how many have received assistance since 1 April 2016.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Transition Training Fund was announced by the First Minister on 1 February 2016. Since the fund was announced, 412 individuals have been engaging with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and received assistance regarding access to the fund, with 91 individu…