Graham Simpson

7 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its decision to double the large business rates supplement considered "the vibrancy of town centres as a starting point", as set out in its Town Centre First Principle.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government’s business rates policies reflect the full range of its strategic priorities, including the importance of support for town centres.

6 Dec 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to assist local authorities in overcoming forecasted funding gaps.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has treated local government very fairly despite the cuts to the Scottish Budget from the UK Government. I will set out details of the 2017-18 local government finance settlement tomorrow as part of my announcement on the Scottish Gov…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government was assessment it has made of budget pressures impacting building standards services.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has commissioned a number of research projects to consider the building standards fees structure and cost of verification by local authorities and has published the reports on the Scottish Government website. 1. Review the current Bui…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the performance of local councils acting as building standards verifiers as a result of the key performance outcomes framework.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Local authorities are committed to the verification performance framework that was introduced in 2012 and are subject to regular monitoring by Scottish Government. Scottish Government commissioned Pye Tait Consulting to undertake an ‘Evaluation of the perfo…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the uptake by local authorities of e-building standards.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05277 on 13 December 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…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of the e-building standards roll-out among local authorities.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05282 on 13 December 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…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much local authorities have invested in technology specifically in advance of the e-building standards portal roll out.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The eDevelopment Programme finance model involves costs being shared, with the Scottish Government funding the capital investment in the technology and local authorities paying annual support and maintenance costs. Local authorities collectively will pay £71,…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the latest key performance outcomes in respect of (a) KPO1 and (b) KPO2 are for the local authority building verification process.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The latest figures for Quarter 1 (April – June) of reporting year 2016-17 show that KPO1 ‘Average time to grant a building warrant’ for all categories is 66 working days. For KPO2 ‘The % of CCNPs for accepted completion certificates fully achieved by relevant…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much weight will be given to current customer satisfaction levels of each independent local authority when consulting on the appointment of building standards verifiers.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I am currently reviewing the appointment process for verifiers from May 2017 onwards, however there are no plans for wider consultation on the matter. The review includes consideration of the results of the Scottish Government national customer survey under K…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost to local authorities of hiring external experts to plug in-house gaps in building standards services.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has not made any assessment as each of the 32 local authorities is responsible for resourcing their building standards services appropriately. Where they do not have the necessary staff or specialisms in-house to undertake their verifi…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is helping local authorities with the recruitment of qualified building standards staff.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05272 on 13 December 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…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the move toward e-building standards by local authorities and how this has impacted the delivery of building standards warrants.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Building Standards went live in August 2016. All local authorities are our partners in the eDevelopment programme and have received online applications through the eBuildingStandards.scot. Each local authority has their own business processes and their own l…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to implement national criteria or minimum standards relating to the appointment of building standards verifiers.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 allows Scottish Ministers to appoint verifiers on such terms or limitations as they feel appropriate. They must have regard to qualifications; competency; accountability to the public; and impartiality before making an appoint…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it aims to reduce inconsistencies across local authorities in the delivery of building standards verification.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answers to questions S5W-05274 and S5W-05275 on 12 December 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/par…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of recent research carried out by Pye Consulting on its behalf in its report, Evaluation of the performance of local authorities in their role as building standards verifiers, which shows large variances in the overall performance of local authorities in alloc…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I welcomed the publication of the report in March 2016 and have noted its findings. The conclusions drawn from the report are presently being considered in relation to the next appointment of verifiers from May 2017 onwards.

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the overall timeliness performance of local authorities in granting building warrants.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Government is aware that delays may be due to local authority processing, the quality of the submitted plans, or delays in applicants submitting revised details. A revised Performance Framework with agreed measurable targets will be introduced as par…

1 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support local authorities with the reported increase in the volume of building warrant applications that they are receiving.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Each of the 32 local authorities is responsible for resourcing their building standards services appropriately. I have become aware that since the economic downturn of 2008 there have been situations where experienced Building Standards Managers and staff h…

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote investment in town centres.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is promoting investment in town centres through the Town Centre Action Plan (TCAP). The plan is a cross-government response to the recommendations of the national review of town centres and includes actions designed to support their re…

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage the development of empty units above shops into residential accommodation.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is keen to encourage owners of empty properties to bring them back into use to increase the supply of housing in Scotland. We are tackling the problem through legislative changes, provision of funding, and practical advice and assistan…

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers there (a) are and (b) have been in each of the last five years in North Lanarkshire.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not collect information on police officer statistics at local authority level. Police Scotland publish sub-national officer numbers at divisional level on a quarterly basis. http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/police-scotland/2…

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the review of the Police Scotland estate, what action it is taking with Police Scotland to ensure that local stations are protected.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Governance of the Police Service of Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority, as established in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 with cross-party support. The Scottish Government would encourage all members to participate in local …

14 Nov 2016 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether powers will be removed from councils by its local government review and, if so, which.

3 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many social care worker vacancies there are in each health and social care partnership area.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

6 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to reach its target of 100% superfast broadband by 2021.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Our investment through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme will make an important contribution, extending fibre broadband coverage to at least 95% of premises by the end of 2017. As announced in the programme for government, we intend to launch…

29 Aug 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking in light of recent GERS figures to ensure that Scotland’s deficit does not increase further.

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will strengthen the power and responsibilities of the Central Scotland Green Network.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) is a national development within Scotland’s National Planning Framework 3. The Scottish Government will continue to support the delivery of the CSGN by working with the CSGN trust and other partners.

8 Jun 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide funding so that Scottish Autism's One Stop Shop in Motherwell can reopen.