John Lamont

13 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in closing the attainment gap in the Scottish Borders.

11 Apr 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage more recycling of domestic waste.

20 Mar 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to support sustainable rural bus services.

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and (A) the NHS, (B) the royal colleges and (C) other me…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08059 on 28 March 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and (A) farming organisations, (B) rural affairs bodies …

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08059 on 28 March 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and (A) the Scottish Police Authority, (B) Police Scotla…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with a range of stakeholders across all sectors including during the period 6 to 13 March. Details of Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are regularly updated and available on the Scottish Government …

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and (A) charities and (B) third sector stakeholders from…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08059 on 28 March 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and (A) the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, (B) CBI Scotl…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with a range of stakeholders across all sectors including during the period 6 to 13 March. Details of Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are regularly updated and available on the Scottish Government …

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and financial organisations from 6 to 13 March 2017 incl…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08059 on 28 March 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish a record of all phone calls, (b) release all (i) written and (ii) electronic correspondence and (c) publish details of all meetings, including all formal and informal minutes and notes, between ministers and (A) colleges, (B) universities and (C) other educati…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08059 on 28 March 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

13 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the responses to its consultation on a draft referendum bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Responses are currently being analysed and will be published in due course.

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many accidental house fires there have been in each of the last five years in the (a) Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency and (b) South Scotland region; how many of these fires were caused by electricity, and what steps it is taking to reduce the number of such fires.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publishes statistics on accidental dwelling fires, broken down by local authority, however this data is not broken down into specific causes. These statistics are available…

31 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to upgrade the A1 by dualling the single carriageway sections.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Programme for Government sets out our commitment to examine the case for an extension of the Borders Railway along with improvements to the A1, A7 and A68. The Borders Transport Corridors Pre-Appraisal Study, led by Transport Scotland, will take forward t…

30 Jan 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time staff the new enterprise agency for the south of Scotland will have, and whether it will have an office and be overseen by its own board in that region.

Answer · Keith Brown: In Phase One of the Enterprise and Skills Review, we made clear our commitment to establish a new vehicle to meet the enterprise and skills needs of the South of Scotland. The second phase of the Enterprise and Skills Review is exploring detailed options for …

19 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of summary criminal cases were dealt with from caution and charge to verdict within the 26 week target in each sheriff court in month since April 2015.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The available information is contained in the table titled 'Percentage of summary criminal cases concluded within 26 weeks (caution and charge to verdict) - All Sheriff courts Apr 15 – Oct 16' which is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre…

30 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on trunk road improvements in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) road and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are committed to the largest road investment programme that Scotland has ever seen. By the end of this financial year (2016-17), we will have spent over £8 billion on our Motorways and Trunk Road Network since 2007, to ensure the strategic road network is …

28 Nov 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns regarding the future of the Jim Clark Rally.

24 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing business rates relief for local newspapers.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We keep all our business rate reliefs under active review. The Small Business Bonus Scheme now removes or substantially reduces rates for over 100,000 properties, including local newspaper premises, and will be expanded further from 2017 to lift 100,000 prope…

24 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to promote and support local newspapers.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Local newspapers and magazines are at the heart of communities throughout Scotland and are a vital element of our democracy. They reflect a unique and important perspective on local issues that the national press often cannot represent. The Scottish Governme…

23 Nov 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish details of the proposed single national board to oversee economic development and skills funding.

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed in its Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate in each year since 2007.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support was formed in December 2013. It is therefore not possible to provide earlier figures. The Directorate currently contains 4 Divisions; Communications, Ministerial Private Office, Facilities Services (w…

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish its next declaration of ministerial car journeys, under the terms of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government published the latest information about Ministerial car journeys on the 29th of November 2016. This information can be found on the Scottish Government website at: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/?term=ministerial&publicationTypes=t…

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in communications, media and marketing roles in (a) its directorates and (b) other public bodies under its direction.

Answer · Derek Mackay: There are currently 85.19 FTE staff employed in specialist Communications roles with the SG core Directorates. These individuals are either directly employed by the Scottish Government or employed in a temporary capacity via other organisations. Information …

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the number of staff employed in communications, media and marketing roles in (a) the Scottish Government and (b) public bodies under its direction.

Answer · Derek Mackay: There are no plans to increase the number of posts in the SG core Communications Division. Information on Public Bodies is not held centrally.

21 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the number of staff working in its Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate.

Answer · Derek Mackay: There are no plans to increase the number of posts in this Directorate.

17 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting town centre regeneration in the Scottish Borders.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Town Centre First Principle that was agreed by the Scottish cabinet and COSLA leaders, together with the measures set out in the Town Centre Action Plan, sets the conditions and supports activity across the wider public, private and community sectors to t…

17 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask The Scottish Government whether it has any plans to change the Scottish Parliament elections voting system.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scotland Act 2016 gives the Scottish Parliament additional powers over the conduct of Scottish Parliamentary elections and electoral registration. In 2016-17 we will take forward a consultation exercise to find out what electoral reforms Scottish citizens…

17 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on trunk road improvements in the Scottish Borders since 2007, broken down by (a) year and (b) road.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has invested over £10 million on trunk road improvement activities in the Scottish Borders since 2007. The figures provided are for the whole length of the route mentioned because it is not possible to separate the expenditure for the …

16 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date Scottish Water will complete the repairs to the public sewer in Hawick that was damaged by a storm in December 2015, and what the reason has been for the delay.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In order to ensure the safety of its contractors, Scottish Water has had to re-evaluate how the new sewer is installed under the river Tweed following the discovery of an unexpected obstruction within the river bank. It is working closely with SEPA and the co…

16 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the vision set out by Scottish Water in its report, Delivery Plan 2015 to 2021, that it should be “trusted to care for the water on which Scotland depends”, what discussions it has had with the company regarding the delay in completing the repairs to the public sewer in Hawi…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The storms of December 2015 caused significant damage to Hawick’s wastewater infrastructure. The Scottish Government was kept fully informed of the scale of the damage. It expected Scottish Water to focus on restoring services as quickly as possible and to ta…