John Lamont

28 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is for promoting and developing tourism in the Scottish Borders.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Government Economic Strategy identifies tourism as a growth sector. The Scottish Government is assisting public bodies to support tourism via the industry-led Scottish Tourism Alliance ‘Tourism Strategy 2020’ by way of joined up working between the public…

29 Sep 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the repairs to the A68 south of Jedburgh.

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland is committed to fully re-opening the A68 as soon as possible. Significant ground and environmental investigations have been undertaken to ensure the long term solution is robust. Transport Scotland is working with the operating company to c…

19 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22201 by Keith Brown on 7 August 2014, how much (a) the Galashiels transport interchange, (b) the resurfacing of the B6458, (c) other essential work and (d) work not in the remit of Network Rail will add to the final cost.

Answer · Keith Brown: The target cost of constructing the project agreed with Network Rail is £294 million (at 2012 prices). Under this target cost arrangement the final cost of construction will not be known until completion. Transport Scotland remains confident of meeting the ta…

11 Aug 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on implementation of the new common agricultural policy.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Since announcing in June 2014 the main details of how we will implement the new common agricultural policy (CAP) in Scotland, the Government has been working closely with the UK Government and our stakeholders to agree the finer implementing details. Whilst …

31 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism and his officials have had with Scottish Borders Council regarding a motion passed by the council on 29 May 2014 instructing the leader of the council to write to the Scottish Government to express concern at the conflict b…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: No discussions have been had between myself or my officials with Scottish Borders Council on the motion passed by the council on 29 May 2014. However, a meeting between Scottish Government planning and energy officials has been scheduled to discuss matters fu…

28 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated final cost is of the Borders Railway project.

Answer · Keith Brown: The target cost of constructing the project agreed with Network Rail is £294 million (at 2012 prices).

22 May 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Commonwealth Games organising committee about the use of the special reserve fund.

19 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to high streets in the Scottish Borders to promote local employment and economic growth.

Answer · John Swinney: We published the Town Centre Action Plan on 7 November 2013. The plan recognises that Scotland’s town centres can be a central component of successful local economies. It sets out the appropriate conditions for recovery and offers a range of actions which mig…

2 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the attainment gap between children from the poorest and wealthiest homes.

22 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason mobile homes in Scotland with permanent residents are in higher council tax bands than those in England and Wales.

Answer · John Swinney: Local taxation is a devolved matter and responsibility for the administration and collection of council tax in Scotland lies with Scottish local authorities. Council tax charges are derived from the levels of council tax set by local authorities and from the …

17 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the NHS is doing to deal with the health impacts of a reported increase in use of new psychoactive substances.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Tackling the damaging impact of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is a priority for this government which is why we had our first Scottish Parliament debate on this issue in February 2014, during which the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs summa…

25 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth took to ensure that the white paper on independence contained full and transparent costings for its policy pledges.

Answer · John Swinney: Scotland's Future was produced to the highest professional standards by Scottish Government civil servants, like all Government publications. Scotland’s Future was rigorously scrutinised within Government by economists, statisticians and finance officials, an…

5 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bed days were lost due to delayed discharges in the NHS Borders area during the last three quarters of 2013.

10 Feb 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the restoration of train services to the Reston and East Linton stations.

27 Jan 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Borders Council about the council’s proposals to withdraw the garden waste collection service.

20 Jan 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is for tackling ADHD among young people.

16 Dec 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Police Scotland and what issues were discussed.

4 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what legal costs (a) it and (b) each of the former police constabularies has incurred in applying for and enforcing interdicts to prevent media reporting about police staff in each year since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

4 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether there are interdicts in place to prevent media reporting regarding Police Scotland staff and to whom the interdicts apply.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

4 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what legal costs (a) it and (b) Police Scotland has incurred in applying for and enforcing interdicts to prevent media reporting about the force's staff.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

19 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of patients per GP has been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: The General Medical Services contract came into effect on 1 April 2004 and patients no longer register with a specific GP. Instead they register with the practice as a whole (even though they may wish to see a particular GP most or all of the time). Latest fi…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on (a) each advertising campaign, (b) promoting each government initiative and (c) other marketing in each year since 2011-12, also broken down by (i) medium used and (ii) organisation that it paid to carry it out, and how much it plans to spend in 2013-14.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government advertising spend is capped at £6,694,453. Spend for 2011-12 and 2012-13 is available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/Directorates/Communications/advertising-marketing/spend Expenditure rel…

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many emergency response incidents were recorded in the Scottish Borders in each of the last three years, and what the average response time was, in seconds.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not hold these data below legacy police force level. Section 1.6 of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework Annual Report 2012-13 provides legacy police force level statistics on how many emergency response were recorded and t…

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what percentage of residents of the Scottish Borders was (a) satisfied and (b) dissatisfied with the way in which police dealt with an incident that they reported, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not hold these data below legacy police force level. Section 1.3 of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework Annual Report 2012-13 provides legacy police force level statistics on the public’s satisfaction with the way the poli…

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many registered sex offenders there have been in Scottish Borders communities in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of registered sex offenders in the eight legacy police force areas for the last five years, is available in Table 5.4.1 of the Scottish Policing Performance Framework Annual Report 2012-13. This is available via the following link: …

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police (a) officers and (b) staff have been based in the Scottish Borders in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In advance of reform the Scottish Government collected the number of police officers and police staff at legacy force level. The Scottish Government does not hold these data below legacy police force level. The Scottish Government reports on its commitment t…

7 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many racially motivated crimes and offences were recorded in the Scottish Borders and what the conviction rate was, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The following table shows the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police as part of racist incidents in the Scottish Borders, from 2007-08 to 2011-12. Crimes and Offences Recorded by the Police as Part of Racist Incidents, Scottish Borders, 2007-08…

9 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish Transport Scotland's research on the connection between liability legislation and the level of cycling accidents, as referred to in Cycling Action Plan for Scotland 2013.

Answer · Keith Brown: The research has been available on request since its completion. A copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 55396) and members of the Cross Party Group on Cycling have also been sent a copy.

16 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Firearms Consultative Panel last met and whether it will meet to discuss the licensing of air weapons under the proposed Licensing Bill and, if so, when.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Firearms Consultative Panel last met on 14 August 2012. There are no plans at present to reconvene the full panel. We continue to engage with stakeholders, including panel members, as we develop a system of air weapon licensing that is both pract…

12 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to explore the creation of a new national parks strategy.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17143 on 26 September 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Busi…