Angus MacDonald

4 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the next round of the Attainment Scotland Fund.

Answer · Angela Constance: There have been no direct discussions with Falkirk Council regarding the allocation of the Attainment Scotland Fund. The Attainment Scotland Fund is initially targeted at schools in local authorities with the biggest concentration of primary age children fro…

27 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that Falkirk Council's proposed reduction in the number of hours in a school day will have an impact on pupil attainment in the Falkirk area.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The statutory responsibility for the provision of adequate and effective education rests with individual local authorities, including the requirement that all schools must be open for 190 days. It is for individual councils to determine the length and structu…

27 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the proposal to reduce the primary school week from 25 to 22.5 hours in 2016-17.

25 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many unannounced inspections of abattoirs took place in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) are responsible for food safety and animal welfare rules in abattoirs and they have informed me that under EU law abattoirs are required to have a permanent official veterinary presence to verify continuous compliance with food…

9 Feb 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to boost the economy in the Falkirk Council area.

26 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council and SEStran regarding the Scottish Stations Fund.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Transport Scotland has regular meetings with SEStran which include discussion on their Scottish Stations Fund applications and aspirations. Transport Scotland has not met with Falkirk Council recently to discuss the Scottish Stations Fund but Network Rail has…

12 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the public consultations will take place for the four workstreams for the Better Environmental Regulation Programme.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Extensive stakeholder engagement has been, and continues to be, undertaken on the implementation of the Better Environmental Regulation Programme, which is being done on a phased basis. This has included recent consultations on draft statutory guidance on the…

12 Jan 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Creative Scotland regarding long-term funding for the Gaelic arts agency, Pròiseact nan Ealan.

5 Jan 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Committee on Toxicity’s investigation into the use of organophosphate products by farmers and crofters in the 1980s and 90s.

31 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Committee on Toxicity's investigation of exposure to organophosphates by workers in the agricultural sector.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Committee on Toxicity (COT), an independent scientific committee that provides advice on matters concerning toxicity of chemicals, published a statement on organophosphates on 13 March 2014. This followed a comprehensive systematic review of peer-reviewed…

23 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has contracted out work to Lockheed Martin.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has not contracted out any internal functions to Lockheed Martin. At this time the Scottish Government has ten active contracts with Lockheed Martin Business Technology Solutions Limited. All of these contracts stem from previous fram…

16 Dec 2014 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what messages the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform took to the international community at the recent United Nations climate conference in Lima.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: I attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 20th session of the Conference of the Parties in Lima last week to help influence stronger global commitment to action by sharing Scotland’s ambition on climate change and our championing of…

10 Dec 2014 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the final report of the Agricultural Holding Legislation Review Group.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I am delighted to announce that the work of the Agricultural Holding Legislation Review Group will be completed before Christmas 2014 and that we will be publishing the final report early in 2015. The report will be available on the Scottish Government webs…

8 Dec 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Falkirk Council and West Lothian Council regarding the upgrading of the A801 River Avon Gorge crossing.

3 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors SQA attainment levels for (a) looked-after and (b) vulnerable children.

Answer · Angela Constance: Qualifications in Scotland are part of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, which is administered by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership. The tariff scores of looked after children are obtained by linking their data (as …

1 Dec 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what benefit it expects the additional £10 million being invested in funding and empowering communities to bring.

24 Nov 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding its obligation to provide a flexible approach to parental choice for early learning and childcare.

24 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many air quality management areas there are in the Falkirk Council area and where they are.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: There are four air quality management areas in the Falkirk Council area: Location Pollutants Description Grangemouth Sulphur dioxide An area encompassing Grangemouth petrochemical complex and adjacent areas. Haggs Nitrogen dioxide An area encompassi…

13 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on progress being made by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership in setting up schemes to boost economic growth on both sides of the Border. 

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I met regularly with the Chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to consider areas of common interest and identify projects where Scotland and the North East of England can work together for mutual benefit. At our most recent meeting on th…

13 Nov 2014 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the Minister for Environment and Climate Change's recent visit to Chile.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I visited Chile between 21 and 26 October 2014 to undertake a series of engagements aimed at strengthening Scotland’s international position as a major salmon producer, a world leader in tackling climate change, and an innovative centre for developing wave an…

12 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the promotion of tourism in Falkirk district.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Falkirk Council sought advice from Scottish Government officials regarding joint tourism promotional activity with the local business improvement district in relation to state aid.

10 Nov 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what response he has received from the Prime Minister to his recent correspondence regarding European Council fisheries negotiations.

6 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on its poverty strategy of the UK Government's proposal to include a seven-day waiting period before entitlement to universal credit commences, and what representations it has made about this.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The increase in waiting days will cause more hardship and worry for newly unemployed people and their families. Actions such as this will have negative impacts on the ability of families to manage household budgets, which is a key outcome of the revised Chil…

3 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of rural crime in 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not collect cost data specifically in relation to rural crime. Recorded crime data for 2013 for Scotland may be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0042/00427834.pdf

30 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the (a) recycling rates and (b) availability of its collection service for food waste.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has ongoing dialogue with Falkirk Council and other local authorities regarding recycling and the implementation of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012. To improve recycling rates and to maximise the recycling services available to …

29 Sep 2014 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent representations it has made to the UK Government regarding the removal of the right of householders in Scotland to object to fracking taking place beneath their homes.

23 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards have been introduced to ensure that Scotland Excel assesses tenders and awards contracts fairly and equitably.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All public bodies, including Scotland Excel, must act in accordance with the EU treaty principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment, non-discrimination and mutual recognition. When awarding contracts worth more than the EU thresholds, they mus…

22 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty homes have been brought back into use by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: We do not hold the number of empty homes brought back into use by local authority. Councils do report to the empty homes partnership the number of homes brought back into use, however, this reporting is not uniform and will result in under-counting. In 2012-1…

22 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the success of the VisitScotland Growth Fund.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: VisitScotland’s Growth Fund supports the development of collaborative marketing campaigns, delivered by its industry partners. It plays an important part in supporting the wider work of the organisation through its role in stimulating collaboration between in…

22 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to assess and improve the level of understanding of autism in schools.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The level of understanding of autism in schools is assessed by Education Scotland inspectors who consider how well the school meets the learning needs of children and young people with autism and publish, within school reports, notable aspects of practice. R…