Joan McAlpine

30 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent comments by the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether it has had any notification of a further transfer of powers to the Scottish Parliament following Brexit.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has not received any notification from the UK Government regarding a further transfer of powers to the Scottish Parliament. Leaving the EU will however fundamentally change the nature of the United Kingdom’s constitution, and the impli…

24 Nov 2016 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the First Minister’s visit to Iceland in October 2016.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The First Minister visited Reykjavik in Iceland from 6-8 October to participate in the Arctic Circle Assembly at the invitation of former Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. The First Minister gave a keynote speech at the Assembly, which was attended…

21 Nov 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported sharp rise in social care charges for disabled people under 65 in Dumfries and Galloway, and whether it considers this a consequence of COSLA recommending an applicable income allowance of £132 per week.

9 Nov 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to prevent local authorities from overcharging disabled people for care services.

Answer · Shona Robison: Local authorities have the ability to make charges for care services provided, but those charges must not be more than the cost of providing the service. In addition, local authorities are able to waive or reduce charges for social care, according to individu…

26 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish whether it will provide an update on female employment and unemployment figures.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The latest official statistics, sourced from the Labour Force Survey and published by the Office for National Statistics on the 19 of October 2016 for June-August 2016 show that, Scotland continues to outperform the UK on female employment and unemployment ra…

24 Oct 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on discussions with the UK Government on protecting Scotland’s position within the EU.

17 Oct 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on implementing the recommendations of the report, Chronic pain services in Scotland: Where are we now?.

3 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have changed their recycling services to comply with the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, also broken down by how much they received from Zero Waste Scotland to roll out these changes.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Information on which local authorities have changed their recycling services since the introduction of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 is not held centrally. It is for local authorities to satisfy themselves that they have met their statutory duties. L…

28 Sep 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact leaving the EU and the Single Market could have on Scotland's red meat exports.

21 Sep 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking as a result of the recent transport summit in Dumfries and Galloway.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We published a report on the 19 September 2016 which detailed 13 actions which cover a range of short, medium and longer term measures, the first of which is a traffic study for the villages of Crocketford and Springholm on the A75. We have also committed t…

14 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it is having with the cultural sector regarding the impact of Brexit on the arts.

31 Aug 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on Scottish tax revenues of leaving the EU.

Answer · Derek Mackay: On 23 August 2016 the Scottish Government published analysis showing that if Scotland is taken out of the EU there is a significant risk to Scottish tax revenues. Figures based on a range of UK level studies suggest that Scottish tax revenues could be betwe…

29 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the local authority’s reported failure to comply with National Standards of Community Engagement regarding the proposals for the Whitesands’ flood prevention scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the proposed Flood Protection Scheme for the Whitesands in Dumfries, and I understand that the Council has carried out several public engagement exercises around…

29 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the refreshed National Standards of Community Engagement will be published; which body will be responsible for monitoring compliance with them, and what information it has regarding (a) whether adherence to these will be made a condition of funding for large projects and (b) what sa…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We expect the refreshed National Standards for Community Engagement to be published in late September 2016. The National Standards are a practical tool to help improve the experience of all participants involved in community engagement. The National Standards…

29 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the COSLA distribution group for flood prevention to ensure that applicants comply with National Standards of Community Engagement.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The agreement the Scottish Government has reached with COSLA means that funding for Flood Protection Schemes will be distributed to councils via the General Capital Grant in accordance with the priorities set out in the Flood Risk Management Strategies publis…

26 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK Government's decision to suspend payments from the £3 billion European Regional Development Fund will have on Scotland.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The 2007-13 European Regional Development Fund programme for Lowlands and Uplands Scotland was suspended by the European Commission in 2015. This means that the commission is withholding circa 110 million in re-payments due to the Scottish Government. Followi…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff NHS Borders employs, and how this compares with September 2006.

Answer · Shona Robison: Under this government, the number of staff working in Scotland’s NHS has risen to a record high. As at March 2016, 2,601.2 whole time equivalent staff were employed in NHS Borders – a 3.2 per cent increase since September 2006.* *Source: Information Service…

7 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the management of Scotland's Rural College.

29 Feb 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many young people in Dumfries and Galloway will be eligible to claim educational maintenance allowance following the extension of the programme.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: Following the First Minister’s announcement on the expansion of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Programme, which came in to force from 1 January 2016, an estimated additional 10,000 school pupils and an additional 12,000 college students will now be…

12 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the independent review of the impacts of underground coal gasification will include (a) consultation on and (b) an assessment of the impact of unconventional gas developments on (i) wildlife and habitats and (ii) areas protected for wildlife.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The scope of the independent review of underground coal gasification (UCG) can be found on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/onshoreoilandgas/UCGIndependentReview The review will prepare a well-developed …

2 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many young people in Dumfries and Galloway are receiving the education maintenance allowance and how many more people it expects will receive it following the extension of eligibility.

Answer · Angela Constance: A total of 1,180 young people in Dumfries and Galloway received education maintenance allowance (EMA) payments in academic year 2013-14. Of this total, 751 were school pupils and 429 were college students. The school pupils also include a small percentage of …

25 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can provide on the future of attendance allowance in Scotland in light of concerns in England regarding its proposed transfer to local authorities.

11 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs will next visit Dumfries and Galloway.

9 Dec 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many single parents in Scotland have been subject to benefit sanctions in the last year.

7 Dec 2015 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help communities affected by storms and flooding.

1 Dec 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on its plans to reduce the Renewable Heat Incentive by 40%.

18 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on welfare mitigation in each local authority area in 2014-15.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Scottish Government welfare reform mitigation funding is comprised of four categories: Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF); Council Tax Reduction (CTR) Scheme; Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) (mitigation of the ‘bedroom tax’); and Other mitigation funding (…

9 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include Langholm in any feasibility study to extend the Borders Railway to Carlisle.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the development of a feasibility study to extend the Borders Railway line towards Carlisle and is working with the local councils, the Regional Transport Partnership (SEStran) and Network Rail to make th…

9 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is carrying out to improve the frequency of rail passenger services between Glasgow and Carlisle via Dumfries on the Glasgow south-western line.

Answer · Derek Mackay: ScotRail is committed to deliver an enhanced timetable on the Glasgow to Kilmarnock/Dumfries/Carlisle route from December 2017 when diesel rolling stock becomes available from within its existing fleet. This is planned to deliver three additional through ser…

9 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is carrying out to improve transport connectivity (a) in Dumfries and Galloway and (b) between Dumfries and (i) Glasgow and (ii) Edinburgh.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Since coming to Government in 2007, we have completed a number of improvements on the A75 and the A77. Work is also currently underway on the M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements Project which will improve connectivity between Dumfries and central belt conurbatio…