Edward Mountain

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) Scottish Enterprise, (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise and (c) South of Scotland Enterprise outsourced the scoring of applications to the (i) Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprise Hardship Fund and the (ii) Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund; what the total cost of …

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Through the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, we are providing support to pivotal SMEs which is unavailable elsewhere in the UK. Due to significant demand, we doubled the Fund to £90m and have since further increased it to £120m. Similarly we have increased…

18 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Highland stating that the maximum cost for the project has increased to £41.3 million, when it will issue its final approval for the construction of the North of Scotland Elective Care Centre, and what funding it will provide.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The cost of the NHS Highland Elective Centre is £42m. Following review at the Capital Investment Group in January 2020, approval of the Full Business Case for the project and associated costs was confirmed in a letter from the Director General, Health and Sp…

18 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding will be made available to repair the Cairngorm funicular railway, in light of planning approval being received from the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Highlands and Islands Enterprise is currently finalising proposals around next steps for the Cairngorm funicular railway in light of the Cairngorm National Park Authority decision. HIE is expecting to put recommendations to the Scottish Government over the su…

18 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the remit is of the Scottish Tourism Recovery Task Force; who its members are; on what dates it will meet, and when it will publish its initial recommendations.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Tourism Recovery Task Force was set up to have advise on and have strategic oversight of recovery plans in response to the Covid-19 impact on Scottish tourism and hospitality. The Taskforce will look to ensure that the tourism recovery plan is fu…

18 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action NHS Highland is taking to ensure that it has sufficient plans and resources in place to protect its cancer treatment capacity in the event of a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Officials have worked with all of the Health Boards including NHS Highland to formulate Local Mobilisation Plans in which Cancer has remained the number one clinical priority, alongside ensuring capacity for any increase in Covid-19 cases. Boards will be ask…

18 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with NHS Highland regarding the action being taken to address its reported cancer treatment backlog, including with the delivery of surgery, and what additional resources it is has allocated to the board to support this work.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: An additional £645,000 has been made available to NHS Highland for 2020-21 to support Access to Cancer Services. Officials are now working with NHS Highland to ensure that robust plans are in place through their remobilisation plans to ensure cancer service …

10 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be a limit on the number of families that will be allowed to stay in self-catering accommodation when they become available to access on 15 July 2020.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: No. Subject to phase 3 of the route map commencing, it will be possible to meet with people from more than one household indoors with physical distancing and hygiene measures. This will apply to self-catering accommodation also.

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors how Pupil Equity Funding is spent by each school.

Answer · John Swinney: Pupil Equity Funding is additional funding to be invested at the discretion of Headteachers to close the poverty-related attainment gap. Headteachers work in partnership with each other, and their local authority, to agree the use of Pupil Equity Funding. Wo…

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional support needs' (a) teachers and (b) pupils there are, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: On the number of additional support needs teachers, I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28271 on 20 April 2020. Information on the number of pupils with additional support needs is published in the Pupil Census Supplementary Statistics. The num…

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it was last given an update from NHS Highland regarding the development of the North of Scotland Elective Care Centre.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The National Elective Centre Programme received a report update on 2 nd June regarding the NHS Highland Elective Centre Project. This followed a discussion with the NHS Highland Elective Centre Senior Responsible Owner on 28 th May and a follow-up discussion …

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport will next meet with the Chief Executive of NHS Highland.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives of all Health Boards, including NHS Highland. I joined a weekly virtual meeting of health board CEOs on the 5th of June. At this present time the Scottish Government are in freq…

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which schools in The Highland Council area have received Pupil Equity Funding for 2019-20, broken down by the amount allocated to each.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is in the public domain, including detailed information for schools in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and is available on here:- https://www.gov.scot/policies/schools/pupil-attainment/ A table containing Pupil Equity Funding allocations for…

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils with additional support needs (ASN) pupils have not had daily access to an ASN teacher during the COVID-19 lockdown, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Local authorities are best placed to identify how best to meet the needs of the children and young people in their local area. Children and young people with complex additional support needs …

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many educational key worker hubs have not had a daily additional support needs' teacher present during the COVID-19 lockdown, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Children and young people with complex additional support needs can continue, where appropriate, to attend local hubs to secure continuity in their care and support. We are working closely wit…

9 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport has given to NHS boards regarding the roadmap to recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, and when the cabinet secretary will review each board's roadmap.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: On 31 May, the Scottish Government published Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: The Framework for NHS Scotland . This sets out the guiding principles that will underpin the approach to the next phase for the NHS; and how we will make critical decisions guided…

2 Jun 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when physical work will start with the delivery of Lot 1 of the R100 high-speed broadband programme.

3 Mar 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the NFU Scotland document, Stability – The Platform for Change, what pilot schemes for agricultural support it will introduce for the 2021 claim year.

21 Jan 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met The Highland Council and NHS Highland to discuss social isolation and loneliness.

16 Dec 2019 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what alternative holiday arrangements have been made for staff from the emergency services who will be working over the festive period.

11 Dec 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the terms were for NHS Highland being placed at level 4 of the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework, and what key performance indicators it will use to determine whether this status should be retained or changed.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As I have already informed Parliament in the answer to question S5W-20143 on 23 November 2018, NHS Highland was raised to stage 4 in the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework in November 2018 following concerns about the Board’s financial position and in…

11 Dec 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26368 by Fergus Ewing on 21 November 2019, what action it is taking to ensure that Highlands and Islands Enterprise carries out the due diligence promptly; by what date it expects the funicular to be fully repaired, and whether it believes that it w…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is closely monitoring Highlands and Islands Enterprise regarding due diligence on future options for the funicular railway which will help inform procurement processes and future timings relating to the repair and re-opening of the rai…

11 Dec 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist NHS Highland to reduce its reliance on locum staff.

19 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what extra support or guidance it provides to older people during periods of cold weather.

12 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a contractor has been appointed to fix the Cairngorm Funicular Railway (CFR), and, if not, when a contractor will be appointed; what the total cost is of repairing the CFR and, of that total cost, how much funding it is making available.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: It remains the intention of Highlands and Islands Enterprise to repair the Funicular. The associated costs are currently high level estimates which is why Highlands and Islands Enterprise are continuing to carry out the appropriate due diligence around the te…

12 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools in the Highlands and Islands are being considered as part of the next phase of its Learning Estate Investment Programme.

5 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long it keeps electronic and written records of policy advice to ministers.

1 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy's commitment in response to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s Review of Priorities for Crofting Law Reform, what actions it has taken to explore the potential for areas of common grazings to be used for the creation of…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There are a number of ways in which crofters and owners of common grazings can create new crofts from common grazings, and that is by way of resumption; apportionment and assignation; and letting. We continue to consider the extent to which homes (whether cr…

1 Oct 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of his comments in the chamber on 4 December 2018, whether the minister for veterans raised with the UK Government Members' views regarding historic allegations involving Army veterans from Scotland who served tours in Northern Ireland.

17 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support people in the Highlands and Islands who are experiencing social isolation and loneliness.

3 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on fully implementing the recommendations in the Scottish Information Commissioner’s intervention report on its FOI practice and performance.