Margaret McCulloch

21 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the retail sector is not mentioned in Town Centre Action Plan - the Scottish Government response.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Town Centre Action Plan makes clear our commitment to continue to support businesses in town centres, which includes the retail sector.

21 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the town centre first principle differs from the sequential test in the Scottish Planning Policy.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We recognise that a shared understanding of a town centre first principle across the public sector will be key to its success and have established a working group with COSLA to consider how the town centre first principle will be applied in practice.

21 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will encourage local authorities to adopt the town centre first principle.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18896 on 9 January 2014. 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/parliamentarybu…

16 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether park and ride facilities will be expanded to support increased capacity following electrification of the East Kilbride railway line.

Answer · Keith Brown: Consideration of wider issues such as park and ride facilities may follow once plans for electrification for East Kilbride are progressed.

16 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent electrification will increase capacity on the East Kilbride railway line.

Answer · Keith Brown: Electrification can potentially increase capacity on the East Kilbride line through better and more efficient use of rolling stock.

16 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what associated works will be carried out at the same time as the electrification of the East Kilbride railway line.

Answer · Keith Brown: Any associated works to be carried out at the same time as electrification of the line, will be determined once electrification plans for East Kilbride are progressed.

16 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) start and (b) completion dates are for the electrification of the East Kilbride railway line.

Answer · Keith Brown: No dates have been determined yet for the electrification of the East Kilbride railway line.

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what scope there is to incorporate (a) labour market intelligence and (b) entrepreneurship into the (i) activities of careers advisers and (ii) development of the curriculum for excellence.

Answer · Angela Constance: Skills Development Scotland has the responsibly for providing a high quality careers service to all ages. I have asked their chief executive to forward on to you information about the scope for labour market intelligence and entrepreneurship to be incorporate…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions (a) it has and (b) its enterprise agencies have had regarding the development of strategic sites in East Kilbride to attract business investment to the town.

Answer · John Swinney: Ministers and officials regularly meet local authorities across Scotland to discuss a range of issues, including local economic development, as do our enterprise agencies. While discussions held between the enterprise agencies and stakeholders are operationa…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions (a) it has and (b) its enterprise agencies have had with Rolls-Royce and South Lanarkshire Council regarding the preparation of a masterplan for the redevelopment of the Rolls-Royce site in East Kilbride.

Answer · John Swinney: Ministers and officials regularly meet local authorities across Scotland to discuss a range of issues, including local economic development, as do our enterprise agencies. While discussions held between the enterprise agencies and stakeholders are operational…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what contribution East Kilbride makes to the economy.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government recognises the contribution East Kilbride makes to Scotland’s economy and is committed to working with all partners to help support the development of its economy including through the work of the multi-agency, South Lanarkshire Counci…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has included the town-centre-first principle in the NHSScotland Property Transactions Handbook.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Property Transactions Handbook was last reviewed and published in 2011. A review of the Handbook has recently been commissioned with a view to updating it in the course of 2014. The handbook deals with the processes and procedures for the acquisition or d…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what new guidance it has made available to commercial premises to ensure compliance with energy performance certificate ratings from January 2014.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The need to provide an energy performance certificate is driven primarily by European legislation. Since its introduction, the energy performance of buildings directive requires building owners to provide energy performance certificates on construction (from …

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which towns have been identified for demonstration projects through the Town Centre Action Plan.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We will publish details on our website as projects are confirmed.

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent steps it has taken in conjunction with COSLA and its enterprise agencies to ensure that town centre businesses understand the support available through (a) Business Gateway, (b) local authorities and (c) enterprise agencies.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Town Centre Action Plan has been discussed with the Local Economic Development Senior Officers Group, which includes representatives of COSLA, Business Gateway and the enterprise agencies. Support for town centre businesses is on their future agenda.

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making toward piloting town centre investment zones and when the first of these zones are likely to be identified.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We will introduce powers necessary to enable local authorities to affect localised rates relief schemes under the forthcoming Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill. In tandem with that process, we will be investigating further opportunities to establish a pil…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what local data on town centres it has supported the (a) collection and (b) collation of, and where this will be published.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Town Centre Action Plan includes a commitment to support the collection and collation of town centre data at a local level. Officials have held discussions with stakeholders who are involved in the development of benchmarking systems and methods of data c…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to renew the Town Centre Housing Fund in future budget bills.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Town Centre Housing Fund is intended to test the opportunities and barriers to bringing empty town centre properties back into residential use. It is a complement to our Town Centre Action Plan commitments to facilitate and support affordable housing deve…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with COSLA regarding a shared understanding of the town-centre-first principle.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18896 on 9 January 2014. 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/parliamentaryb…

12 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to develop a shared understanding of the town-centre-first principle across the public sector.

Answer · Derek Mackay: With COSLA, we are establishing a working group to consider the town centre first principle and how it may be applied in practice. This group will be brought together in early 2014.

2 Dec 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the NHS Lanarkshire rapid review assessment by Health Improvement Scotland.

20 Nov 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact independence would have on the Department for International Development’s office in East Kilbride.

13 Nov 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the remit is of the Minister for Town Centres.

22 Oct 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the draft action plan agreed by the East Kilbride Task Force and how it will assist with its implementation.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government welcomes the strong partnership approach to address economic development in East Kilbride. Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Enterprise are members of the Task Force and the draft action plan has been developed in consultation w…

29 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many places (a) it has and (b) NHS boards have supported annually under the One Year Job Guarantee Scheme.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government’s One Year Job Guarantee Scheme (OYJG) was introduced in 2002 to support transition into employment and to maximise the opportunity to build on the clinical experience gained by nurses and midwives during their pre-registration program…

29 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it has and (b) NHS boards have spent annually on the One Year Job Guarantee Scheme.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government’s One Year Job Guarantee Scheme (OYJG) was introduced in 2002 to support transition into employment and to maximise the opportunity to build on the clinical experience gained by nurses and midwives during their pre-registration program…

29 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on implementing each of the recommendations of the Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services.

Answer · John Swinney: Renewing Scotland’s Public Services set out the Scottish Government’s priorities for reform in response to the Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services. The approach closely reflects the themes and aims of the Commission and is built on four pilla…

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected annual costs to local authorities are of implementing the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The expected costs relating to the High Hedges legislation are set out in the Financial Memorandum for the Bill, which is available on the Scottish Parliament website. However, the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 provides that local authorities may charge fee…

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its town centre action plan.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We are currently discussing the town centre action plan with COSLA with a view to publishing in the autumn.

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local authorities as a result of the financial implications of the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will provide support to local authorities in the form of guidance on implementation of the legislation, including financial issues. For the reasons set out in response to question S4W-17451 on 4 October 2013, it is expected that the Hi…