Alex Rowley

24 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the projects where an extension of the period within which an electricity generating station or overhead electricity line development must commence has been (a) requested and (b) granted when the development has previously been granted consent under section 36 or 37 …

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: A list is provided below of the projects where an extension of the period within which an electricity generating station or overhead electricity line development must commence has been (a) requested and (b) granted when the development has previously been gra…

24 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how statutory requirements for environmental assessment are met for an application to extend the period within which an electricity generating station or overhead electricity line development must commence when it has previously been granted consent under section 36 or 37 of the Electric…

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: To extend the period within which an electricity generating station or overhead electricity line development must commence, when it has previously been granted consent under section 36 or 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, consideration is given to the existing …

24 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what procedure is followed in response to a request for extending the period at the expiry of which a deemed planning permission for an electricity generating station or overhead electricity line development would lapse, as initially directed by the Scottish Ministers under section 58 of…

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The provisions within the Electricity Act and the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act do not allow for the Ministers to extend the expiry of the deemed planning permission. When a request to extend the period at the expiry of which a deemed planning perm…

27 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that there is any potential conflict of interest relating to Ministers' involvement in decisions and other regulatory permissions relating to both the Crown Estate Scotland new offshore wind leasing process and Marine Scotland’s offshore wind consenting and, if it co…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In relation to Offshore Wind, there is a clear separation of functions between Marine Scotland and Crown Estate Scotland. Marine Scotland as the planning authority and regulator advises Scottish Ministers on where projects can be developed and on the sustaina…

27 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Crown Estate Scotland (CES) and Marine Scotland will ensure that developer applications for new offshore wind lease agreements do not pre-empt or compromise the robustness of the emerging Sectoral Marine Plan process, in light of CES encouraging submission of applications prior to th…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Marine Scotland, as Planning Authority for Scotland’s seas, is in the early stages of a new sectoral marine plan for offshore wind. A draft plan, and associated assessments, are expected to be published for statutory consultation in the first half of 2019. Th…

12 Jun 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether lack of initial infrastructure investment is a barrier to new housing developments.

4 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Food Coalition report, A Seat at the Table: Becoming a Good Food Nation is everyone’s business, which highlights public interest in participating in shaping the path to a Good Food Nation, how it plans to ensure that there is an inclusive consultation that allow…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17037 on ?18 June 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness…

4 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of commitments by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity to consult on a Good Food Nation Bill, when it will publish a timeline for the consultation.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving our ambition for Scotland to continue to develop and grow as a Good Food Nation. We are considering how best to achieve this and will provide more details, including on plans for a consultation, in due co…

23 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives for skills development in the rural economy.

4 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13788 by Angela Constance on 17 January 2018, whether the cabinet secretary has received a response from the secretary of state regarding the plan to facilitate the exploration of a citizens' basic income scheme.

Answer · Angela Constance: No response has been received to date in relation to my letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of 21 December 2017. Given the wealth of knowledge and practical insight UK Government departments can offer in relation to a Citizens Basic Income…

25 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been made available for stage two of the Aspiring Communities Fund; how many applications the stage has received, and when the successful projects will be announced.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Aspiring Communities Fund has £18.9m available to support both Stage 1 and Stage 2 applications. The Aspiring Communities Fund received 131 eligible Stage 2 applications and currently supports 76 of these. The value of these projects is just under £11m. T…

25 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was made available for stage one of the Aspiring Communities Fund; how many applications the stage received, and how many projects were awarded funding.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Aspiring Communities Fund has £18.9m available to support both Stage 1 and Stage 2 applications. 108 Stage 1 eligible applications were received and 60 of those received funding.

25 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to teachers in Fife regarding reports of over £2 million of reductions in the secondary school education budget.

18 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its response to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s 1st Report, 2018 (Session 5), Air Quality in Scotland Inquiry (SP Paper 117).

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will publish its response to the Committee's report by the end of May 2018.

16 Apr 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing Fife Health and Social Care Partnership to recruit GPs and primary care staff in order to alleviate pressure on service delivery.

13 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available for a new health centre in Lochgelly in Fife, and when its construction is due to begin.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Fife are in the process of developing an Initial Agreement for a new health centre in Lochgelly which will then be submitted to the NHS Capital Investment Group for review. At that point it will become clearer as to what the likely capital costs and expec…

20 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to Dunfermline Heritage and Tourism Partnership to help develop the town into a major visitor destination.

7 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the commitment in its Programme for Scotland 2017-18 to (a) raise the Student Loan repayment threshold to £22,000 and (b) reduce the repayment period for Student Loans to 30 years.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We are committed to raising the repayment threshold for student loans to £22,000 and to reducing the maximum repayment period to 30 years, as announced in the Programme for Government. A range of operational and legislative adjustments are required to practi…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on target to meet its commitment to deliver 35,000 homes for by the end of the current parliamentary session, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is on track to meet its commitment to deliver 35,000 homes for social rent by the end of the current parliamentary session. We have backed up our ambitious five year target with investment of over £3 billion. For the first time ever,…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06962 by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2017, whether it will confirm the target number of homes for social rent to be built in 2017-18 that was set by the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP); how many such homes have been built since 6 April 201…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not set annual targets for homes for social rent, rather the target is to deliver 35,000 social homes over the five years to March 2021. Official statistics published for the period 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2017 show that a t…

16 Jan 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reports that rail travellers on the Fife Circle face poor journey experiences and that there are consistent failures of service.

12 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been agreed for the replacement of Fife College's Carnegie Campus, and when this will be made available.

Answer · John Swinney: Fife College submitted a Business Case to the Scottish Funding Council. Last month the SFC published their Estates Condition Survey. This provides a robust and consistent assessment of the condition of buildings across the college estate to help identify prio…

10 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had or plans with the UK Government regarding citizens' basic income schemes.

Answer · Angela Constance: On 21 December 2017 I wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding the Scottish Government's intent to facilitate exploration of a Citizens Basic Income. Within the letter the Cabinet Secretary requested that the Secretary of State progres…

10 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) funding and (b) support it is making available for local authorities to pilot and develop citizens' basic income schemes.

Answer · Angela Constance: As outlined within the letter sent from myself to the Social Security Committee on 20 November 2017 a fund of £250,000 will shortly be made available for the four pilot authorities to bid into. This funding is to support feasibility work during the period Apr…

10 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made to support the establishment of the Levenmouth Rail Link, and whether Transport Scotland will undertake the GRIP 4 study as part of this.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport investment decisions have to be supported by robust evidence. Transport Scotland has now appointed consultants to progress the transport appraisal work for the Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study, which will be undertaken in line with STAG and in…

26 Oct 2017 · First Minister's Question

To be taken in Chamber.

19 Oct 2017 · First Minister's Question

To be taken in Chamber.

28 Sep 2017 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

22 Sep 2017 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

14 Sep 2017 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.