Parliamentary questions
Daniel Johnson
1,103 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
23 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what provision it is making to cover losses incurred by Glasgow Prestwick Airport in the last financial year.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Final accounts for financial year 2020-21 are in draft format and will be laid in Parliament when approved. No provision was made to cover losses in? 2020-21.
15 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of most COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, what its guidance is for employers regarding pregnant women past 28 weeks, and whether the guidance to allow them to work from home where possible, or be suspended on unpaid leave where it is not, remains in place.
Answer · Maree Todd: The coronavirus guidance for pregnant employees and employers is published at www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-pregnant-employees , and applies in all four UK countries. The guidance supports discussions between employees, …
14 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many special advisers are assigned to each cabinet secretary and minister, broken down by (a) pay scale and (b) average (i) expenses claimed and (ii) hours worked each week.
Answer · George Adam: Please refer to S6W-00255, answered on 23 August 2021 which provides information on the area of responsibility of the Special Advisers and pay scales. Special Advisors are contracted to work a minimum of 37 hours per week. For the period 7 May 2021 to 16 Sep…
14 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time employees there are in each cabinet secretary's and minister's private office, broken down by pay scale.
Answer · George Adam: The current allocation of full-time employees per Scottish Government Minister is: Cabinet Secretary/Minister Number of Private Office staff by Grade and pay scale A4 £24,184-£25,709 B1 £26,995-£29,776 B2 £31,266-£35,813 B3 £39,312-£47,065 C1 £49,…
8 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the finance secretary plans to allocate the Barnett consequentials arising from the UK Government's recent announcement of additional funding for NHS England.
7 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to improve (a) confidence in medicinal cannabinoids among clinicians prescribing treatments for chronic pain and (b) the availability and affordability of medicinal cannabis in Scotland.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The vast majority of medicinal cannabis products remain unlicensed with a limited, or non-existent, peer-reviewed clinical evidence base. Under the current rules, only specialist doctors on the General Medical Council’s specialist register can prescribe canna…
6 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what practical advice it has provided for the public on the installation of interlinked fire alarms, and whether it will provide an update on how people will be helped financially to install them.
Answer · Shona Robison: To raise awareness of the new Fire and Smoke Alarm regulations coming into force in February 2022, the Scottish Government’s extensive marketing campaign began on 19 August with a TV advert supported by ongoing radio and digital coverage. Information leafle…
6 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to people who received their first COVID-19 vaccination in England and who are waiting to have their second dose in Scotland.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish citizens, who have had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine out with Scotland, and 8 or more weeks have past, will be able to receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in any of our available vaccination centres. We have made the vaccine…
29 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it has made regarding its policy and practice for note-taking during its meetings to ensure that all details are recorded.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Civil Service Code of Conduct (Scottish Government & Agencies 2010) clarifies that civil servants are responsible for keeping accurate official records relating to decisions and key conversations. These responsibilities are discharged through the relevant…
29 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken and work has been carried out to ensure that business conducted by its ministers does not involve the use of any (a) personal email accounts and (b) informal means of communication.
Answer · George Adam: Government Business is conducted on the Scottish Government’s internal IT system, "SCOTS," which is available to all Ministers and staff. It runs on a secure network and, using an approved SCOTS laptop or tablet, is accessible from all Scottish Government off…
16 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the accuracy of PCR testing for COVID-19, and how the error rate informs its Test and Protect level decisions.
Answer · Maree Todd: Protective measures, and the Levels Approach, are informed using a range of data on epidemiological conditions and health system capacity. Numbers of Covid-19 cases being just one of these considerations. PCR tests are the key diagnostic tool in identifying i…
14 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the electricity load that can currently be supplied to the City of Edinburgh; what the estimated load would be if every vehicle registered in the city was electric and had to be charged; what the (a) existing and (b) anticipated sources of such electrical power…
Answer · Michael Matheson: We do not hold this information centrally. However, we do have a close collaborative relationship with the owner of the electricity network in the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Power Distribution (SPD). SPD has developed and published Distribution Future Energ…
8 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support and assistance it is offering to the organisers of this summer's Edinburgh festivals.
3 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost for ministerial travel, including car fleet purchasing and maintenance, is for 2021-22, and how this compares with actual spend on this in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Estimated costs for the Government Car Service (GCS), including purchasing and maintenance, for 2021-22 and actual spend for each of the last 5 years, are provided in the following table. Year Total cost (1) 16-17 £ 1,125,173 17-18 £ 1,248,912 18-19 £…
1 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide support with the phasing out of gas-fired boilers in homes.
31 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the amount of business debt that has been accumulated by SMEs because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Government regularly monitors SME debt levels and meets monthly with Scottish Financial Enterprise and the main banks in Scotland to monitor trends in lending facilities and identify key emerging themes. In the event that these identify areas of conc…
31 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what target it has set for the number of young people it aims to offer a placement under the Young Person’s Guarantee by December 2021; what action it is taking to achieve this target, and what progress it is making towards meeting it.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is supporting the commitment set out by Sandy Begbie, that every young person aged between 16 and 24 in Scotland will be guaranteed either the opportunity to study at university or college, take part in an apprenticeship programme, tak…
31 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of business debt that has arisen because of the COVID-19 restrictions, and what action it has carried out or plans to support businesses that have experienced financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Government has been monitoring closely the economic impact of Covid on business - including business indebtedness - throughout the pandemic, and has implemented a range of measures to alleviate the resulting financial difficulties. For example, the A…
31 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have taken up the offer of a place on the Young Person’s Guarantee, also broken down by how many placements were for (a) apprenticeships, (b) employment, (c) participating in formal volunteering programmes, (d) training and (e) university or college.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Since the launch of the Guarantee in November 2020 we have continued to work closely with partners from across the public, private and third sector to deliver the recommendations from Sandy Begbie’s report. As detailed in response to S6W-00024 on 25 May 2021…
31 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which of the business support grants that it has introduced in response to the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions have recorded an underspend, also broken down by the amount underspent.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Since the start of the pandemic, businesses have directly benefitted from £3.6 billion in support and the Scottish Government has provided more funding than the consequentials received to support businesses. The Scottish Government publishes statistics, manag…
26 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that historical links to slavery are properly displayed on statues of slave owners or slavery profiteers around Edinburgh and Scotland, and whether it plans to take further action to acknowledge and highlight Scotland's role in the slave trade, to ensur…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is keen to encourage wide-ranging and inclusive dialogue on this subject, particularly concerning how to best manage and present elements of our contested or hidden heritage. While local authorities are responsible for public statues, …
26 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of each Special Adviser, also broken down by their (a) responsibility and (b) pay band, and what the total cost of employing special advisers is expected to be (i) in 2021-22 and (ii) over the course of the parliamentary session.
Answer · George Adam: Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. Their specific responsibilities are as…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage local authorities to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to vary business rates, and which local authorities have used these powers since 2015, broken down by year.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government granted local authorities the autonomy to introduce local reliefs schemes through the Community Empowerment Act 2015. The Scottish Government continues to encourage local authorities to use these powers where they may deem it appropria…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following its decision to extend the 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure firms for the whole of 2021-22, what savings will be made, broken down by industry sector.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The extension of the 100% Retail, Hospitality, Leisure, and Aviation (RHLA) relief for the whole of 2021-22 is expected to save ratepayers an estimated £719 million. The following table shows the value of the estimated relief award broken down by property cla…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of tje revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme has been retained by each local authority since its inception, broken down by year.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme (BRIS) was introduced in in 2012-13 in recognition of the fact that the Scottish Government guarantees the combined General Revenue Grant (GRG) and distributable Non-Domestic Rates Income (NDRI) funding thereby reduci…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in each local authority area are subject to the (a) basic, (b) intermediate and (c) higher property rate poundage, broken down by industry sector, and how much will be raised from each of the three bands in the current financial year, broken down by local authority ar…
Answer · Kate Forbes: Tables 1a, 1b, and 1c, have been placed in the Scottish Parliament information Centre under Bib No. 62441. These show the number of properties as at 1 April 2021 subject to the Basic (BPR), Intermediate (IPR), and Higher Property Rates (HPR) respectively, bro…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's manifesto commitment, whether it will set out further details of its proposal to bring the higher property rate for non-domestic tax rates in Scotland in line with that in England.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Alongside the most generous relief package, the Scottish Government has delivered the lowest poundage in the UK for the third year in a row, and over 95% of properties pay a lower rate of tax than anywhere in the UK. The Scottish Budget 2021-22 took the unpre…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh will have on the (a) funding and (b) timing of the proposed New Liberton High School.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: In December 2020, the Scottish Government were delighted to announce that Liberton High School would be included within Phase 2 of the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme. We remain committed to this funding commitment and expect Phase 2 projects…
20 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a high street voucher scheme, as is being implemented in Northern Ireland.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is supporting Scotland’s Towns Partnership to set up a national platform for a Scotland Loves Local loyalty card scheme. The scheme is a quick and efficient way to encourage local spend, support local business and build wealth in the l…
17 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of teaching and education unions.