Parliamentary questions
Daniel Johnson
1,103 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff the Commissioner for Fair Access has and, of these, how many are (a) full-time equivalent and (b) secondments from the Scottish Government or its agencies, broken down by salary range.
Answer · John Swinney: At the current time, the Commissioner for Fair Access has the following staff available to him to support his work: 1 x full time SG Statistician (salary range £46,424 to £55,275) 1 x full time Implementation Adviser/Researcher who is seconded from the uni…
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that appropriate staff are in place to prepare schools and other public sector bodies for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06715 on 10 February 2017. 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/parliamentarybusines…
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many data security incidents were reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) regarding Scottish public bodies in each quarter of the last 10 years, broken down by sector.
Answer · Derek Mackay: All organisations which process personal data must take appropriate measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction of or damage to personal data. They are required to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office …
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation will have on schools.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06715 on 10 February 2017. 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/parliamentarybusine…
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what budget the Commissioner for Fair Access will have, and what is expected to be delivered with this.
Answer · John Swinney: In line with recommendation 1 of the Commission on Widening Access’s final report, the Scottish Government will ensure an appropriate budget is available to support the Commissioner for Fair Access’s work to develop an improved evidence base. The Commissioner…
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what staffing support it will make available to the Commissioner for Fair Access.
Answer · John Swinney: At the current time, the Commissioner for Fair Access has the following staff available to him to support his work: 1 x full time SG Statistician (salary range £46,424 to £55,275) 1 x full time Implementation Adviser/Researcher who is seconded from the univ…
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each (a) local authority area and (b) sector have paid the large business supplement each year, and how many will in 2017-18.
Answer · Derek Mackay: 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Aberdeen City 2,234 2,265 2,266 2,267 2,263 2,270 2,324 Aberdeenshire 915 943 979 1,018 1,032 1,069 1,107 Angus 391 395 396 397 396 397 405 Argyll & Bute 348 352 346 34…
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each (a) local authority area and (b) sector received small business bonus scheme relief at (a) 100%, (b) 50% and (c) 25% in each of the last 10 years; how many will receive this in 2017-18, and what information it has regarding how many eligible businesses did not…
Answer · Derek Mackay: Published aggregate data on Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) can be found on the Scottish Government website at - http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/NDR-Rates-Relief , including the total number of recipients broken down b…
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each (a) local authority area and (b) sector in each of the last 10 years had rateable values (i) on or below £10,000, (ii) between £10,001 and £12,000, (iii) between £12,001 and £15,000, (iv) between £15,001 and £18,000, (v) between £18,001 and £31,000, (vii) betw…
Answer · Derek Mackay: A document containing this data has been placed in SPICe with the Bib number 58531.
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid through each type of business relief in each (a) local authority area and (b) sector in each of the last 10 years, also broken down by how many businesses received this, and how much will be paid in 2017-18.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The following tables set out the amount paid for the different types of business rates relief, by local authority area, for each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15. Date prior to this is not currently available. Detailed information relating to 2015-16 will be avai…
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) total rateable value of businesses in each (i) local authority area and (ii) sector has been in each of the last 10 years, and will be in 2017-18.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The data requested has been placed electronically in SPICe with Bib number 58521.
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been generated in non-domestic rates in each (a) local authority area and (b) sector in each of the last 10 years, broken down by poundage rate and the amount generated through the (i) large business and (ii) public health supplement, and how much will be generated in 2017-1…
Answer · Derek Mackay: Outturn data on the total amount of non-domestic rates income that has been collected in each local authority area is published annually in the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics report. Copies of the relevant statistical publications covering t…
23 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the poundage rate for non-domestic rates has been in each of the last 10 years, and what it will be in 2017-18, also broken down by the (a) large and (b) small business supplement (i) rate and (ii) cut-off.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The following table shows the poundage rate, large business supplement and large business supplement threshold (rateable value) for each year from 2007-08 to 2017-18. Year Poundage rate (pence) Large business supplement (pence) Large business supplement t…
23 Jan 2017 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the impact would be on redevelopment plans for universities, following its decision to ask the Scottish Funding Council to pay back £50 million.
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, how many Professional Graduate Diploma in Education graduates went on to take up roles in early years and childcare in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile of the location of the role.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not collect information on the qualification route of teachers in Early Learning and Childcare. The number of teachers working in this sector is collected through the Early Learning and Childcare census each year, and these teache…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, how many (a) graduates and (b) teachers it expects to (i) begin and (ii) complete courses in 2017-18, and, of those who complete courses in 2017-18, how many it expects to go on to w…
Answer · Mark McDonald: In order to support delivery of the commitment the Scottish Government will invest nearly £1.5 million in 2017-18 to fund additional places for teacher training and on the BA Childhood Practice. As a result of this investment we expect an additional 126 stude…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, which nurseries will receive support, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Allocations of the additional graduates to local authorities were determined by their share of the nurseries located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas. Using the Care Inspectorate data on Early Learning and Childcare settings, and the latest Scottish In…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many admissions there have been for a (a) BA in Childhood Practice and (b) Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) and, of those, how many people (i) completed, (ii) are still to complete and (iii) are no longer studying without completing the course in each of the last …
Answer · Mark McDonald: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Funding Council are the Public Body responsible for this information. They can be contacted at: Scottish Funding Council, Apex 2, 97 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5HD.
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, how it will allow local government flexibility on allocation of additional places and ensure that each identified nursery receives a full-time equivalent graduate at the same time.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Allocations of the additional graduates to local authorities were determined by their share of the nurseries located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas. Using the Care Inspectorate data on Early Learning and Childcare settings, and the latest Scottish In…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, how it will ensure that 100 of the 126 additional teacher training graduates choose to work in nurseries.
Answer · Mark McDonald: We are currently working closely with local authorities on the implementation of this commitment, including bringing additional teachers with early years expertise into nurseries in deprived areas. Local authorities will be asked to provide plans setting out…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, what (a) funding and (b) other measures there will be to increase awareness of routes into childcare.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government will invest around £1 million in 2017-18 to increase awareness of routes into Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and to attract new recruits in to the sector. This campaign will be informed by the research that we are currently underta…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, when the commitment to have 435 additional graduates in nurseries will be met.
Answer · Mark McDonald: We expect the 435 additional graduates to be in place for the start of the 2018-19 academic year (which commences in August 2018).
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on active travel in Scotland of a £327 million reduction to local government funding.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Taking next year's local government finance settlement plus the other sources of income available through potential increases in council tax, and Health and Social Care Integration, the overall increase in spending power to support local authority services in…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, how many existing qualified teachers or graduates will be encouraged to work in nurseries in the most deprived areas, and what action it will take to ensure that this does not have a…
Answer · Mark McDonald: We are currently working closely with local authorities on the implementation of this commitment. Local authorities will be asked to provide plans setting out how they propose to allocate, and fill, the additional places in their area.
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent announcement on funding for additional graduates for early learning and childcare, what funding will be provided to local authorities to meet the costs of employing additional graduates.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government will invest nearly £1.5 million in 2017-18 to fund additional places for teacher training and on the BA Childhood Practice degree. The Scottish Government will also provide funding to support delivery of the commitment from 2018-19 o…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates of a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education course went on to take up roles in (a) primary teaching and (b) early years and childcare settings in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not collect information on the qualification route of teachers in schools or in Early Learning and Childcare. Information on school teachers is collected in the teacher census every year, and information on early learning and chi…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on the number of (a) graduates of a BA in Childhood Practice and (b) teachers who are employed in nurseries of a reduction of £327 million to local government funding.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Taking next year's local government finance settlement plus the other sources of income available through potential increases in council tax, and Health and Social Care Integration, the overall increase in spending power to support local authority services am…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates of a BA in Childhood Practice in each of the last 10 years were employed in nurseries, broken down by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile of the location of the nurseries.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Currently the Scottish Government does not collect information on the number of graduates of the BA in Childhood Practice working in nurseries. We are looking to capture this information in the future for all Early Learning and Childcare settings that provide…
20 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average length of time is to complete a (a) BA in Childhood Practice and (b) Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary).
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Funding Council have confirmed that the average length of time to complete a BA in Childhood Practice is 4 years. For a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) the average length of time is 1 year.
17 Jan 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to resolve any legal difficulties regarding NHS boards taking ownership of GP practices.
Answer · Shona Robison: Following the considerations of the GP Premises Short Life Working Group, an implementation group has been established, which includes representation from NHS boards (including Lothian), BMA and Scottish Government. This group will review and recommend update…