Parliamentary questions
Donald Cameron
1,854 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35190 by Jeane Freeman on 19 March 2021, which stakeholders it worked with; by what means and when it worked with them; what the outcome was of the discussions, and whether it will provide an update on whether third sector staff who are not register…
Answer · Kevin Stewart: I am grateful to my colleague, Mr Cameron MSP, for raising this matter relating to the £500 thank you payment for social care staff. The bonus payment recognises the particular debt we all owe to health and care staff, who have been – and continue to be – on …
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the NHS Highland area have waited longer than the 18-week referral-to-treatment waiting time standard for orthopaedic treatment in each month since January 2020.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Table one shows the total number of patients seen and number that waited over 18 weeks to be seen for orthopaedic treatment in NHS Highland, from January 2020 to June 2021. Month Total Patients Seen Number of patients seen waiting >18 weeks Unknown Waits …
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the introduction of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) on Dunoon-Gourock services provided by (a) CalMac Ferries and (b) Western Ferries.
Answer · Graeme Dey: When the Gourock to Dunoon passenger service was brought into the Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services network, the Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands did commit to look at fares on the passenger service and we remain committed to doing this. Howeve…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Highland regarding any delays experienced by patients waiting for orthopaedic treatment.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with NHS Highland to support the service management team with the delivery of orthopaedic elective procedures within the Health Board. In response to the pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic, …
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to commemorate Merchant Navy Day 2021.
Answer · Keith Brown: As we have done in previous years, the Scottish Government flew the Red Ensign from its main buildings on 3 September as a sign of respect and recognition of the sacrifices made by our Merchant Navy Seafarers. In addition, we issued social media via the Scott…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the NHS Highland area have waited longer that the 12-week waiting time standard for an outpatient appointment for orthopaedic treatment in each month since January 2020.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The number of patients who have waited over 12 weeks for Trauma and Orthopaedic surgery in NHS Highland are published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) on a quarterly basis. These details are available on PHS’s website and can be found in table 1.2 through the …
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources it has made available to NHS Highland to reduce the number of patients waiting for orthopaedic treatment.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has released almost £5.3 million to NHS Highland to support the Health Board to support planned care for 2021/22. Of this more than £822,000 was allocated to support the delivery of orthopaedic procedures. A further £701,000 was alloc…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in the Scottish National Party election manifesto, what action it is taking to (a) double skills provision and (b) boost training apprenticeships and skills opportunities.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the development of skills to realise the full potential of our screen sector. As set out in the Programme for Government 2021-22, working with Screen Scotland through its partnership with the skills agencies,…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reduced the budget under the heading, Creative Scotland and Other Arts, by £4.1 million in its 2021-22 budget, compared with its 2020-21 budget.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: There were two specific reasons for the £4.1 million reduction. The 2021-22 budget maintained all existing funding commitments. The Other Arts budget continues to maintain support for important ongoing commitments such as Scottish Screen, the Youth Music Init…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much grant funding it has provided to The Seafarers’ Charity, formerly known as Seafarers UK, in each year since 2007.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government has no record of grant funding provided to The Seafarers' Charity in the period since 2007 and we are unaware of any funding provided prior to this period. There are a number of Scottish Government grant schemes that may be available t…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in the Scottish National Party election manifesto, how it plans to "develop crofting to create more active crofts".
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: This Government has a strong track record in encouraging and supporting more and new people into crofting. In 2019-20 there were over 830 new entrants into crofting - 44% were women, and 32% were under 40 years of age. We have now appointed the islands-based …
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with the UK Government regarding the Subsidy Control Bill in relation to any future application of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) fares to ferry services in Scotland.
Answer · Graeme Dey: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01418 on? 9 August 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reduced the budget under the heading, Cultural Collections, by £3.5 million in its 2021-22 budget, compared with its 2020-21 budget.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Within the Cultural Collections budget line for 2021-22 the 3 National Collections (National Galleries of Scotland, National Library of Scotland, and National Museums Scotland) saw increases to resource budgets of over £1 million to support the public sector …
18 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reform crofting law during the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government remains committed to reforming crofting law and we will set out how we intend to do that in due course. A consultation was held in the last Parliament on what changes were required to the current legislative framework and the outcome o…
29 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any communication it has had with PSL Land regarding establishing a permanent film studio in Midlothian.
Answer · Angus Robertson: We are aware that Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International, the Scottish National Investment Bank and Screen Scotland have each had some engagement with PSL Land and Scottish Government officials attended a small number of meetings. According t…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reasons for only five new ferries having been delivered to CalMac since 2007.
Answer · Graeme Dey: 8 new-build vessels have been delivered to CalMac since 2007: the MVs Loch Shira, Argyle, Finlaggan, Hallaig, Loch Seaforth, Lochinvar, Catriona and Carvoria. Had vessels 801 and 802 been delivered to the shipyard's original schedule, then there would have be…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it has allocated to and (b) has been allocated to projects from the (i) Rural Housing Fund and (ii) Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government allocated £25 million to the Rural Housing Fund and £5 million to the Islands Housing Fund when they were launched in 2016-17. The following table provides a breakdown of funding allocated in each full year of the Rural Housing Fund an…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £3 million of funding for Aberdeen Performing Arts, Eden Court Highlands and Capital Theatres has been spent.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The £3 million funding was part of the emergency COVID-19 support for culture, protecting jobs and addressing some of the financial pressures facing the three organisations. It was announced on 17 January 2021, comprising £1.4 million for Aberdeen Performing …
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed from its Grassroots Music Venue Stabilisation Fund, broken down by (a) venue and (b) amount received.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government’s Grassroots Music Venues Stabilisation Fund (GMVSF) provided grassroots live music venues with emergency funds to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and prevent closure. In total, £6.2 million of support was awarded to 8…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic to support cultural organisations, and how much of that funding has been spent.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Since the beginning of the pandemic the Scottish Government has announced £175 million support to the culture, creative, heritage and events sectors. The dates in brackets are the announcement dates:£1.2 million for Creative / Screen Bursaries (March 20)£17 m…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it initiated a review of all of (a) its and (b) its agencies' cyber-security protocols following the 2020 cyber-attack on SEPA and, if so, what the outcome was.
Answer · John Swinney: The ransomware attack on SEPA at Christmas Eve last year was very serious and has had a significant impact upon SEPA’s IT infrastructure and networks. It was a striking reminder of the threat posed by cyber criminals and the need for everyone in Scotland – bu…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed to each project from the (a) Rural Housing Fund and (b) Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following tables provide a breakdown of the funding distributed to each project from the main (a) Rural Housing Fund and (b) Islands Housing Fund in each full year since the funds were launched in 2016-17, broken down by local authority area. (a) Rural H…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to decarbonise the (a) West Highland Line and (b) Highland Main Line.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Transport Scotland continues to progress detailed proposals to deliver the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan which was published in July 2020. rail-services-decarbonisation-action-plan.pdf (transport.gov.scot) This includes developing the potential options …
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed from its Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund, broken down by (a) venue and (b) amount received.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Across two rounds of the Culture Organisations and Venues Relief Fund (COVR), 511 awards were made, totalling over £21 million. Of this, £11.3 million was awarded to venues through 190 awards. This funding was administered by Creative Scotland on behalf of th…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with Lot 1 of the R100 programme.
Answer · Kate Forbes: As outlined in the response to S6W-00053 on 26 May 2021, the Scottish Government provided Openreach with a finalised speed and coverage template (or SCT) for the R100 North lot (Lot 1) contract at the end of March 2021. Openreach has completed its remodelling…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it allocated to and (b) has been distributed to performing arts venues from the (i) Third Sector Resilience Fund, (ii) Pivotal Enterprises Resilience Fund and (iii) Heritage Emergency Fund.
Answer · John Swinney: (i)The Third Sector Resilience Fund (a) The £25 million Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) was open to all third sector organisations (TSOs) in Scotland affected financially by Covid-19. (b) 151 awards totalling £2,518,605 were made to organisations under …
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to continuing the (a) Rural Housing Fund and (b) Islands Housing Fund until at least the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Shona Robison: On 11 November 2020, the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning announced in Parliament the continuation of the Rural and Islands Housing Funds beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million available to support this demand led scheme as part of the fi…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who it appointed to compile a shortlist of potential candidates to be Scotland’s next Makar.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The First Minister announced that Kathleen Jamie is to be Scotland’s next Makar at an event at the Scottish Poetry Library on 18 August. The news release provides the details of this appointment. This is available at: New Scots Makar - gov.scot (www.gov.sco…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided in each year since 2007 to (a) domestic and (b) international film production companies.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Scottish Government support for film production since 2007 has been included in grant-in-aid channelled, and not disaggregated, through Creative Scotland and, prior to the establishment of Creative Scotland in 2011, through one of its predecessor bodies, Scot…
28 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times each ferry service on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service network has been (a) delayed and (b) cancelled in each month since January 2016.
Answer · Graeme Dey: A table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib Number 62587) that provides information on delays and cancellations on individual routes serving the Clyde and Hebrides network since January 2016. Sailings can be the cancelled for a …