Parliamentary questions
Donald Cameron
1,854 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of applications to the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund has been awarded the full amount applied for.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) provides support for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies who have experienced at least 50% loss of current or projected revenue as a result of COVID-19 and are experiencing…
15 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of applications to the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund has been awarded funding that is less than the amount applied for.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) provides support for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies who have experienced at least 50% loss of current or projected revenue as a result of COVID-19 and are experiencing…
15 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of applications to the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund has been awarded funding that is less than the amount applied for.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund (NSEHF) provides support to people who became self-employed since 6 April 2019 and who were therefore not eligible for the UK Government Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The fund provides support to people in hardsh…
15 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of applications to the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund has been awarded the full amount applied for.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund (NSEHF) provides support to people who became self-employed since 6 April 2019 and who were therefore not eligible for the UK Government Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The fund provides support to people in hardsh…
15 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many grants from the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund have been awarded that are less than the amount applied for, also broken down by where the award was (a) 75%, (b) 50%, (c) 25% and (d) 10% of the amount applied for.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) provides support for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies who have experienced at least 50% loss of current or projected revenue as a result of COVID-19 and are experiencing…
15 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of applications to the Pivotal Economic Resilience Fund has been awarded the full amount applied for.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund (PERF) provides grants for businesses which:support Scotland’s productive capacity,are of local or national economic importance,impact the wider business community,are a supplier or potential supplier to NHS or other COV…
7 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents were recorded in April 2020 by Police Scotland of members of the public breaking the social distancing guidelines imposed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and how many resulted in the issue of a (a) warning with no fine and (b) on-the-spot fine, broken down by pol…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Police Scotland are publishing weekly updates on the use of coronavirus legislation, including Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued and other intervention activity. A summary of this information has been provided below. This information is drawn from Police Sc…
4 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many business properties are eligible for additional grant funding worth up to 75% of the value of the first business support grant in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and how many are claiming this.
Answer · Kate Forbes: On 5 May the Scottish Government commenced Phase 2 of the Business Grants Funding Scheme. This included the expansion of support for ratepayers with more than one property. In addition to a 100% grant on their first eligible property, ratepayers with addition…
4 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to extend 100% business grant funding in response to the COVID-19 outbreak to additional properties eligible for business support grants.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has no plans to extend 100% grant funding to additional properties eligible for business support grants, but estimates that the cost of doing so would be around £33 million.
4 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost it to replicate the business grants system that has been put in place in England and Wales in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Kate Forbes: England and Wales have introduced two different grants systems designed to suit their specific local circumstances. The Scottish Government has committed that the UK Government’s Barnett consequential funding for business support to Scotland would be passed …
4 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it carried out before deciding to offer 75% grants for additional properties eligible for business support grants in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has committed that the UK Government’s Barnett consequential funding for business support to Scotland would be passed on to businesses. Ministers have also been clear that they would not simply replicate the decisions taken by the othe…
17 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has imposed a limit on the number of additional properties that eligible business ratepayers can apply for COVID-19 grant support.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Following my announcement of Phase 2 of the Business Grants Funding Scheme on 15 April, there is no fixed limit on the number of eligible multiple properties that a business can claim grant support for under either the £10,000 or £25,000 business support gran…
17 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether retail, hospitality and leisure business ratepayers that are eligible for the £25,000 COVID-19 business support grant and have more than one property will also be eligible to apply for the 75% grant for each additional property.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28510 on 4 May 2020. 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/288…
17 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to the additional property grant support for businesses that are eligible for the £25,000 COVID-19 business support grant.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The package of support for businesses now totals £2.3 billion, which is more than the consequentials we received from the UK Government. The total cost of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Scheme is £275 million - this includes £30 million to extend …
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much Creative Scotland has allocated to the (a) Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund and (b) Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund to support practitioners impacted by COVID-19.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: (a) Creative Scotland allocated £4 million to the Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary (Arts and Creative) Fund. (b) Creative Scotland has allocated £1.5m to the Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund to support practitioners impacted by COVID-19.
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much financial support in relation to COVID-19 is available to (a) the shellfish sector, (b) the creel fishing sector, (c) fish farm producers, (d) the inshore fishing sector, (e) the offshore fishing sector and (f) onshore fish processors.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has provided £22.5m in immediate hardship payments to the seafood industry. These funds act as a temporary support measure to offer immediate hardship payments to businesses that cannot access the UK business grant scheme for land base…
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with creative sector leaders regarding COVID-19 funding for Creative Scotland, and whether it plans to allocate further funding to the creative sector beyond what it has already announced.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: COVID-19 is the biggest challenge we have faced in our lifetimes and the measures we take to deal with it must reflect its magnitude. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the creative sector and is committed to doing everything we can to ensu…
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to Creative Scotland in relation to COVID-19 financial support.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As of 21 April the Scottish Government has allocated £1.1 million of repurposed grant in aid and a further £1 million to Creative Scotland in financial support relating to COVID-19.
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much financial support in relation to COVID-19 it has allocated to (a)(i) Glasgow, (ii) Edinburgh, (iii) Aberdeen and (iv) Prestwick Airport and (b) Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL).
Answer · Michael Matheson: As part of the Scottish Government’s £2.3bn COVID-19 business support package, airports have been granted non-domestic rates relief for financial year 2020-21.
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all spending related to COVID-19 since 1 March 2020.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Decisions on allocations of COVID-19 consequential funding are ongoing. Scottish Ministers plan to publish a Summer Budget Revision by the end of May for consideration by the Scottish Parliament prior before summer recess. The Budget Revision will detail all …
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with leaders in the fishing industry in relation to funding support for businesses affected by COVID-19, and whether it plans to allocate further funding to the fishing industry beyond what it has already announced.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has been in frequent and intensive contact with leaders in the fishing industry in order to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on their sectors and to discuss what support the Scottish Government can offer them. The most recent round of f…
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all additional funding it has received as a result of COVID-19.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has been allocated an estimated £3,520m of Barnett consequentials in relation to COVID-19. A breakdown of this funding is shown in the following table: £m Public Services (£1,153m) Health Services 448 Social Care 155 Local …
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed summary of all expenditure aimed at supporting business during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28357 on 12 May 2020. 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/28…
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with representatives from the aviation industry regarding COVID-19; how much financial support for COVID-19 it has made available to the aviation sector, and whether it plans to allocate further funding to the aviation sector beyond what it has already announc…
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government continues to engage with representatives of the aviation industry on the impact of COVID-19 and how best to support recovery. In addition to the UK Government’s COVID-19 support measures, the aviation industry will also benefit from th…
15 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who has been awarded funding from the (a) Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund and (b) Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund, broken down by how much each was awarded.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As set out in the guidance supporting (a) the Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund and (b) the Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund, awards from these funds will be published as part of Creative Scotland’s monthly listings, published every month, one mont…
14 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many business properties there are per 10,000 adults in Scotland that are eligible for Rural Rate Relief, and what information it has on how this compares to (a) the rest of the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of properties eligible for Rural Rate Relief. As at 31 May 2019 there were 390 non-domestic properties in receipt of Mandatory Rural Rate Relief and a further 1,880 in receipt of Discretionary R…
14 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) small and (b) medium enterprises there are per 10,000 adults in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares to (i) the rest of the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.
Answer · Kate Forbes: There are various ways that the business base can be broken down by size, for example in terms of the number of employees in the business, the turnover of the business, the rateable value of non-domestic properties, etc. There are two main sources of statisti…
14 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many business properties there are per 10,000 adults in Scotland that are eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme, and what information it has on how this compares to the same figure for business properties in (a) the rest of the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ir…
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of properties eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme. As at 31 May 2019 there were 120,420 non-domestic properties in receipt of Small Business Bonus Scheme relief in Scotland. Comparing t…
14 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people per 10,000 adults in Scotland work in (a) small and (b) medium enterprises, and what information it has on how this compares to (i) the rest of the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.
Answer · Kate Forbes: There are various ways that the business base can be broken down by size, for example in terms of the number of employees in the business, the turnover of the business, the rateable value of non-domestic properties, etc. There are two main sources of statisti…
14 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance on Twitter on 11 April 2020 that it could do more to support businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak "if consequential funding...was based on business need rather than population share" is representative of Scottish Government policy.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28389 on 29 April 2020. 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…