Oliver Mundell

17 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the pub sector.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government published research it commissioned on Scottish pubs last year. A recommendation of that study suggested that "the evidence collected did not suggest that any part of the pub sector in Scotland was unfairly disadvantaged in relation to …

17 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been excluded from school in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · John Swinney: Data about the number of pupils excluded by Local Authority in 2014-15 is published in table 21 of the exclusions supplementary datasets, available on the Scottish Government website here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/exclusi…

17 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average, (b) longest and (c) shortest time it took each emergency service's first responder to arrive on scene following a 999 call in each of the last five years.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Information may be available by contacting the individual services independently to request this.

17 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to carry out the outstanding repairs to the trunk road network.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The most recent figures (from 2016) indicate a £1.26bn backlog of repairs for the total trunk road network.

17 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding flooding on the River Nith.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Dumfries and Galloway Council has been notified that Scottish Ministers have decided to call in the Whitesands Flood Protection Scheme for their consideration. There has been no other recent engagement on flooding from the River Nith.

17 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of ongoing issues with broadband provision affecting the (a) Ewes, (b) Durisdeer and (c) Brydekirk exchange.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The reserved nature of telecoms means that the Scottish Government cannot directly intervene in regulatory issues, such as overseeing and implementing the quality of service delivered by broadband providers. However, the Scottish Government is working hard to…

14 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of outstanding repairs required to local authority schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 places a statutory responsibility on all local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate across Scotland. The Government is providing significant investment to local authorities through the £1.8bn Scotland’s School…

10 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the initial feasibility study for extending the Borders Railway.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has given a commitment to examining the case for an extension of the Borders Railway, along with potential improvements to the A1, A7 and A68. This work is currently being taken forward by Transport Scotland through the Borders Transpo…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated lifespan is of HMP Dumfries.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer given in PQ S5W-12680 on 24 November 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on …

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the future of HMP Dumfries.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer given in PQ S5W-12680 on 24 November 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on …

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether HMP Dumfries is being treated as a priority under the plans to modernise the prison estate.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer given in PQ S5W-12680 on 24 November 2017 All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on t…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it is making at HMP Dumfries, and what future investment it plans.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The general day-to-day maintenance activities – planned, preventative and reactive repairs – are included in running cost for the Estates te…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether HMP Dumfries will be included in the strategic and corporate plans to modernise the prison estate.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: HMP Dumfries is an integral part of the prison estate for those in our care and will remain so for the foreseeable future. There are no curr…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to further simplifying planning processes for additional residential properties as part of existing rural settlements.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As part of the Planning Review, we established a pilot programme of Simplified Planning Zones, funding 3 housing pilot projects which will support innovative housing delivery, including self and custom build. The pilots include projects on an island context, …

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment minsters have made of the reported ongoing issues with broadband provision affecting the Marrburn Exchange.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Our investment through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme has been a major success, extending fibre broadband access to over 800,000 premises across Scotland. This includes 25,000 premises in the constituency of Dumfriesshire, with over…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individual cases regarding (a) delayed and (b) outstanding farm payments has it been made aware of.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: For Pillar Two CAP Schemes there is no regulatory deadline for when payments are to be made. However for Pillar One schemes there is a regulatory deadline to complete payments by 30 June or, if not then, by 15 October. The number and percentage of Pillar On…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individual cases regarding inadequate broadband provision has it been made aware of.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: All correspondence received by the Scottish Government, addressed to Ministers, is processed via the Ministerial and Corporate Correspondence System (MACCS). MACCS records the type of response required, and directs responses to the relevant team within SG to …

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on instructing external legal advice in relation to the Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has instructed no external legal advice in relation to the Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill.

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on instructing external legal advice in each of the last five years.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Details are as follows: External Legal Advice 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Total (excluding VAT) 5,309 5,769 5,162 4,485 4,041

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support mentoring for young people.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government supports mentoring and related befriending, advocacy and apprenticeship programmes across several Ministerial portfolios. Mentoring has a substantial evidence base demonstrating its effectiveness in substantially improving outcomes acr…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the SAMSON maths programme developed by Neil Armstrong.

Answer · John Swinney: The Dumfries and Galloway Primary School where the SAMSON mathematics programme, developed by Neil Armstrong, has been applied have identified significant improvements in attainment. The programme is to be assessed by the Dumfries and Galloway Delivering Exce…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which ministers have met Dumfries and Galloway Council in the last 12 months.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The following Ministers have met with Dumfries and Galloway Council in the last 12 months: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills; Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work; Cabinet Secretary for Justice; Cabinet Secr…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I met with the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Bruce Adamson, on 24 October 2017. At this meeting I discussed the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill, Social Security (Scotland) Bill and children's rights with the Commissioner.

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers undertook General Teaching Council for Scotland-accredited into headship training in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The information is given in the following table. It shows by local authority the number of teachers who started the Into Headship programme for aspiring headteachers. Cohorts start in May/June each year. The qualification is aimed at those teachers whose next…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many current head teachers undertook General Teaching Council for Scotland-accredited headship training in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The GTCS have accredited 3 programmes for aspiring headteachers. These are the Scottish Qualification for Headship, the Flexible Route to Headship and the Into Headship programmes. Only the Into Headship programme is currently operating and has recruited coho…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of teaching staff who experience workplace stress.

Answer · John Swinney: Scotland is participating in the Teacher Questionnaire of the 2018 administration of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This will cover teacher job satisfaction and an assessment of the factors they believe are hindering instruction.

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people whose education is provided by their local authority are educated in a different council area.

Answer · John Swinney: 16,877 pupils in publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools were educated in a different local authority to their home local authority. This data has been published in the pupil census supplementary data 2016: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statisti…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reconsider its position on new nuclear power in Scotland in light of its decision to ban fracking.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: There are no plans to reconsider our position on new nuclear power, which is that plants should not be replaced under current technologies. The subsidy contract awarded to Hinkley Point C demonstrates the poor consumer value from new nuclear power, with cons…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Transport Scotland has received in each of the last five years.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In each of the last five years Transport Scotland has had the following volume of complaints. 2013 1 2014 4 2015 6 2016 8 2017 17

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it balances the needs of farming and forestry in rural communities such as Langholm.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I also refer member to the answer to question S5W-12529 on 22 November 2017. The mix of farming and forestry that exists across Scotland has developed and evolved over the past century as a result of a wide range of social, economic and environmental factor…