Finlay Carson

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to public sector bodies for cyber resilience.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government published the Public Sector Action Plan on Cyber Resilience in November 2017 and has provided public sector bodies with an implementation tool kit, draft supply chain cyber security guidance, Cyber Incident Response guidance and a Cent…

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to improve digital skills in schools.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Government’s STEM Strategy specifically highlights the importance of providing opportunities for young people to develop their digital skills. In line with the Strategy, we are providing dedicated support for digital learning and teaching through a range …

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to improve digital skills within businesses.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has invested some £25m over the past 6 years in supporting businesses and individuals to develop their digital skills. Almost £8m has funded DigitalBoost, the digital skills support programme for SMES delivered by Business Gateway acr…

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to public sector bodies to improve technology standards.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has set out the Digital First Service Standard that aims to improve the ways in which services are designed, developed and improved. Scottish Government’s Digital Assurance Office carries out assessments during the development of new s…

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to public sector bodies to develop common digital system designs.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Scottish Government provides support to public sector bodies directly through the activities of the Digital Transformation Division. This has delivered over 90 projects over the past three years. Technical staff within the division use common templates and a…

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much public money is being invested across the public sector to achieve the aims set out in its digital strategy.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The 2019-20 Budget Bill sets out the allocation for the Scottish Government to spend on the full range of digital priorities aligned with the digital strategy. In addition to this central allocation, organisations advance their digital investment through ind…

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on staff training for digital skills in each of the last three years.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The total amount spent on digital skills training within Scottish Government is not held centrally. Each Scottish Government Directorate manages their own training budget and training is based on workstream /individual requirements. The information requested …

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes information sharing between public sector bodies on digital governance.

Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-24023 on 29 July 2019. 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/…

25 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support public sector bodies to work collaboratively on digital governance.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Collaboration across organisations and sectors is critical to achieving our digital ambitions for Scotland. Our national digital strategy aims to create an environment and culture of partnership working, underpinned by common standards and robust governance a…

19 Jun 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that services for older people in Dumfries and Galloway are facing an in-year deficit of £6.85 million.

7 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to ensure that the delay in appointing a bidder for R100 will not impact on the delivery of R100 by 2021 deadline.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: We are determined that the R100 programme delivers the best possible value and benefit for Scotland. The highly competitive procurement process we have designed seeks to achieve this. The R100 procurement is ongoing and delivery timescales will be confirmed o…

7 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the financial implications are of the delay in appointing a bidder for R100.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: There are no financial implications.  

7 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that there will be no further delay in appointing a bidder for R100.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The steps already taken to engage in dialogue throughout the process and to consider carefully any requests from potential bidders for extensions to timelines have been designed to limit the potential for any additional delay to the process.

7 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will inform the Parliament by means of a Government Initiated Question as soon as possible should there be any further delays to the R100 procurement process.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I have set out revised timescales to Parliament and have committed to update Parliament once the procurement process is completed, but there are no further delays anticipated to the R100 programme process.  

7 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the six-week extension to enable bidders to prepare initial submissions for R100 was granted, and for what reason this information has not been included in its previous answers to questions on this issue.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The initial 6-week extension was granted in May 2018. This extension did not represent a material change nor would it have impacted on the overall procurement timetable so was not referenced in previous answers.

4 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £700,000 Plugged-in Households Grant Fund has been allocated, and what future plans it has for the fund.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The total value of the award allocated was £515,956. The remaining unused budget was used to support other low carbon transport initiatives designed to encourage consumers and businesses to make the switch to ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs). We launched …

4 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government following the increase in the Low Carbon Transport Loan from to £20 million for 2018-19, what plans it has to increase and create further support measures for those seeking to purchase an electric vehicle.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has demonstrated a strong commitment to the phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032. Our increase in funding for the Low Carbon Transport Loan (LCTL) from £8M to £20M is one of many measures we have taken to …

4 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with the UK Government regarding the reduction of the Plug-in Car Grant in 2018, and what its position is regarding whether it is too early to scale back support for electric vehicle uptake.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government regularly engages with the UK Government on matters relating to low carbon transport. With regard to changes to the Plug-in Car Grant, we received a week’s notice from UK Government about their plans to scale back support for electric …

28 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstance volunteers who have been given Disclosure Scotland clearance might be made exempt from assisting in tidying gardens at NHS hospitals.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Health boards are required to comply with the national Safer Pre and Post Employment Checks Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy, which includes guidance on criminal record checks through Disclosure Scotland. This policy applies to all those who work …

8 May 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that community payback orders are fully completed.

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that lessons have been learned from any previous failures to roll-out community broadband for rural communities.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme has been very successful, delivering truly transformative results across all 32 Scottish Local Authorities, with fibre broadband access extended to over 930,000 homes and businesses across Scotland – m…

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve trust in access to broadband services.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Regulatory and legal responsibility for telecommunications in the United Kingdom rests solely with the UK Government in Westminster under the 1998 Scotland Act. As such, responsibility in this matter falls upon Ofcom as the UK’s telecommunications regulator,…

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to boost the digital skills that will required for businesses in the forthcoming years.

Answer · Kate Forbes: This is a critically important time for Scotland’s skills system. We know the nature of work is changing, as is the make-up of Scotland’s workforce, and our labour market faces potential disruption through a range of factors, including Brexit and technologica…

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that superfast broadband speeds will be available to every address by the end of 2021.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Despite the constraints of all regulatory and legislative powers over telecommunications being reserved to the UK Parliament and UK Ministers, the Scottish Government recognises the importance of broadband services for economic development and has stepped in …

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its funding is being used to subsidise any HGV training facilities.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Heavy Goods Vehicle training facilities across Scotland are run on a commercial basis. The Scottish Government is not subsidising any such establishments.

2 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available to individuals to train as HGV operators.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Scottish Government policy is to provide a contribution towards Modern Apprenticeship training administered by Skills Development Scotland, with employers expected to make a contribution to additional costs of training. The contribution rates for the Freight…

24 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on expert evidence presented to the Education and Skills Committee regarding a reduction of subject choice in schools.

17 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the way in which the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 has been implemented.

16 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time has been to complete category 1 defect repairs on the A9 trunk road in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table provides the average hours for temporary category 1 repairs and average days for permanent category 1 repairs on the A9 trunk road in each of the last five years. Year Average Hours for Temporary Repair Average Days for Permanent Repair…

16 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time is for repairs to be competed on trunk roads when a tar hot box is required.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The general response timescale for a full repair to a Category 1 carriageway defect is 28 days. This is monitored by Transport Scotland and the independent…