Finlay Carson

28 Feb 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how out-of-hours GP cover is being delivered across Dumfries and Galloway.

Answer · Shona Robison: Dumfries and Galloway currently deliver out of hours services from three sites. These operate from bases in Dumfries, Stranraer and the Machars.

7 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many health and safety breaches were recorded in each Forestry Commission Scotland region between January and March 2017, broken down by grade of incident, and whether those found responsible for such breaches must disclose this when taking part in future procurement exercises.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Both Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) treat all incidents and accidents very seriously and therefore the details in this response are not restricted to those required under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangero…

5 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether high-speed broadband providers should have the same wayleave rights as other utility providers.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There are significant differences in the legislation and regulation underpinning the telecoms sectors and those governing other utilities making it difficult to mirror activity across all, not least in that the Electronic Communications Code, the legislation …

5 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether high-speed broadband should be considered to be a basic utility.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: £600 million to the first phase of the Reaching 100% (R100) programme that will help deliver that objective. This stands in contrast to the UK Government’s plans for a Universal Service Obligation for broadband, which is to be set at just 10Mbps.

1 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that the R100 procurement process focuses on (a) intervening in the most hard-to-reach areas and (b) working with the commercial market to incentivise deployment in urban and semi-urban areas.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We have committed £600m to the initial Reaching 100% procurement. This procurement is focused on our more rural areas, excluding urban premises and targeting investment where it is needed most. We also plan to make the delivery of new backhaul in rural locati…

1 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that any barriers to private investment in broadband deployment are reduced, and how it is engaging with (a) local authorities and (b) private sector providers with regard to this.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The legislation and regulation of telecommunications are reserved matters and as such, it is for the UK Government, with Ofcom, to ensure that barriers to private investment are understood and removed. We are continuing to engage directly with telecoms suppli…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is addressing loneliness and social isolation in rural areas.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We recognise that people who live in rural areas may be at particular risk of becoming socially isolated or lonely for a number of reasons. We are already taking steps, for example work to improve our public transport system through our new Transport Bill, as…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made or plans of levels of loneliness and social isolation in rural areas.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We know that people living in rural areas can experience social isolation and loneliness for a number of reasons. We commissioned a prevalence study, which was undertaken by NHS Health Scotland at the outset of our work on social isolation and loneliness whic…

19 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place (a) nationally and (b) in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area for improving the health care options available to people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

Answer · Aileen Campbell: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

18 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13566 by Kevin Stewart on 10 January 2018, whether registered social landlords can impose factoring fees on private householders in a shared mixed private/tenanted block for (a) the provision of bad debt write-offs, (b) marketing and (c) office rent…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: It may be possible for a Registered Social Landlord to charge private homeowners factoring fees in a tenement which has mixed tenure. There are several ways in which a factor can be appointed to act. There may be provision in the title deeds about a proper…

15 Jan 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government is providing to the inshore fishing industry.

20 Dec 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote Galloway's natural features to attract tourists.

19 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether registered social landlords can issue factoring policy charges to tenants for (a) the provision of bad debt write-offs, (b) marketing and (c) office rent, rates or utilities and, if so, under what legislation.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: RSLs should not impose factoring charges on their own tenants. Tenants of RSLs pay rent and, where appropriate, service charges to cover the costs of the services provided to them.

13 Dec 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport will next visit Stranraer.

Answer · Shona Robison: I am happy to confirm that I plan to visit Stranraer in the New Year.

30 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hen harrier nests there were on (a) RSPB and (b) non-RSPB reserves in each of the last five years, and what information it has regarding how many failed to have any chicks fledge, broken down by the reason for the failures.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government does not hold information on hen harrier nests broken down by nature reserves on which the nests are located, or on reasons for nest failure. The Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme (SRMS) and RSPB have provided the data in Table 1 for …

29 Nov 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the scope is of the recently-announced report on developing the A75 and A77.

24 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to motorists who have pulled over to a service station car park to rest after experiencing tiredness while driving on motorways being fined by service station owners because of the length of time they rested.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Motorway service areas in Scotland are managed by commercial operators with their car parks managed by private car park companies. Any private car park operator can charge for parking, but only those operators who are members of an Accredited Trade Associatio…

24 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on motorists who experience tiredness while driving on motorways pulling over to a service station car park to rest.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We would urge all drivers to plan their journey and take sufficient breaks when appropriate. Motorway service stations provide safe facilities for drivers to rest and refresh themselves.

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what facilities are available to allow motorists who are experiencing tiredness while driving on motorways to rest.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: There are a number of service stations across the motorway network in Scotland that provide facilities for road users to rest if they become tired whilst driving. If drivers become tired and are not close to a service station then they should leave the motorw…

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who authorised the rebranding of police vehicles to include Gaelic language, and how much the rebranding has cost.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12455 on 16 November 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/parliamentarybusin…

8 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with its commitment to modernise the prison estate.

8 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12211 by Kevin Stewart on 7 November 2017, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether any of the £6 million investment fund to revitalise the waterfront in Stranraer has been allocated, and if so, to whom and for wh…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We have yet not released any investment to support the redevelopment of the Stranraer Waterfront. Site Investigations at the Stranraer East pier are on-going and these works require to be completed prior to Dumfries and Galloway Council submitting costed prop…

26 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote Galloway as a visitor destination, and what future plans it has.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government provides funding for VisitScotland to promote Scotland, highlighting aspects and strengths of Scotland. VisitScotland have recently worked with Stena Line to brand up their arrival hall at Cairnryan with some local artwork to encourage…

26 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the £6 million investment fund to revitalise the waterfront in Stranraer has been allocated, and if (a) so, to whom and for what purpose, and (b) not, how it can be accessed.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We are in regular contact with Dumfries and Galloway Council for updates on progress on their plans for Stranraer Waterfront. We are awaiting more detailed proposals from the Council which will be informed by site investigations at the East Pier.

23 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with UK ministers regarding the Borderlands Growth Deal, which has been announced by the UK Government.

23 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it had with VisitScotland prior to the announcement to close Tourist Information centres in the south west.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As part of the sponsorship arrangements that are in place with non-departmental public bodies, Scottish Ministers and their Officials meet regularly with VisitScotland across a range of operational and strategic issues to help grow sustainable and inclusive t…

18 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to put in place a derogation to delay the spreading deadline on nitrate vulnerable zone land.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: 28 farmers being given approval to spread slurry within the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone closed period.

17 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Dumfries and Galloway Council and what was discussed.

16 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times it has been lobbied by Dumfries and Galloway Council since May 2017, and on what subjects.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government proactively engages with local authorities, including Dumfries and Galloway, both individually and also through local government organisations such as COSLA, throughout the year. As I mentioned in the Chamber in my answer to S5O-01345 …

11 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to advise (a) local authorities, (b) Police Scotland, (c) health professionals and (d) other stakeholders that that the information-sharing provisions of Part 4 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 were not within the legislative competence of the…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government published a news release on 28 July 2016 that the UK Supreme Court’s judgment: • Ruled that the principle of providing a named person for every child does not breach human rights and is compatible with EU law • Rejected the petitione…