Jamie Halcro Johnston

11 Jan 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comments by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce regarding the Budget 2023-24 that it represents “a clear disadvantage for Scotland’s businesses and workers”.

21 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Creative Scotland’s actions following the announcement of the draft Budget.

14 Dec 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vessels operated by CalMac, Northlink or Scotland’s local authorities will be operating past their working life expectancy by the end of the current parliamentary session.

23 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of hospital coverage for remote and rural areas in the Highlands and Islands.

19 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) is aware of and (b) has had contact from any body with investigatory powers that is currently undertaking any investigation into the affairs of GFG Alliance, other than the Serious Fraud Office, broken down by the (i) name of any such organisation and (ii) date of any such…

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government is not aware of any investigation other than that by the Serious Fraud Office.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many companies applied for awards from the 2021 round of funding from the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Fund, broken down by the (a) name of, (b) amount requested by and (c) amount awarded to each company, and for those companies that were awarded funding, what payments have been …

Answer · John Swinney: Name of Organisation Amount requested Amount Awarded For Those Organisations That Were Awarded Funding) Payments Made to Date. UX Glasgow £1,000 £1,000 N/A Product Forge £49,750 £15,000 N/A Digital for Good £17,600 £0 N/A Scotland IS £115,0…

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether each event awarded funding though the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Fund took place as described on its application.

Answer · John Swinney: All funded activity was authorised by the Scottish Government in line with the strategic aims and objectives of the Ecosystem Fund.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has taken legal advice on any investigations into GFG Alliance.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government is supported by both commercial and legal experts in its ongoing management of the Scottish Government Guarantee with the GFG Alliance.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding (a) its, (b) its agencies and (c) Police Scotland's ability to provide assistance to the Serious Fraud Office in relation to its investigation into GFG Alliance and any issues arising in Scotland.

Answer · Ivan McKee: It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on a live Serious Fraud Office investigation.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what contact it has had with the Serious Fraud Office regarding its investigation into GFG Alliance.

Answer · Ivan McKee: It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on a live Serious Fraud Office investigation.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what contact it has had with Police Scotland in relation to GFG Alliance.

Answer · Ivan McKee: It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on a live Serious Fraud Office investigation.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it indicated any support to CMAL for Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd’s bid during the tendering process for vessels 801 and 802.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Scottish Ministers were not party to the procurement process and would not have indicated support for any specific bid.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) any of its agencies or public corporations have discussed the alleged improprieties described in the BBC programme, Disclosure: The Great Ferries Scandal, with Police Scotland.

Answer · Ivan McKee: No discussions have taken place with Police Scotland.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what internal investigations (a) it and (b) its agencies are undertaking into any impropriety by ministers or officials that may have taken place in relation to the allegations featured in the BBC programme, Disclosure: The Great Ferries Scandal.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government and its agencies are considering what further internal investigations are required. Once completed this work will be shared with Audit Scotland. All parties will cooperate fully with any further investigation by Audit Scotland.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the allegations and potential instances of impropriety described in the BBC programme, Disclosure: The Great Ferries Scandal, could constitute criminal offences.

Answer · Ivan McKee: It is not for Scottish Government to determine whether or not criminality has occurred. This would be a matter for Police Scotland to consider.  

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what communication it had with CMAL regarding any changes to the requirement for bidders following the commencement of the tendering process for vessels 801 and 802.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: In October 2014, CMAL initiated procurement of vessel 801 and 802. The Scottish Government was not party to the procurement process, which was managed by CMAL.

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it raised any concerns at a (a) ministerial and (b) official level with CMAL about preferential treatment in procurement relating to Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (i) before and (ii) following the broadcast of the BBC programme, Disclosure: The Great Ferries Scandal.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Procurement for vessels 801 and 802 was the responsibility of CMAL. Scottish Ministers were not aware of any potential impropriety in CMAL’s procurement process. Following the Disclosure Scotland allegations, Scottish Ministers asked the Permanent Secretary…

4 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has taken legal advice on the allegations of potential irregularities in CMAL’s procurement process described in the BBC programme, Disclosure: The Great Ferries Scandal.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government recognises the seriousness of the allegations and we are carefully considering them. In line with the Ministerial Code, we cannot comment on whether specific legal advice has been taken on this matter.

21 Sep 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the work of the Covid Business Resilience and Support Directorate is supporting its Covid Recovery Strategy.

8 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will no longer seek to put measures in place to double the amount of land used for organic farming by 2026, and, if so, what the reason is for its decision on this matter.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The commitment to the 2021-22 Programme for Government ambition to double the amount of land used for organic farming by 2026 is still firmly in place, alongside our commitment to establish a new Organic Food and Farming Action Plan by the end of this parliam…

8 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will no longer seek to establish the single marketing brand for all Scottish produce, "Sustainably Scottish", and, if so, what the reason is for its decision on this matter.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: SG commissioned Scottish Agriculture Organisation Society (SAOS) to undertake market research to establish demand for a new food and drink brand, and possible options. This research was based on branding that would be available to Scottish based producers, ma…

8 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons its Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation Fund (a) has not yet been introduced, in light of its inclusion in the Programme for Government 2021-22 and (b) is not included in its Programme for Government 2022-23.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A new funding round of the Food Processing and Marketing Cooperation Grant Scheme (FPMC) ran in late 2021 to support food processors in developing local supply chains and transitioning to net zero operations. This ultimately saw £7.3m being awarded across 29 …

8 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons its Rural Entrepreneur Fund (a) has not yet been introduced, in light of its inclusion in the Programme for Government 2021-22 and (b) is not included in its Programme for Government 2022-23.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Rural Entrepreneur Fund was a 2021-22 Programme for Government (PfG) commitment to invest £20 million over the lifetime of the current parliament. In light of the challenging financial environment, we need to prioritise our investments to ensure that the…

2 Aug 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to make regulations under section 4 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 to enable marriages to become civil partnerships.  

Answer · Shona Robison: We remain committed to making regulations under section 4 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 to enable marriages to become civil partnerships. We are currently in discussion with the UK Government on reserved consequential legislation and will cons…

7 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to ensure that hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 are recorded accurately and that errors in recording can be corrected.

Answer · Angus Robertson: A rigorous approach is taken to ensure accurate census paper questionnaire data. Paper questionnaires are scanned and the answers are captured digitally using character recognition software. During scanning, the system looks to automatically allocate a numer…

7 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 will be digitally recorded in their entirety.

Answer · Angus Robertson: All valid paper returns from Scotland’s Census 2022 will be scanned in full and digital images created. In addition, digital data from responses for all scanned census returns, including online or paper, will be produced and retained.

7 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what will happen to hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 after the information has been extracted.

Answer · Angus Robertson: Original paper questionnaires will be securely destroyed only after all data files for both digital data and high quality scanned image files have been produced and safely transmitted for storage.

7 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the information contained in hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 will be recorded.

Answer · Angus Robertson: High quality scanned image files for all paper census returns will be retained by National Records of Scotland (NRS) and stored in a permanent archive for historical research purposes in future. Census information is kept secure and confidential for 100 year…

7 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the information contained in the hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 will have been digitally recorded.

Answer · Angus Robertson: All Census and Census Coverage Survey questionnaires will be scanned, captured and fully coded by early autumn.  

7 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how treatment of hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 differs from the treatment of hardcopy paper responses to the (a) 2011 census and (b) 2021 census in England and Wales.

Answer · Angus Robertson: Scanning of paper questionnaires for Scotland’s Census 2022 is in line with the 2011 census and the 2021 census in England Wales. Full information on the coding and data processing methods employed on Scotland’s Census 2022 is published on the NRS website. C…