Jamie Halcro Johnston

18 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance (a) Education Scotland and (b) the SQA has issued regarding the provision of home learning.

Answer · John Swinney: Education Scotland is providing a range of additional resources to support parents and practitioners with providing learning at home and to deliver continuity for learners across Scotland. This includes: a newly created resource bank of learning activities fo…

18 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the impact of home learning on pupils’ mental health.

Answer · John Swinney: We continue to monitor a range of evidence to help to inform our approach. This includes ongoing monitoring of the young person surveys conducted by Young Scot and the Children’s Parliament, both of which have addressed the theme of young people’s mental heal…

18 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to local authorities to provide training for teachers on remote learning platforms since schools were closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Answer · John Swinney: Education Scotland, the national improvement agency for education, is providing a range of additional resources to support parents and practitioners with providing learning at home, and to deliver continuity for learners across Scotland. To support teachers …

18 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the number or proportion of school pupils in each local authority area in each month since February who have not had access to remote learning resources due to a lack of a suitable internet connection or IT equipment.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities are responsible for monitoring education provision, including where there are barriers to accessing that provision. We recognise that digital exclusion is an issue for some learners in Scotland and have undertaken exploratory work with loca…

18 Mar 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support remote learning.

Answer · John Swinney: The national online learning environment, Glow, is freely available to all learners and teachers from any internet connected device. Officials are working hard to make sure the platform is able to cope with increased demand and have provided a range of advice…

4 Mar 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve travel connectivity to and within the Highlands and Islands.

26 Feb 2020 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that all information required and requested by the OECD as part of the review of the curriculum for excellence will be made available.

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money from the Apprenticeship Levy has been spent in each year since 2017-18, also broken down by programme.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has no responsibility for the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy which is a tax on employers. HMRC hold data on what is raised by the Levy.

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of funds from the Apprenticeship Levy has been spent on delivering (a) modern, (b) graduate and (c) foundation apprenticeships in each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has no responsibility for the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy which is a tax on employers. HMRC hold data on what is raised by the Levy. The following table sets out Scottish Government funding for Apprenticeships in the years 201…

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money from the Employability Fund has been spent in each year since 2017-18, also broken down by provider.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Employability Fund contract spend is published in the SDS Annual Procurement Reports, linked to below: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/44806/annual-procurement-report-2017-2018-july-2018.pdf https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/med…

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money from the Rural Supplement, delivered by Skills Development Scotland, has been spent to date, also broken down by (a) council area and (b) frameworks covered.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Skills Development Scotland report that annual spend on the Rural Supplement has been as follows:2017-18: £939,7502018-19: £1,034,7502019-20 (as at 10 February 2020): £533,000 For 2017-18 and 2018-19 SDS paid a lump sum to training providers, based on a list…

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money from the Flexible Workforce Development Fund has been spent in each year since 2017-18, also broken down by provider.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The following table provides a breakdown of Flexible Workforce Development Fund for the 2017-18 (£6.1m) and 2018-19 (£9.6m) Academic Years. Full information on the 2019-20 Academic Year, which is still in progress, is not available at this point. Details are…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with stakeholders in relation to the creation of a new abattoir in Orkney.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In the run up to and following the formal closure of the Orkney Abattoir myself and my officials met and discussed the future options available for slaughter on Orkney with many local stakeholders. This included meeting with the Council leader, council offici…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which targets each NHS board has missed in each year since 2007.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: For 2007-08 to 2014-15, information for those targets that were due for delivery in each year at a national level and NHS Board level is available at the UK Web Archive at the link below. Over this period, NHS Boards were also expected to deliver, on an ongoi…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on legal action in relation to disputes with (a) Pentland Ferries and (b) David MacBrayne Ltd in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The following table details the legal costs in relation to the disputes with (a) Pentland Ferries Ltd and (b) CalMac Ferries Ltd as at 30 January 2020. Year Company Legal Costs Total 2018 Pentland Ferries Ltd £1,750.00  2019 Pentland Ferries Ltd £58…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the per capita funding from the General Revenue Grant has been for each local authority in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Kate Forbes: It would be misleading to provide per capita funding from General Revenue Grant (GRG) alone as the Scottish Government guarantees the combined formula share of each local authorities GRG plus Non-Domestic Rates Income (NDRI) as part of the overall funding pac…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether work to dual the (a) A9 and (b) A96 road is progressing on target.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government intends to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025. Construction of the second section to be dualled between Luncarty and Birnam is progressing well and at the same time, design work continues at pace with eight of the remainin…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many university applicants domiciled in Scotland did not receive an offer from any institution in Scotland but were accepted by an institution in the rest of the UK in the last year.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: This information is not held centrally. The University College Admissions Service (UCAS) collects information on applicants and acceptances to all UK Universities but does not publish at this level of detail.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has spent on external private treatment in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Boards’ spending on the independent sector represents 0.6% of the overall health resource budget, compared with 7.3% in England. Further detail is available in the annual accounts that are published online by each NHS Board.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much Transport Scotland has spent on the installation of brown tourist information signs in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Under the Transport Scotland “Trunk Road and Motorway Tourist Signing Guidance (2016)”, applicants are expected to meet the costs associated with the provision (design and installation) and replacement of tourist signs. General maintenance of erected signs is…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support for travel costs is available to apprentices, and how much it has spent on this in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Travel support is based on an individual’s circumstances. This support includes rural delivery models’ eligibility for a rural uplift, and assistance with travel and/or overnight accommodation. Skills Development Scotland have advised that their annual spend…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many European nationals domiciled outside of the UK received funded places at a university in Scotland in the last year.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: 14,645 full-time EU domiciled students across all years of study received tuition fee support from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) in 2018-19 to study at university in Scotland.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants for modern apprenticeships have been unsuccessful in each year since 2007.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn:  As apprentices are recruited by their employer it is not possible to record information on the number of unsuccessful applicants for modern apprenticeships.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police station front counters have been open in each council area in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not hold the information. Police station front counter provision is the responsibility of the Chief Constable. You should contact Police Scotland directly for this information.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has sought updated legal advice since September 2014 on the position of an independent Scotland in relation to (a) membership or accession to the EU, (b) currency, (c) involvement in the Schengen Agreement, (d) border controls or cross-border trade and (e) involvement in inter…

Answer · Michael Russell: As with all matters the Scottish Government will draw on legal advice as appropriate. In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government will publish a series of papers providing the people of Scotland with the information th…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what income Transport Scotland has derived from the installation of brown tourist information signs in each year since 2007-08, also broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Under the Transport Scotland “Trunk Road and Motorway Tourist Signing Guidance (2016)”, applicants are expected to meet the costs associated with the provision (design and installation) and replacement of tourist signs. General maintenance of erected signs is…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional miles of the (a) A9 and (b) A96 road have been dualled in each year since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: On the A9 between Perth and Inverness, a 3.2 km (2 miles) extension to the dual carriageway at Crubenmore opened to traffic in September 2011. In September 2017, the 7.5km (4.6 miles) A9 Dualling Kincraig to Dalraddy project opened to traffic. Construction is…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the local government funding settlement for 2018-19 on (a) employment, (b) public services, (c) council tax and (d) local authority reserves.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government provided local authorities with £10.7 billion through the local government settlement in 2018-19, a real terms increase in both revenue and capital funding. Taken together with the flexibility to increase council tax the total funding …

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have service level agreements with NHS providers in other parts of the UK, and with which organisations these agreements are held.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We expect all NHS Boards to make best use of resources to deliver high quality services for the communities for which they are responsible. NHS Boards are able to set in place service level agreements with other NHS Bodies but can only procure services that c…

29 Jan 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities in tackling fly tipping.