Parliamentary questions
Jamie Halcro Johnston
536 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Nov 2017 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve access to public services in remote and rural areas.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: High quality public services, such as the construction of the new £275 million Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, delivered on time and on budget, is a clear indication that The Scottish Government is driving an ambitious programme that provides excellent…
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Orkney Islands Council (b) Shetland Islands Council and (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on future capital investment in inter-island ferry services.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12836 on 6 December 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/parliamentarybusiness…
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what capital investment it has made in relation to inter-island ferries in (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland and (c) Na h-Eileanan Siar in each of the last five years.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council are wholly responsible for their internal ferry services. The Scottish Government has set up a Ferries Accessibility Fund which is open to grant applications from any ferry or harbour operator providing a d…
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of internal ferries on commuting to and from (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland and (c) Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12836 on 6 December 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/parliamentarybusiness…
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of internal ferries on the delivery of (a) healthcare, (b) social care, (c) justice and policing and (d) education in (i) Orkney, (ii) Shetland and (iii) Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12836 on 6 December 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/parliamentarybusiness…
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of internal ferries on access to (a) healthcare, (b) social care, (c) education, (d) retail, (e) justice and policing and (f) tourism and other recreational activities in (i) Orkney, (ii) Shetland and (iii) Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: 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/28877.aspx
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the impact of internal ferry services on the sustainability of communities in (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland and (c) Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: 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/28877.aspx
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what contribution is made by (a) Highland Council, (b) Argyll and Bute Council, (c) Inverclyde Council, (d) North Ayrshire Council, (e) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (f) Shetland Islands Council and (g) Orkney Islands Council to the cost of operating local ferry services within their areas.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The money provided by the Scottish Government to local authorities is allocated using a needs-based formula. However, there is no separately identifiable allocation of funding for individual services, such as ferry services. The vast majority of the funding …
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has done of the impact of internal ferry services on delivery charges to (a) residential and (b) business premises in (i) Orkney, (ii) Shetland and (iii) Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Through the “Our Islands Our Future” work and following publication of the Empowering Scotland’s Island Communities prospectus in June 2014, Transport Scotland set up the Orkney & Shetland Internal Ferries Working Group in 2014. The Working Group consists of …
6 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11327 by Fergus Ewing on 28 September 2017, what forecast it made of the cost of each scheme for each year, and how this compared with the actual figure.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Similar to the answer provided for S5W-12495 on 21 November 2017, the Scottish Government uses historic actual costs and pending costs as a guide to likely future costs, and sets the budget accordingly. Funding under these schemes is provided retrospectively…
6 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11327 by Fergus Ewing on 28 September 2017, what forecast it made of the number of applications to each scheme for each year.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Each scheme is demand led. The Scottish Government uses historic activity as a guide to likely future activity, and sets the budget accordingly.
6 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11327 by Fergus Ewing on 28 September 2017, for what reason there has been an increase in the proportion of applications for the Crofting Agricultural Grants Scheme being rejected, and what action it is taking to address this.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The rejection rates for 2015, 2016 and 2017 (to 31 August) are around 7%, 7%, and 10% respectively. The variation between rejection rates from year to year over this 3 year period is considered to be normal and not significant in statistical terms.
14 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications each year to the (a) Crofters Agricultural Grant Scheme and (b) Small Farmers Grant Scheme (i) have been approved, (ii) have been rejected and (iii) remain unprocessed, and how many rejections were appealed, broken down by the number of appeals that were upheld.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme: 2015 – 478 applications – 228 approved – 24 rejected. 2016 – 700 applications – 614 approved – 48 rejected. 2017 (to 31 August) – 559 applications – 461 approved – 56 rejected – 102 being processed. The reason that the …
14 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by how much the budget for the (a) Crofters Agricultural Grant Scheme and (b) Small Farmers Grant Scheme has been reduced for the next six years, and for what reason it chose to do so.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The published budget for the Scottish Government covers 2017-18. There are currently no budgets beyond this. The changes to the SRDP budgets up to 2020 are indicative forecasts to ensure that the EU funds are maximised under the Scottish Rural Development Pro…
14 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made into the effects of reducing the budget for the (a) Crofters Agricultural Grant Scheme and (b) Small Farmers Grant Scheme.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has taken a strategic approach to maintaining and protecting the SRDP 2014-2020 budget, ensuring that we maximise the EU funds. The Scottish Government had no choice but to makes changes to the budget due to the expectation that Scotla…
14 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the (a) Crofters Agricultural Grant Scheme and (b) Small Farmers Grant Scheme to potential applicants.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government Rural Payments and Services website offers extensive guidance on both these schemes. https://www.ruralpayments.org/publicsite/futures/topics/all-schemes/ Information on both of these schemes can be found on the “Scottish Rural Network…
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the appeal process will be for unsuccessful applicants to the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, and whether this will include allowing them to be able to amend their application.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: As stated in the Fund guidance, employers have the right to appeal a decision made by the college on their application for training. Appeals should be made to the Scottish Funding Council.
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the Flexible Workforce Development Fund pilot fund delivery model is independently evaluated.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government, working in partnership with the Scottish Funding Council, will commission an independent evaluation of the Fund.
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to employers applying to the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, which operate in more than one college region.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Fund provides the flexibility for an employer operating in more than one region to submit their application to the college of their choice.
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to contact eligible employers to encourage applications to the Flexible Workforce Development Fund.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has promoted the Fund through a variety of media channels and has encouraged stakeholder groups to promote the Fund to their members and networks.
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support will be offered to employers during the application process for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: As stated in the Fund guidance, colleges are expected to work with employers to support the application process.
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria will be used to assess applications to the Flexible Workforce Development Fund.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Flexible Workforce Development Fund is designed to be responsive to the needs of levy-paying employers in Scotland. An employer is required to demonstrate their eligibility to pay the UK Government Apprenticeship Levy in order to access the Fund. A succes…
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated uptake of graduate level apprenticeships is for each of the next four years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Skills Development Scotland is currently in the process of concluding the procurement process for Graduate Level Apprenticeship starts for 2018-19. The total number of Graduate Level Apprenticeship starts in 2017 were 394. As part of our plans to grow and ex…
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent per capita on foundation apprenticeships in 2016-17, and what the uptake was.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The average cost per capita for Foundation Apprenticeships (FA) is £3,424 per person over the 2016-18 duration which is made up FA Framework delivery costs and participant travel costs associated with the delivery of the Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) program…
12 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent per capita on Employability Fund placements in each of the last five years, and what the uptake has been.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government allocates funding to Skills Development Scotland on an annual basis for delivery of training programmes and other activities, including the Employability Fund. In the Budget Bill 2017-18 Skills Development Scotland was allocated Grant …
15 Aug 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on opportunities for the progression of the bio-economy in Orkney and when this will be published.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Information on opportunities for the progression of the bioeconomy in Orkney is not held centrally. The bioeconomy is one of four priority sectors set out in 'Making Things Last - A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland' (available at http://www.gov.scot/R…