Parliamentary questions
Jamie Halcro Johnston
536 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the (a) funding, (b) personnel and (c) equipment available to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is adequate to deal with wildfires.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: SFRS remains ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland. I have received assurances from SFRS that they had the resources needed, along with working with partners, to deal with recent wildfires.The budget for 2025-26 pro…
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the sustainability of the retained duty model for fire cover in remote parts of the Highlands and Islands.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The allocation of resources within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is an operational matter for the Chief Fire Officer and SFRS Board.The SFRS is currently conducting a Service Delivery Review, which aims to ensure that SFRS staff, stations and ap…
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken, or is carrying out, on the current recruitment and retention levels of retained firefighters in the Highlands and Islands.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Recruitment and retention of Wholetime and On Call firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Chief Fire Officer and Board.In common with other fire and rescue services both across the UK and internationally there are recognised …
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the suitability and availability of aircraft and helicopter support for wildfire incidents in the Highlands and Islands, in light of the reported frequency and scale of such events.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The allocation of resources within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is an operational matter for the Chief Fire Officer and SFRS Board. There is a Public Sector Framework contract in place for the provision of suitable helicopter services (includin…
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what requests it has had from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for new, more modern, equipment to deal with wildfires.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government has not received any direct requests from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) for equipment to deal with wildfires.The capital budget for SFRS in 2025-26 is £47 million, an increase of £4 million over the previous y…
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) vacancies and (b) understaffed hours were reported by each fire station in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on public safety awareness campaigns on preventing wildfires in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Scotland’s wildfire strategy is led by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to help keep communities safe and to limit the effects of wildfires on the environment.SFRS carry out community engagement as well as work to increase awareness through n…
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has carried out with local authorities in the Highlands and Islands in the last year regarding wildfire preparedness.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Wildfire Forum brings together a range of practitioners to tackle issues concerning wildfire preparedness. The Scottish Government is itself a member of the Forum, but membership includes NatureScot, Scottish Forestry, the Cairngorms National Par…
14 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average response time was to wildfire incidents by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
19 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what ongoing assessment it is undertaking regarding the impact of the visitor levy.
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the reliability and frequency of public transport in Highland communities, in light of reported concerns regarding issues such as cancellations and long waiting times.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: We want all local transport authorities to be able to improve all of the bus services within their areas. That is why, through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, we have given local authorities powers on partnership working, franchising and the ability to run…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has carried out to fully adopt each of the 15 recommendations in the paper, Independent External Review of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross Out Of Hours Services, which was published in 2018, and by what date each recommendation will be fully implemented.
Answer · Neil Gray: The adoption of the recommendations contained in the Independent External Review of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross Out Of Hours Services is the responsibility of NHS Highland. The recommendations were fully accepted by NHS Highland following the publicati…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish its plan for delivering round-the-clock urgent care at Portree Hospital with the area's health campaigners and wider community.
Answer · Neil Gray: The delivery of round-the-clock urgent care at Portree Hospital is the responsibility of NHS Highland. However, the Scottish Government is assured that 24/7 urgent care was restored at Portree Hospital on 16 August 2024.
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost to the public sector will be from increased accommodation expenses linked to the implementation of the visitor levy.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The requested information is not held by the Scottish Government.
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in the Highlands will go above the VAT threshold because of the visitor levy.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Whether VAT applies to a visitor levy is a decision for the UK Government.The Scottish Government is clear that any local authority thinking of introducing a Visitor Levy needs to consider the potential …
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the cumulative impact of multiple wind farm and transmission developments on the (a) landscape, (b) ecology, (c) economy and (d) biodiversity of Skye and whether it will introduce guidelines to prevent excessive wind farm and pylon developments in areas s…
Answer · Ivan McKee: Where new energy developments come forward, applications are subject to site-specific assessments by the decision maker. Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) policy 11 (energy) requires that project design and mitigation demonstrate how impacts to co…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the comparative costs of underground energy transmission infrastructure.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has not itself carried out analysis on the comparative costs of undergrounding energy transmission infrastructure and these will vary on a project to project basis. There are a number of industry commissioned reports that demonstrate b…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an updated timetable for the SSEN Skye Reinforcement project.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: It would not be appropriate to comment on a live application.A decision will be taken by Scottish Ministers in due course, following consideration of the application information, consultation responses and representations made by members of the public.
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that communities in remote, rural and island areas are actively involved in decision-making processes regarding their healthcare services.
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Boards and IJBs have a statutory duty to involve people and communities in the planning and development of care services. Revised joint guidance with COSLA, Planning with People, supports Health Boards, local authorities and IJBs in engaging with local co…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional support is being provided to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that it is adequately resourced to handle any increase in incidents arising from the presence of battery energy storage systems.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government has allocated the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service £412.2 million for 2025-26 to ensure it is properly resourced to keep Scotland safe and provide all of its statutory functions. The budget for 2025-26 is £18.8m higher than…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the criteria for trunk roads to ensure that links, including the A890 bypass, receive the investment that they require.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government have no plans to review the criteria for trunk roads. The extents of trunk road network was last considered in 2008 by the first Strategic Transport Projects Review with no changes noted.The second Strategic Transport Projects Review, …
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff in remote, rural and island healthcare settings, what strategies have been introduced to attract and retain healthcare professionals in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross.
Answer · Neil Gray: Health boards such as NHS Highland are autonomous institutions responsible for their own recruitment, employment and deployment of staff.The Scottish Government supports Boards in these matters through the setting of policies and frameworks at a national leve…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is exploring new models to support improved transport infrastructure in remote areas, in light of concerns that many communities are entirely dependent on private vehicles due to a lack of reliable public transport, and, if so, how much it will invest in these.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is committed to improving connectivity in rural areas and are considering alternative models of public transport delivery.The second Strategic Transport Projects Review recommends that pilot schemes, involving demand responsive transpo…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to farmers and crofters facing higher energy and supply costs, in light of challenges such as having to travel long distances to markets.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government will invest over a billion pounds (£1,148 million) in 2025-26 in the Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (RALRI) budget to support Scottish farmers, crofters, land managers, islands and rural communities.We continue to directl…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications from SSEN to its (a) Energy Consents Unit and (b) Planning and Environmental Appeals Division in each of the last 10 years have been (i) upheld and (ii) rejected.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The number of applications that the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) has received from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) over the last ten years, including those which have been referred to the Planning & Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) fo…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps have been taken to ensure that consultations with communities on Skye regarding the expansion of renewable energy projects are conducted in a transparent, inclusive and comprehensive manner.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has set out instructions for developers to follow regarding pre-application consultation in our Good Practice Guidance document, which is available online, alongside other guidance documents: https://www.gov.scot/policies/energy-infras…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff in remote, rural and island healthcare settings, what (a) incentives and (b) support programmes have been introduced in each year since 2018 to encourage healthcare professionals to work in such areas, and wha…
Answer · Neil Gray: A number of incentives and programmes are in place and have been prior to 2018 to encourage healthcare professionals to work in remote and island healthcare settings. These include the Scottish Government funded ‘Golden Hello’ scheme, administered…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to a presumption in favour of underground energy infrastructure, where feasible.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Legislation and regulations relating to energy networks are reserved to the UK Government and regulated by Ofgem.The Scottish Government does not develop energy infrastructure, nor does it manage any aspects of building energy infrastructure projects. All ene…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported concerns that the cost of rail travel in the Highlands is disproportionately higher than that in urban areas, and what consideration it has given to supporting rail routes serving rural and remote communities to provide a viable alternative to…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Eligible residents of the Highlands benefit from the Highland Railcard, which provides 50% off rail fares at any time of the day and is now available with ScotRail’s ‘Kids for a Quid’ offer.Following the conclusion of Peak Fares Removal Pilo…
12 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that schools in the Highlands and Islands are safe learning environments for pupils and staff.