Parliamentary questions
Dean Lockhart
573 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which agency is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of road safety measures, and how often these checks are carried out.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2017, recently published, confirmed that last year casualties on Scotland’s roads were at their lowest levels since records began. Transport Scotland, as custodian of Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020, is responsible …
1 Nov 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the support available to NHS employees who have dyslexia.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is working with representative organisations across the Scottish economy, including organisations representing those who have been diagnosed with dyslexia, to assess the support that is needed to enable people to move into and stay in …
31 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised by the large business supplement since 2016.
17 Oct 2018 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its new economic action plan and whether it will include specific targets for improving the economy.
4 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people in Scotland have paid income tax in each of the last three years, broken down by band.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Audited outturn data on the number of Scottish taxpayers liable to non savings non dividend (NSND) income tax is currently only available for 2016-17. The table below, which was published as part of HMRC’s “Scottish Income Tax HMRC Annual Report” and provided…
4 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised through the large business supplement in each local authority area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table presents estimates of the net income raised by the large business supplement for 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The sums are calculated from the rateable value of properties (from the Assessors' Valuation Roll) and reliefs…
4 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each local authority area have paid non-domestic rates in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table presents estimates of the number of ratepayers by local authority for the years 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Calculations are based on the Assessors' Valuation Roll and Local Authority property-level billing information. Since no prope…
4 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority has raised through non-domestic rates in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The table answering this question has been lodged with SPICe under reference Bib number 60201.
3 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the condition of the A811 between Stirling and Balloch.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Local road authorities have a statutory responsibility for the improvement, maintenance and repair of local roads within their respective areas. The A811 is a local road that falls under the responsibility of Stirling and West Dunbartonshire Councils.
3 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what minimum building standards and requirements must be met for all proposed developments in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Proposed development of buildings in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park would be subject to requirements under national building regulations and under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 as per development elsewhere in Scotland. Add…
3 Oct 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the A811 should be designated as a trunk road.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has no plans to trunk the A811.
26 Sep 2018 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of staff shortages on local fire services.
19 Sep 2018 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding funding for GP services at the Aberfoyle Medical Centre.
13 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many apprenticeships there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by business sector.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Skills Development Scotland(SDS) is responsible for contracting Modern Apprenticeship (MA) places. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) gathers information on Apprenticeship starts by occupational groupings. AsSDS began collating data on occupational groupings …
13 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any of the £15 million loan provided to Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab) has been repaid and, if so, how much.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government expanded the loan facility made available to BiFab to allow the completion of the BOWL contract and convert that loan to a minority equity stake in the new company. That amount will be determined by the extent to which the loan is used…
13 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised by the apprenticeship levy since its introduction; how many companies and businesses have used the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, and what amount has been paid out in each year since its introduction.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: It is the UK Government – not the Scottish Government – which is responsible for raising funds from employers via the apprenticeship levy. Information on final spend on the Flexible Workforce Development Fund pilot in 2017-18 will be published in line with w…
13 Sep 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to introduce its proposed new levy on (a) out-of-town and (ii) online businesses.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is committed to taking forward the Barclay Review as a priority. Our consultation on the Bill to implement the agreed Barclay recommendations requiring legislative changes, sought views on a range of appropriate safeguards for a pilot…
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support staff following reports that Homebase is planning to close 10 of its stores in Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18269 on 4 September 2018. 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/parliamentarybusine…
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the call by the Federation of Small Businesses for more support for rural start-ups, in light of the numbers of these lagging behind those in cities.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Government is committed to helping businesses across Scotland to grow and offers a variety of support options. These range from publicly funded business support, support for exporting, reducing the burden of taxation and regulation, making it easier …
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses have (a) joined and (b) left NHS (i) Forth Valley and (ii) Fife in each year since 2007.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The number of Nurses & Midwives working in NHS Forth Valley have increased by over 7% between September 2006 and June 2018 while Nurse and Midwifery numbers in NHS Fife have increased by nearly 4% in the same period. The total number of joiners and leavers a…
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Homebase following reports that it is planning to close 10 of its stores in Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I have written to Homebase outlining my concerns about the closure of the Homebase stores in Scotland and seeking reassurances that staff will have access to the full range of support services for those facing redundancy. The Scottish Government's PACE team …
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many schools in Glenrothes had staff vacancies at the beginning of the school year.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many schools in Stirling had staff vacancies at the beginning of the school year.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has received in Barnett consequentials as a result of the UK Government’s National Productivity Investment Fund.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The National Productivity Investment Fund was announced at Autumn Statement 2016. Barnett Consequentials allocated to the Scottish Government as part of this funding initiative are as follows. Fiscal Event 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 TOTAL £m £m …
16 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many companies have received investment under the Scottish Growth Scheme in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018 to date, and how many of these companies have previously received funding from other government schemes.
Answer · Derek Mackay: There were 25 companies (in 2017) and 51 companies (in 2018 to date) that have received investment under the Scottish Growth Scheme. There is no centrally held information on whether these companies have previously received funding from other Government schem…
1 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential benefits of the increase in electric bicycles for (a) older people, (b) people who are financially vulnerable and (c) people with mobility issues.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has not conducted any specific assessment into the benefits of electric bicycles but is currently developing an evidence base around active travel which will include electric bicycles. The increased budget for active travel in 2018-19…
1 Aug 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that all NHS staff comply with infection control procedures as set out in the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Boards are required to demonstrate that they have adopted, implemented and monitor compliance with the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual as part of the Healthcare Environment Inspections. As part of these inspections, NHS Boards are measure…
20 Jun 2018 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it defines social enterprise for the purposes of providing public funding, support or other assistance to relevant organisations.
19 Jun 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the effectiveness of the Blue Badge parking scheme, and how it ensures that the parking spaces are not misused by others.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is keen to ensure the Blue Badge scheme is fit for purpose and enables disabled people to make more journeys. The Scottish Government provides the overarching legislative and policy framework for the scheme, whereas the scheme is admin…
19 Jun 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available for NHS boards to make their premises accessible for disabled people.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: To support our twin approach of investment and reform, the 2018-19 budget increases the health resource budget by more than £400 million, taking it to a record high of over £13.1 billion and providing additional investment in frontline NHS Boards of 3.7%. In …