Parliamentary questions
Dean Lockhart
573 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Chart 8 in its recently published discussion paper, The Role of Income Tax in Scotland’s Budget, what assumptions were used to calculate the number of taxpayers that will make a behavioural response as indicated in the mid-point estimates for each one of the five approaches se…
Answer · Derek Mackay: The analysis of the behavioural impacts in Chart 8 of the income tax discussion paper follows the standard approach adopted by HMRC and other fiscal institutions. It uses taxable income elasticities which measure the impact of policy changes on total taxable …
2 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with the British Business Bank in advance of the announcement of a Scottish National Investment Bank, and what discussions it has had since the announcement.
Answer · Keith Brown: SG officials meet regularly with the British Business Bank to discuss a range of issues pertinent to Scotland. Following our announcement to establish a Scottish National Investment Bank in the Programme for Government 17-18, Scottish Government officials ha…
2 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the new Strategic Board for Enterprise and Skills will be appointed; when it will first meet, and how often it will meet.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board will meet for the first time in December and will seek to maximise the impact of the collective investment that is made in enterprise and skills development in Scotland, helping create the conditions needed to deliver…
2 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a summary of the impact, in terms of new investment to Scotland, of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work’s visit to Canada and the United States.
Answer · Keith Brown: Ministerial visits overseas allow the Scottish Government to build relationships that attract investment into Scotland and help Scottish businesses pursue international growth opportunities which in turn contribute to Scotland’s international success and econ…
2 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the Scottish Growth Scheme since the announcement of its creation in the Programme for Government 2016.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Currently resources have been allocated for two distinct products under the Scottish Growth Scheme. The first tranche of support, announced in June 2017, is the £200m Scottish-European Growth Co-investment Programme. This was funded by £50m of Scottish Gove…
31 Oct 2017 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reported concerns by social workers in Fife regarding health problems being caused as a direct result of GP shortages.
25 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the respondents to the consultation, Talking Fracking: A Consultation on Unconventional Oil Gas, were resident in (a) Scotland, (b) the rest of the UK and (c) elsewhere, and how many responses were deemed inadmissible because of (i) duplication, (ii) incomplete entry and (iii…
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: It is only possible to identify the geographic location of substantive respondents who provided a postal address. Of those respondents included in the analysis: a) 6,629 were resident in Scotland.; b) 814 were resident elsewhere in the UK; c) 66 were residen…
17 Oct 2017 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with VisitScotland regarding reported plans to close a number of tourist information centres.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: VisitScotland’s new, two–year strategy, announced on 12th October, will see a significant increase in the number of ways that our visitors will be able to access information on places to visit and stay, with a mix of industry partners and digital products sit…
13 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to collect information about diagnostic waiting times for children and adults with autism, either locally or centrally, to ensure that these are reduced and improvements are maintained.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Reducing diagnostic waiting times remains a priority of the Scottish Government through Scottish Strategy for Autism. NHS Boards are responsible for providing diagnostic services for people with autism in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Go…
13 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor diagnostic waiting times for children and adults with autism to ensure that they are being reduced.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Reducing diagnostic waiting times continues to be a priority of the Scottish Strategy for Autism. NHS Boards are responsible for providing diagnostic services for people with autism in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government policy. I…
13 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received from NHS Fife about its work on reducing waiting times, and how effective it has been.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Fife has undertaken some very robust work in relation to improving both demand and capacity planning and their local management processes. They have put in place clinical and theatre monitoring which has led to more robust job planning processes to ensure…
13 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by NHS boards to implement an improvement programme to improve diagnostic services and increase diagnostic capacity, as stated in the Scottish Strategy for Autism paper, Outcomes Approach – Priorities 2015-2017.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Improving diagnostic services and increasing diagnostic capacity remain Scottish Government priorities for the Scottish Strategy for Autism. To help achieve our aims NHS Education Scotland (NES), the education and training body for the NHS in Scotland, has d…
13 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by NHS boards in implementing the interventions suggested in the report, Autism Spectrum Disorders – Waiting for Assessment, by the Autism ACHIEVE Alliance in 2014, in order to reduce waiting times.
Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS Boards are responsible for providing diagnostic services for people with autism in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government policy. The work of the Autism Achieve Alliance (AAA) provided evidence to addressing waiting times for diagn…
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minster, whether the proposed publicly-owned energy company will generate energy as well as supply it.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12014 on 2 November 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…
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minster, whether the proposed publicly-owned energy company will contract services from existing energy firms in a similar way to other energy retailers.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12014 on 2 November 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…
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minister, whether the proposed publicly-owned energy company will be set up as a retail business, including with its own billing system and call centre.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government is developing plans for an energy company that will support our efforts to tackle fuel poverty and help to achieve our ambitious climate change targets. In developing our plans we are reviewing responses to specific questions on the is…
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minister, what subsidies it will provide to ensure that the proposed publicly-owned energy company will provide energy at a below-market rate.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12014 on 2 November 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/parliamentarybusine…
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minister, how much the proposed publicly-owned national energy company will cost to establish.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12014 on 2 November 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/parliamentarybusine…
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minister, what the relationship will be between Our Power Energy and the proposed publicly-owned national energy company.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The recent announcement by the First Minister does not alter our current relationship with Our Power.
12 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement by the First Minister, what discussions it has had with Scottish Power and SSE regarding the impact that the establishment of a publicly-owned national energy company could have on their (a) operations and (b) employees.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government consulted earlier in the year under our draft Energy Strategy on the scope to set up a government owned energy company. The draft Energy Strategy consultation responses have been carefully considered by the Scottish Government and ind…
10 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10938 by Derek Mackay on 5 September 2017, by what date it expects the first business or organisation will receive support from the Scottish Growth Scheme.
Answer · Derek Mackay: It is not possible to speculate on a precise date. There are currently two distinct products under the Scottish Growth Scheme: the £200m Scottish-European Growth Co-investment Programme (SEGCP) launched on 16 June this year, aimed at companies seeking equity…
3 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, on what dates the most recent meetings were held between the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work or relevant ministers and their counterparts in the UK Government; what was discussed, and what the dates are of the next meetings.
Answer · Keith Brown: I met with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay MP, in Edinburgh on 6th October 2017. We discussed a range of issues including the Green Investment Bank, support for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, City Region deals, and Scotland’s financial…
28 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments of a representative of the Royal Statistical Society to the Economy Jobs and Fair Work Committee (Official Report, c.9), whether any of its (a) ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers are given five-days advance notice of publication of official statist…
Answer · Derek Mackay: A timetable of official statistics releases is publicly available on the Scottish government website. In addition legislation permits ministers, officials and special advisers to be granted “pre-release” access to official statistics when it is necessary to e…
27 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many permanent staff members Scottish Development International has employed at each of its trade and investment hubs in each of the last five years, also broken down by how many were new starts each year.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government led Innovation and Investment hubs involve a range of partners including Scottish Development International (SDI). SDI have confirmed 5 appointments since the hubs were announced with the remainder following on as the hubs become opera…
27 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress that it is making in establishing a south of Scotland enterprise agency, and what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the proposed agency.
Answer · Keith Brown: Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review confirmed that we would establish a new public body to support the South of Scotland. Programme for Government published on 5 September confirmed that legislation establishing the body will be introduced into Parlia…
27 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, when Scottish Development International expects to complete the appointment of the trade envoys for each of its trade and investment hubs.
Answer · Keith Brown: The process to appoint a number of trade envoys is well underway and we expect to confirm these appointments within the next few weeks. The envoys will be appointed by the Scottish Ministers. They are not directly related to innovation and investment hubs, wh…
27 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, what progress it is making in establishing a trade hub in Paris; when the hub will be operational, and on what date it first consulted Scottish Development International regarding the proposal.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is currently working with its partners to progress plans for an Innovation and Investment Hub, building on the existing SDI trade and investment operation, opening in 2018. The Scottish Government first consulted Scottish Development …
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps it is taking to develop a programme to address 4G mobile coverage so-called not spots.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: We are carrying out work to prepare for the filling of mobile notspots, despite policy on mobile coverage being a reserved issue. The lack of a coherent UK-wide approach has meant we have had to act in this area. On 7 August we launched a consultation on the …
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, how much the pledge to deliver free Wi-Fi throughout major towns and cities will cost, and what preparations it has undertaken to ensure that the infrastructure required to deliver the pledge is in place.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: We are currently developing plans to deliver the Wi-Fi commitment outlined in the Programme for Government. It is our intention to commit up to £1M to resource this initiative and we will draw from learning gained through our Public Wireless Programme (PWP). …
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, on what date a full implementation plan for a Scottish National Investment Bank will be published.
Answer · Keith Brown: Benny Higgins Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Bank, has agreed to lead the development of the Implementation Plan for a Scottish National Investment Bank. This work is due to be completed in February 2018. The Terms of Reference for the Implementation Plan …