Dean Lockhart

26 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many operational readiness meetings it has held in preparation for the UK leaving the EU, and how many times UK Government ministers and officials have been invited to attend.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the limited time remaining before the Transition Period ends and the risks that this poses to our people and businesses. The Scottish Government has been closely managing and responding to those risks in spite of th…

24 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Stirling Council and what was discussed.

24 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the mutual aid arrangement between NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lanarkshire regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and what impact this arrangement has had on its decisions relating to the COVID-19 Strategic Framework restriction levels for each local authority wit…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As set out in our NHS Winter Preparedness Plan, our over-riding priority continues to be that the NHS is not overwhelmed in the coming weeks and months. We continue to work closely with all Health Boards, including NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lanarkshire, to ens…

24 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) formal and (b) informal discussions and/or meetings it has had during the EU Brexit negotiations with the EU's (i) UK Task Force and/or (ii) chief negotiator, and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Michael Russell: The following ministerial meetings have taken place. The First Minister of Scotland met with Michel Barnier, the EU’s Chief Negotiator, on four occasions between 2017 and February 2020. The dates of these meetings were 13 July 2017, 28 May 2018, 11 June 2019 …

10 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish Development International (SDI) offices there are, broken down by location, and how many share premises with or are sited at (a) British embassies or consulates and (b) the offices of UK Government agencies.

Answer · Ivan McKee: There are 38 SDI offices located outside of Scotland. They are situated in the following locations: Calgary, Toronto, Mexico City, Boston, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, Melbourne, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Tokyo, Ku…

5 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its total financial investment and contingent liabilities are in relation to BiFab.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government invested £37.4 million through a combination of equity and loan facilities in 2017 and subsequently converted this to a 32.4% minority equity stake in BiFab. A separate loan facility of £15 million has also been provided to support wor…

20 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to recognise school grade appeals made by young people in exceptional circumstances.

17 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Europe and External Affairs on 18 August 2020 (Official Report, c.71) that "if a former President of the European Council can say to my face that we would be able to join the EU, I will take his word for it", on what date…

Answer · Michael Russell: The views of two former presidents of the EU Council are already on the public record. In September last year Herman Van Rompuy gave an interview to the BBC in which he said: "I think there is a change, yes, because for a lot of people they are looking at wha…

17 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Europe and External Affairs on 10 September 2020 (Official Report, c.57), how it will distribute "nationally and internationally" its "full rebuttal" to the Internal Market Bill, and how much this will cost.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government rebuttal of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill will be an on-line publication and made available in electronic form domestically and internationally. This work is being done as part of officials normal duties and no additional cos…

15 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to small community-based football clubs that are facing financial difficulties and closure due to the COVID-19 crisis.

9 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role it will have in influencing the direction or content of future EU laws that it plans to keep pace with under the proposed terms of its EU Continuity Bill.

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the Green Growth Accelerator, and whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the investments that the Green Growth Accelerator has delivered.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Green Growth Accelerator is planned to support up to £200 million of investments over a multi-year period. The mechanism is being developed collaboratively with COSLA, with support from the Scottish Futures Trust, although progress has been impacted by th…

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will allocate in each year to the Ecosystem Fund, as set out in its Programme for Government.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The new Tech Ecosystem Fund will enable us to make strategic investments in activities that support our tech start-ups to succeed. The value of the fund will be determined as part of the Scottish Government's budget process, and by the investment of private p…

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce primary legislation in order to increase the carrier bag minimum charge from 5p to 10p, as set out in its Programme for Government.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Primary legislation is not required to increase the carrier bag minimum charge. The charge was introduced by the Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014, and new regulations will be laid, amending the 2014 regulations to increase the charge…

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish a draft bill for an independence referendum, as set out in its Programme for Government.

Answer · Michael Russell: As set out in the Programme for Government, the Government will publish a draft bill for an independence referendum before the end of this parliament.

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the Scottish National Investment Bank to be operational.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31252 on 24 August 2020. 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…

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its Programme for Government to invest £50 million in the Green Jobs Fund from Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, whether this investment is in addition to (a) funding identified for the Scottish Growth S…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our investment through the Green Jobs Fund will start from 2021-22 and will be in addition to the funding already identified for the Scottish Growth Scheme and enterprise agencies.  

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will allocate in each year for the Green Workforce and Skills Development Package, as set out in its Programme for Government.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Funding needs for the Green Workforce and Skills development package will be developed further based on the skills gap analysis undertaken by NatureScot. As the £25m National Transition Training Fund and £60m Youth Guarantee are developed, we will work to ens…

3 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will allocate in its budget in each of the next five years to fund the £100 million Green Jobs Fund.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Through its 2020-21 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has committed to creating a five year, £100 million Green Jobs Fund to support new and increased opportunities for green job creation across Scotland. The Fund consists of £50 million to Sc…

1 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle so-called dirty camping in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

17 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when updated COVID-19 guidance will be provided for professional dog walking companies in order for them to walk dogs off the lead in a safe, secure area or in less populated areas, while making sure the individual and the dog follow social distancing measures by keeping two metres away …

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: An update to the guidance which provides information for professional dog walkers and other animal-related businesses was published on 28 August 2020 and is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-animal-owners/ .  

11 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been provided each year by the Scottish Growth Scheme, also broken down by the proportion of this that was delivered by (a) European funding streams, (b) Scottish Enterprise and (c) other public sector bodies.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: To 31 July 2020, under the Scottish Growth Scheme some £258.9 million has been in invested in 441 companies. The following table contains a breakdown by year of the funding delivered by the Scottish Growth Scheme and also the proportion that was delivered by…

16 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to publish Government Expenditure and Revenues Scotland (GERS) 2019-20 on 26 August 2020.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Yes. As can be seen in the Official Statistics: forthcoming publications database, Government Expenditure and Revenues (GERS) 2019-20 is due for publication on 26 August 2020.

16 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government approximately what percentage of the budget allocated to (a) (i) Scottish, (ii) Highlands and Islands and (iii) South of Scotland Enterprise and (b) the Scottish National Investment Bank in the (A) current and (B) next financial year will be spent on assisting existing businesses survive…

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has put a comprehensive package of measures in place worth £2.3 billion to sustain businesses during the COVID crisis. This has included:A package of COVID rates relief and other non-domestic rates measures supporting an estimated 30,0…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the legal proceedings regarding the North Lot of the R100 programme to be completed, and what impact this will have on the state aid approval granted to the UK in 2016.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The duration of legal proceedings are a matter for the courts to determine and it would not be appropriate to speculate as to how long these may take. Given the reserved nature of telecommunications legislation, it is for the UK Government to ensure a succes…

2 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) homes and (b) businesses are due to be upgraded under the North Lot of the R100 programme, and when the North Lot is due to be delivered.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: When procurement for the Reaching 100% (R100) programme launched in December 2017, there were around 85,000 premises classified as being ‘in scope’ for the North lot at that time. This figure included all eligible business and residential premises. The award …

1 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will dual the A1 north of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in light of the announcement by the UK Government that it plans to dual the road between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Newcastle.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises the important role the A1 plays in providing access to key markets, jobs and services between the south east of Scotland and north east England and beyond. The Borders Transport Corridors Study, published in March 2019, incl…

30 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to promote RNIB’s Coronavirus Courtesy Code under its Spaces for People initiative.

Answer · Michael Matheson: RNIB shared their code of conduct with Transport Scotland in May, it has since been shared with Sustrans Scotland (which delivers the Spaces for People initiative on behalf of Transport Scotland) and the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS). In …

23 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18837 by Derek Mackay on 26 September 2018, whether it will provide an update on the repayment of its loan to Burntisland Fabrications (Bi-Fab).

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: S5W-18837 asked the Scottish Government about repayment of a £15 million loan to BiFab. As has been previously disclosed, the Scottish Government expanded this loan facility to BiFab to allow the completion of the BOWL contract, loan sums advanced under that …

23 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the level of its holdings in Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab), and what percentage of the company's assets this represents.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government currently holds a 32.4% equity stake in Burntisland Fabrications Limited.