Alexander Stewart

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff, broken down by grade, have worked on tobacco policy within its Health Improvement Division in each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Maree Todd: The following table details the number of full-time equivalent staff, broken down by grade, who have worked on tobacco policy within Health Improvement Division since 2017-18. Please note the following:numbers do not equate to head count within Health Improv…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent, other than the funding allocated to local authorities, for the purpose of tobacco control in each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Maree Todd: The following table shows the amount spent by the Tobacco Team in each year since 2017-18. Due to way in which spend is recorded it is not possible to disaggregate Tobacco Control spend from overall Tobacco spend. Also please note that 2022-23 spend is not in…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more local authorities to consider and utilise their existing powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce or remit non-domestic rates.

Answer · Tom Arthur: In 2023-24 the Local Government finance settlement will provide over £13.2 billion to local authorities with a real terms increase in funding of £160.6 million or (1.3%). The Scottish Government continues to encourage all local authorities to use their power…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme is expected to be retained by each local authority in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The business rates incentivisation scheme is temporarily suspended as a result of the additional non domestic rates reliefs package provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intention is to reintroduce the scheme in 2023-24. The amount of revenue that will b…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised by the intermediate property rate in 2023-24, broken down by industry sector.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-24. This is broken down by property class, as the Scottish Government does not hold property-level…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in 2023-24 will be subject to the intermediate property rate, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The number of properties expected to be liable for the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR) in 2023-24 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the below tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by local authority. Property class is …

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it decided not to reintroduce business rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in 2023-24.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government has backed Scotland’s economic recovery with more than £4.7 billion in direct business support since March 2020. This included 100% retail, hospitality, leisure (RHL) and aviation relief in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 uncapped, and 50% RH…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many premises will be removed from the higher property rate due to the uplift in the threshold to £100,000 rateable value, broken down by industry sector.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Table 1 presents the number of properties expected to be removed from the higher property rate (HPR) due to the increase of the rateable value threshold to £100,000, before any reliefs are applied. This is broken down by property class, as the Scottish Govern…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to raise from the higher property rate in 2023-24, broken down by industry and business sector.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Higher Property Rate (HPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-24. This is broken down by property class, as the Scottish Government does not hold property-level data …

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties will be subject to the higher property rate poundage in 2023-24, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The number of properties expected to be liable for the Higher Property Rate (HPR) in 2023-24 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the below tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by local authority. Property class is a clas…

16 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10697 by Tom Arthur on 21 September 2022, and in light of its draft 2023-24 Budget published on 15 December 2022, how it will ensure parity with England for commercial premises liable for the higher property rate, in line with the independent Barcla…

Answer · Tom Arthur: On 1 April 2020 the Intermediate Property Rate (poundage +1.3p) was introduced for properties with rateable values between £51,000 and £95,000 which would previously have been liable for the Large Business Supplement (2.6p). On 1 April 2023 we will further r…

7 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its public consultation regarding the Scottish Aggregates Levy.

21 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to address any issues of damp and mould in social housing.

15 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is investing in rural broadband.

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided specifically for smoking cessation services, in each NHS board in each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes…

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on smoking cessation promotional campaigns via (a) media and (b) social media each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government publishes an annual report on marketing spend in each financial year, which can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/ . The Scottish Government ran a smoking cessation campaign in 2017-2018. The costs for thi…

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on tobacco control overall in each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Maree Todd: Local Authorities undertake tobacco control through tobacco sales enforcement and tobacco and electronic cigarette control. The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate in…

26 Oct 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help GPs manage their workloads.

13 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its response to the FOI request FOI/202200278002, in which it stated that it had not ruled out establishing dedicated Long COVID clinics across the country, whether it can provide an update on any developments on the matter across the country, including in each NHS board.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: All NHS Scotland Boards are providing assessment and support for people with long COVID. This is being delivered across the full range of services delivered by our NHS and includes local primary care teams, community based rehabilitation services and referral…

13 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress regarding the (a) research into and (b) diagnosis and care of Long COVID.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: ( A)Within the Scottish Government funding of health and care research falls under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO). As part of the Scottish Government response to the pandemic, in October 2020 CSO launched a funding call seeking applications wh…

12 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) consumer benefits, (b) eligibility criteria and (c) longevity of delivery of the Warmer Homes Scotland programme, and how this compares in each respect to the UK Government's Home Upgrade Grant (i) Phase One and (ii) Phase Two.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: (a) Warmer Homes Scotland Customers save £230 on average on their annual fuel bills. In the period from April – September 2022, Warmer Homes Scotland Customers saw an average SAP increase of 6.7, with 5402 heating and energy efficiency measures installed in 2…

5 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to ensure that Ukrainian guests who are currently housed in hotel accommodation in Scotland will be appropriately housed when the current contractual arrangements that they have with the Scottish Government end, and how this will be achieved without adding to a…

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is working with partners to identifying suitable long term sustainable accommodation so we can continue to support displaced people whilst they are in Scotland. On 22 September, we introduced a new fund with up to £50m to bring void c…

30 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to tackle any advertising and promoting of vaping products which may be seen as attractive to under-18s, following the conclusion of its consultation on tightening the rules on advertising and promoting vaping products on 29 April 2022.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government sees the only place for vaping is as a possible aid to help existing smokers from using tobacco, they are not a lifestyle accessory for children or adult non-smokers. We recently published our consultation analysis on proposed restrict…

30 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the conclusion of its consultation on tightening the rules on advertising and promoting vaping products on 29 April 2022, what progress it has made to date on the matter.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our recent consultation proposed restrictions on vaping products that strike a balance between protecting all non-smokers from the potential harms of vaping, while still providing existing adult smokers with the information they need to make an informed choic…

28 Sep 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its target to eliminate two-year waits for outpatient appointments in NHS Scotland.

18 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will monitor and review the effectiveness of accessible housing registers, as recommended in the Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Housing and Disabled People: Scotland’s Hidden Crisis, which was published in May 2018.

Answer · Shona Robison: As part of delivery of the Housing to 2040 route map we will work with stakeholders to identify the most effective ways to match availability of accessible housing and demand from those who require an accessible home.  

18 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recommendations listed in the Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Housing and Disabled People: Scotland’s Hidden Crisis, which was published in May 2018, have been taken forward.

Answer · Shona Robison: The recommendations for the Scottish Government included within the Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Housing and Disabled People: Scotland’s Hidden Crisis are being taken forward as part of the implementation of our Housing to 2040 strategy publ…

6 Sep 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work has been done to close the attainment gap.

31 Aug 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the opening of its new Nordic office in Copenhagen.

14 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will make public the responses it received to the consultation Tightening rules on advertising and promoting vaping products. 

Answer · Maree Todd: An independent report on our consultation on potentially introducing further restrictions on advertising and promoting vaping products will be published this summer.