Bill Bowman

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many accidents on the A90 between Dundee and Stonehaven have been reported in each quarter since 1 April 2016, also broken down by how many resulted in an injury.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government only holds personal injury accident data. The Scottish Government does not hold information resulting in damage only accidents. Details are as follows: Personal Injury Accident Statistics - A90 Dundee (from the Emmock Roundabout at W…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist (a) osteoporosis nurse and (b) radiographer positions are (i) filled and (ii) vacant in each of the NHS boards.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The information requested on how many specialist (a) osteoporosis nurse positions are filled and vacant, broken down by NHS board is not centrally collected. The information requested on how many radiography positions are filled in each of the NHS Boards can…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current estimated cost of the Haudagain improvement project is, and how this compares with the initial estimated cost.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I can confirm that the construction cost for this project is currently estimated to be £18m, which is well within the 2014 construction cost estimate of £26m.

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the Haudagain improvement project (a) was initially expected and (b) is currently expected to be open to traffic.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The construction of the A92/A96 Haudagain Improvement project is progressing. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures to combat the impact of the pandemic, as confirmed in the recent publication of the Infrastructure Investment Plan in December 2020 com…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the Mental Health Transformation Fund has been allocated to each NHS board since 2018, broken down by year.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The information requested is shown for 2018-19 and 2019-20, the latest complete financial year available in the table which has been placed in the Parliament’s reference centre - bib number (62333).

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) foundation, (b) modern and (c) graduate-level apprenticeships were started in each year since 2018-19, also broken down by month.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has operational responsibility for our apprenticeship programmes in Scotland and administer them on behalf of the Scottish Government. The annual Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) statistics are:Cohort 3 (2018-2020) – 1,535 FA …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) companies and (b) sectors have taken on the largest numbers of modern apprenticeships in each year since 2018-19, also broken down by month.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Official Statistics are published quarterly by Skills Development Scotland, a breakdown by month is not available. The total number of Modern Apprentices (MAs) recruited by each occupational grouping is published at the end of each year, as recruitment of a…

9 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the claim by Victim Support Scotland that spending on offender services is more than double the amount spent on victims.

26 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Dundee City Council regarding how its welfare policies address the reported widening of the SIMD gap between the least and most deprived parts of the city.

19 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis the Drug Deaths Taskforce has made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

11 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the issues concerning the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill that have been raised by bodies such as the Law Society of Scotland.

19 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had contact with Creative Scotland, in the Year of Coast and Waters, regarding increasing the number of job opportunities it offers outside Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Through the work of the EventScotland Year of Coasts and Waters Steering and Working Groups, the Scottish Government has maintained close contact with a range of public, private and third sector stakeholders, including Creative Scotland, regarding the opportu…

19 Jun 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with the BBC in Scotland about its local democracy reporter scheme, with respect to the viability of weekly newspapers.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has regular discussions with BBC Scotland on a number of topics and the BBC has informed the Scottish Government about the development of the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The Scottish Government has provided a range of business …

3 Jun 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there will be sufficient capacity and operators for school buses to operate when schools return in mid-August.

27 May 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how older people in the North East Scotland region will be supported as the country enters the next phase of lifting the COVID-19 lockdown.

23 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a requirement for online pet adverts to include the breeder’s registration or licence number, as part of its plans to update and strengthen existing licensing legislation covering pet breeding and selling.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government's proposed new licensing legislation to regulate dog, cat and rabbit breeders and pet sellers will require any licence holder advertising an animal for sale, be it on their own business website or an ad site, to clearly display their n…

23 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, as part of its plans to update and strengthen existing licensing legislation covering dog breeding, selling and rehoming, it will introduce a requirement for anyone breeding, selling or transferring the ownership of (a) a litter of puppies to be registered and (b) more than one …

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government does not propose to introduce a requirement for anyone breeding, selling or transferring the ownership of a litter of puppies to be registered. We also do not propose to require licensing for anyone breeding, selling or transferring mo…

17 Mar 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to tackle inequality and poverty in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Our £350 million package will support those in need and protect the health, welfare and wellbeing of the people of Scotland. In addition to the support I outlined earlier, we will invest an additional £45 million in the Scottish Welfare Fund to support those…

4 Mar 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that the Port of Dundee is properly equipped to handle decommissioning work.

6 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Referendums (Scotland) Bill.

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings in the Office for National Statistics report, Personal well-being in the UK: April 2018 to March 2019, which records 15.3% and 9.8% increases respectively in levels of anxiety over the last year among people in Angus and Dundee, and what its position …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: It is disappointing to see the reported increase in levels of self-reported anxiety in people in Dundee and Angus from 2017-18 to 2018-19. However, this may not represent a rise in illness but rather may be at least in part a reflection of increased public aw…

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Audit Scotland report, NHS in Scotland 2019, that NHS Tayside has missed the national target for (a) CAMHS patients being seen within 18 weeks, (b) outpatients waiting less than 12 weeks following first referral and (c) day case and inpatients w…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Since 2016, the Scottish Government has invested nearly £2.7 million in NHS Tayside for capacity building and workforce development to improve mental health waiting times. There have been improvements in NHS Tayside’s performance and this was discussed at th…

24 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will raise with Dundee City Council reports that a restructuring of swimming lessons run by Leisure and Culture Dundee could result in a 45% reduction in the number of lessons on offer in the city, with lessons reduced from seven to four days a week at Lochee pool.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Leisure and Culture Dundee have stated that swimming lessons are not being cut in Dundee and are currently looking at proposals to increase the amount of swim teaching hours at the Lochee Swimming and Leisure Centre. Scottish Swimming continue to work with L…

1 Oct 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the delayed implementation of the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill, how it plans to reduce landfill use in the north east.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As part of the recently announced transitional arrangements for the ban, there will be a centrally co-ordinated intervention to help local authorities procure solutions for their residual waste. Scottish Landfill Tax will be used to provide a further incentiv…

24 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what cost benefit analysis has been undertaken on building the Dundee Northern Relief Road since the fourth Strategic Transport Projects Review was published.

4 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for a freeze in the headline poundage rate, as set out in its submission on the 2020-21 budget.

Answer · Kate Forbes: As has been the case in previous years, the non-domestic poundage rate will be considered as part of the Scottish Budget process.

4 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reduce the Large Business Supplement by April 2020, as recommended by the Barclay review in 2017.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is committed to a fair and sustainable non-domestic rates system, and to reviewing the Large Business Supplement at each future budget in light of affordability.

4 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional tax revenue from business rates will be generated in 2020-21 from the proposed CPI-linked increase in the poundage rate, broken down by sector.

Answer · Kate Forbes: As has been the case in previous years, the non-domestic poundage rate will be considered as part of the Scottish Budget process. In its Economic and Fiscal Forecasts May 2019, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) forecast that non-domestic rates income woul…

4 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for additional safeguards to be put in place when introducing any workplace parking levies.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The amendments lodged by John Finnie MSP and passed by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee at Stage 2 of the Transport (Scotland) Bill, include a number of procedural safeguards. An outline of any proposed workplace parking levy scheme and associated…

4 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for a timetabled plan to lower the business rates burden, as set out in its submission on the 2020-21 budget.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is committed to a fair and sustainable non-domestic rates system. In 2019-20 we increased the poundage by below the Consumer Price Index, which ensures that over 90 per cent of properties in Scotland pay a lower poundage than they woul…