Bill Bowman

6 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on meeting the targets set out in the Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership Regional Transport Strategy 2015-2036 Refresh.

27 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Growth Scheme has allocated £71 million instead of the pledged £500 million over the last three consecutive budgets, and what its response is to concerns that this represents a breach of promise.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Growth Scheme is using Scottish Government and European funding to unlock £500m of investment for Scottish SMEs. Since becoming operational in in June 2017, 99 companies have benefited from £110 million of total investment under the Scheme. On 1…

27 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Tayside did not meet targets for appropriate care established by the Scottish Stroke Care Audit 2018, with the number of deaths from strokes having only decreased by 26%.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Stroke Care Standards, in the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA) are used to assess the performance of stroke services. The standards are set at a level which aims to be both challenging but achievable by hospitals. It may therefore be the case th…

27 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Cities Outlook 2019 report, which states that Dundee has the highest unemployment rate of any city in the UK.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I recognise the economic challenges facing Dundee and in particular the effect recent job losses will have on local residents and their families. The Scottish Government is committed to doing everything in its power to help build a more resilient economy in D…

27 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to figures that show that, since 2015-16, Tayside schools lost 395,330 hours of teacher and support staff days as a result of mental health issues, and that teachers in Dundee accrued 3,615 days in stress-related sickness absence in the year to Januar…

Answer · John Swinney: Teacher absences and the causes of these absences are matters for individual local authorities as employers. Each authority is responsible for supporting its employees' health and wellbeing at work and will have locally agreed systems in place for managing th…

20 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to meet the commitment in the Social Security Charter for the “system...to be efficient and deliver value for money”.

25 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comments by the head of policy and external affairs at the Scottish Retail Consortium that "there was little Christmas cheer for retailers, with the worst real-term December sales figures in 20 years" and that "what should concern policymakers...is sluggish re…

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Retail Sales Index for Q4 2018 reported that retail sales growth in Scotland picked-up in the final quarter of 2018 to 0.6%. This contrasts with a weaker end to the year for Great Britain as a whole, with sales contracting -0.2%. Scotland’s econ…

14 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for local authorities to be able to use a portion of the town centres fund for reducing non-domestic rates.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The new town centre fund is classified as capital expenditure in line with the UK Government’s Consolidated Budgeting Guidance and can therefore only be used to support infrastructure investment and not to fund current expenditure such as the remission of non…

14 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish details of its proposed town centres fund, and what its position is on the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for business improvement districts and other organisations to be eligible to bid for funding.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The £50m Town Centre Fund will be a ring-fenced capital fund within the local authority capital settlement to enable local authorities to stimulate and support a wide range of investments which encourage town centres to diversify and flourish, creating footfa…

13 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has (a) raised from non-domestic rates and (b) provided in non-domestic rates relief in each of the last 10 financial years, and how much it forecasts to raise in 2019-20.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table presents Non-Domestic Rates Income and the cost of Rates Relief from 2008-09 to 2017-18, based on local authority audited income returns. It also presents the estimated Income and Relief spend for 2018-19 and 2019-20, based on forecasts by…

5 Dec 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with its plan to equip an additional 500,000 people with CPR skills by 2020.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to my earlier answer to Rona Mackay (S5O-02674).  

28 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was raised in each of the last five years through levies that generate funding for (a) Business Improvement Districts and (b) Scotland’s Improvement Districts, broken down by district.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not collect data on the annual levies collected by Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Scotland. Each BID’s business plan will contain estimates of their levy for the duration of their term. Scotland’s Improvement Districts …

21 Nov 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the implications of the draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU for constitutional relations between the Scottish and UK governments.

16 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the introduction of an annual Scottish Finance Bill as a means of identifying and addressing changes to devolved tax legislation, as recommended in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and Chartered Institute of Taxation publication, Devolving Taxes acro…

Answer · Kate Forbes: As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment in the Programme for Government to develop a new approach to the planning, management and implementation of changes to the devolved taxes we are also considering legislative options. This builds on recommendatio…

16 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing “a new approach to the planning, management and implementation of changes to devolved taxes with the aim of bringing greater certainty, transparency and efficiency”, as set out on page 61 of its Programme for Government.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is in the process of exploring a range of options for a new process for the devolved taxes. In developing this new approach the Scottish Government is committed to working closely the Scottish Parliament, Revenue Scotland and consultin…

16 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve public awareness and understanding of devolved taxes, in light of the poll commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Taxation, which found that 84% of people in Scotland strongly agreed or tended to agree that they need better information about how tax…

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is committed to a collaborative and open approach to tax policy development, characterised by regular consultation with taxpayers, industry representatives and professional bodies, to ensure that tax policy is better understood and inf…

16 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and Chartered Institute of Taxation publication, Devolving Taxes across the UK: Learning from the Scottish Experience.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government welcomes the report on Devolving Taxes across the UK: Learning from the Scottish Experience from the Scottish Taxes Policy Forum. The Scottish Government is considering the recommendations made in the report and looks forward to engagi…

7 Nov 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much will arise in Barnett consequentials from the reduction in business rates that was announced in the UK budget, and whether it will allocate all of this to support Scotland's retail sector.

31 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on taxpayers in Scotland retaining as much of their income as those in the rest of the UK, in light of the proposals in the UK Budget.

26 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its June 2018 consultation on non-domestic rates reform stating that it has “committed to implement” the out-of-town and online business rates levy pilots, whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work’s reported comment that he has “no plan” to introduce …

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has consistently stated that it has taken no decisions on the Barclay Review recommendations since the publication of Barclay Implementation: A consultation on non-domestic rates reform . This includes Recommendation 5b) as referred to…

25 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02379 by Kate Forbes on 20 September 2018 (Official Report, c. 1), in light of the Barclay report recommending that the Large Business Supplement (LBS) should be reduced to 1.3p "in 2020-21, and sooner if it becomes affordable to do so", and the Min…

Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18369 on 6 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…

25 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Non-domestic Rates Bill is planned to be introduced in March 2019.

Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5O-02379 on 20 September 2018. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.…

10 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18511 by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2018, whether it will provide a definition of the term "recognised qualifications" including (a) what qualifies as recognition, (b) who they are recognised by and (c) whether it or the Scottish Funding Counc…

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Recognised qualifications include courses where there is an evaluation at the end of units and formal accreditation of either units/subjects or full awards from UK Awarding Bodies or Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Credit Rating Bodies. T…

8 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that its support of Dales Voe as an ultra-deep water port location is in line with the requirement for impartiality in procurement ethics and, if so, what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government commissioned a feasibility study to assess the relative merits of 40 potential locations for the development of an ? ultra-deep water port. Our recommendations on the proposed location across UK of the ultra-deep water port was informe…

8 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18808 by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 September 2018, what its position is on the value of the Decommissioning Challenge Fund to companies located in and around the Dundee area compared with the value of a new ultra-deep water port in the city, and what re…

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: With reference to question S5W-18808 the Decommissioning Challenge Fund is the Scottish Government’s vehicle to provide financial support to the decommissioning supply chain projects across Scotland to ready for the opportunities decommissioning presents. My …

8 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18805 by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 September 2018, on what date the Ernst and Young feasibility study will be published, and whether it will publish details of the methodology that was used in compiling this.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The study is being updated to ensure it is consistent with Scottish Government accessibility guidance and we hope to publish this on the Scottish Government website by the 9th November.

8 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which port authorities were (a) directly contacted for information and (b) physically inspected when evaluating the optimal location for an ultra-deep water port, and to what extent.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The locational assessment within the Ultra-Deep Water Feasibility Study was undertaken by Ports and Harbours experts Arch Henderson acting as sub-consultants for EY. The consultants undertook the assessment using factual information published from standard so…

26 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many part-time course places have been lost at Dundee and Angus College since 2009-10.

24 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18393 by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2018, should a public sector rail franchise result in a financial failure, what financial assistance it would offer, and whether this would be sourced through (a) reduced spending in other budget areas or (b…

Answer · Michael Matheson: In accordance with procurement legislation, the Scottish Government's procurement processes require all bidders (public or private) to provide robust evidence of their financial capability to meet the specific requirements of any public services contract as p…

13 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its spokesperson’s comment that the decision to designate Dales Voe as an ultra-deep water port for decommissioning “may even benefit Dundee if the Scottish market works collaboratively”, what its position is on the private sector complying with its wishes.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Answer updated on 09/10/18 The level of economic benefit generated from an ultra-deep water (UDW) port depends on its ability to attract projects. Initial evidence suggests that a successful UDW port could receive and then quickly distribute infrastructure t…