Bill Bowman

20 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is its timetable is for extending the HPV vaccine programme to adolescent boys.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The introduction of any new vaccination programme is a considerable task that requires careful management and planning, including working across the UK on procurement of vaccines. Scottish Government officials are working closely with Health Protection Scotla…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many learning hours of (a) up to 10 and (b) 10 or more hours have been accounted for by part-time colleges courses in each of the last 12 years.

Answer · John Swinney: The number of lening hours of SFC funded part-time college courses (a) up to 10 hours and (b) 10 or more hours is provided in the following table. SFC-funded part-time students split by learning hours Academic Year Learning Hours Over 10 hours Under 10 h…

4 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses could be affected by local authorities that (a) have used and (b) are considering using powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates during 2018-19.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17597 on 20 July 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

4 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses were affected by local authorities using powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates during 2017-18.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-17597 on 20 July 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

4 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities (a) have used and (b) are considering using powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates during 2018-19, and to what extent.

Answer · Derek Mackay: It is for Councils to determine when to use powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act. Any business is open to apply and the Scottish Government expects local authorities to give any request for rates relief proper and full consideration. Currentl…

4 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02298 by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2018, and in light of the £453 million underspend for 2017-18, when it will act on its commitment to implement the Barclay Review’s recommendation to halve the Large Business Supplement.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government is not permitted to overspend its budget so we have consistently controlled expenditure in order to ensure we live within budget control limits. This includes carefully managing the Scottish Reserve - a key element of dealing with the …

22 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many part-time college courses in each of the last 12 years have consisted of (a) up to 10 and (b) 10 or more learning hours, and what the average funding was.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of part-time college courses.  

22 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02225 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 June 2018, how many full-time equivalent students there have been at Dundee and Angus College in each of the last 12 years.

Answer · John Swinney: The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent students (FTE) that have been at Dundee and Angus College since academic year 2005-06. FTE for students at Dundee and Angus College, 2005-06 to 2016-17 Academic year  Full-time Equivalent (SG fun…

20 Jun 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on businesses in Scotland paying twice as much in Large Business Supplement rates than those in England.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has taken the decision to support the economy by prioritising small businesses and introducing unique measures like the Growth Accelerator, which benefit all businesses, large and small. I am committed to reviewing the Large Business …

6 Jun 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on 10,000 fewer students being enrolled at Dundee and Angus College compared with 2006, representing a 38% drop.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Headcount at Dundee and Angus College has reduced since 2006 primarily because the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) de-prioritised short courses (often around 5 hours) many of which did not lead to a recognised FE or HE qualification, nor increase employability…

30 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to reduce the number of people who have never been in employment.

25 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the number of suicides on Scotland’s rail network.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Further to answers provided in S5W-16903 and S5W-16904 on 12 June 2018. ScotRail operate conversation cafés on trains approximately 4 times per year in partnership with the Railway Mission Chaplains where small groups of people travel on trains outside peak t…

25 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many times has British Transport Police prevented a suicide in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Further to the answer to S5W-16903 on 12 June 2018. Railway Safety Policy has not been devolved to Scottish Ministers and remains a matter that has been reserved to the UK Government. The same high standards of safety performance, including suicide prevention…

25 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides for measures to support rail staff with mental health and suicide prevention training, and what discussions it has had with rail companies to discuss what further support it might offer.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Network Rail, the train operating companies (including ScotRail), trades unions, British Transport Police (BTP), the Railway Mission and RSSB have been proactively working with The Samaritans since 2010 to reduce suicides on the railway and to support anyone …

23 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provision there will be for charging electric vehicles in rural communities in Angus by 2022.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are rapidly increasing our efforts to support electric vehicles ensuring that by 2032 we will have phased out the need to buy petrol or diesel cars and vans. We continue to work with all Scottish Local Authorities and partners to increase provision of char…

22 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to keep the non-domestic rates income account in balance when making decisions regarding the (a) distributional and (b) perceived collectable amount from 2019.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government's plans to manage the operation of the non-domestic rating account were set out in Table 10.17 of the Scottish Budget: Draft Budget 2018-19 document. These plans show that the account is forecast to return to balance from the start of …

22 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing criteria to determine who is a fit and proper person to (a) own and (b) be employed by a (i) crematorium or (ii) funeral director business.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is currently working with stakeholders and partners to explore the appropriateness of introducing fit and proper person tests for those working in the funeral industry. If, as a result of this work, it is deemed that fit and proper per…

22 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of whether additional (a) resourcing and (b) staffing is required to support the Inspector of (i) Crematoria, (ii)  Funeral Directors and (iii) Burial Grounds in carrying out its (A) current and (B) future role.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Inspector of Crematoria and the Inspector of Funeral Directors are currently supported by the Scottish Government Burial and Cremation Legislation Team. An Inspector of Burial has not yet been appointed and, therefore, no support has been allocated. As s…

17 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted of the potential economic impact of altering the limit to rises in any form of local taxation.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We offer the most competitive business rates package in the UK, including several Scotland only measures such as the Growth Accelerator, Small Business Bonus Scheme, renewable and nursery reliefs. Our recent Budget set out how reforms to business rates will e…

17 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether anyone will experience rises of more than 3% in local taxation in each of the next three years.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We have secured the agreement of local authorities in the past two years to cap council tax increases to 3%, although because Council Tax is a local tax, the rate for future years in each local authority area will continue to be determined by the Council for …

29 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised by the Large Business Supplement in each of the last two years, broken down by property type.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The following table presents updated estimates of the net liability by Assessors' property classification for 2016-17 and 2017-18. These estimates are based on the valuation roll at October 2016 (2016-17 estimates) and October 2017 (2017-18 estimates). Large…

26 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have used the powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates, and how often, broken down by year.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Based on the latest returns from local authorities the following table sets out the amount of local discretionary rates relief they have, or plan to, award under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015: Local Authority (£000s) 2016-17 (Actual) 2017…

19 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question SW5-14029 by Derek Mackay on 31 January 2018, how much it estimates will be raised by the large business rates supplement in 2018-19, broken down by property type.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Further to the answer provided to question SW5-14029 on? 31 January 2018, the following table presents updated estimates of the net liability by property type for 2018-19. Large Business Supplement income estimates for 2018-19 by property type. Property Typ…

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the £176 million difference between the non-domestic revenue income (NDRI) revenue grant and the estimated NDRI revenue income for 2018-19 was used, including partially, in (a) negotiations and (b) subsequent deals relating to the passing of its 2018-19 Budget.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I can confirm that both the contributable amount of non-domestic rate income and the amount to be distributed to councils (the distributable amount) in respect of 2018-19 were set out and published in the 2018-19 Draft Budget on 14 December 2017 and played no…

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to eliminate the local authorities non-domestic revenue income cumulative budget deficit.

Answer · Derek Mackay: In order to protect public spending the Scottish Government had previously stated its intention to address the non-domestic rate account deficit over a number of years, and set out a plan in the Draft Budget 2018-19 (Table 10.17) to do so by the end of 2018-1…

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14612 by Derek Mackay on 6 March 2018, which stated that each council "retains every penny" of non-domestic rates revenue in its area, what its position is on the assertion that the system would be more efficient if local authorities could immediate…

Answer · Derek Mackay: Each local authority already retains all the money collected for non-domestic rates income in it's area and this is not sent to the Scottish Government. Rather, each local authority advises the Scottish Government through the use of returns how much they have…

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-13938 and S5W-14610 by Derek Mackay on 31 January and 7 March 2018 respectively, whether it has contacted HMRC regarding the provision of a detailed cost analysis for implementing and operating Scotland’s new income tax system, and if so, when it …

Answer · Derek Mackay: HMRC have recently confirmed that the total operating costs for 2017-18 are £0.5m, this includes those costs related to the rates and bands set by the Scottish Parliament for tax year 2018-19. HMRC and SG continue to work on refining costs for 2018/19 but do …

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the potential economic impact of altering the present 3% cap on council tax.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has conducted no analysis on altering the 3% cap on locally determined Council Tax increases as there are no plans to amend the existing policy.

5 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14953 by Derek Mackay on 13 March 2018, whether it will provide the information that was requested and confirm whether or not the decision to set a cap on council tax rises was informed by research that determined 3% as the optimum level for a cap t…

Answer · Derek Mackay: My response to S5W-14953 set out that the 3% cap allows Councils to raise up to £77 million additional funding this year whilst ensuring the maximum annual increase for a Band D property is less than £37.50. On the basis of these calculations, the Scottish Go…

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to conduct an independent review of the administration of the NHS Tayside endowment fund.

Answer · Shona Robison: In my statement to Parliament on Tuesday 17 April 2018, I set out details of independent reviews that are being carried out by The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and Grant Thornton UK, into the operation of NHS Tayside’s endowment fund. Detai…