Parliamentary questions
Bill Bowman
310 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution describing the measures in the Draft Budget as resulting in "additional revenue", what its response is to the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s reported recent estimations of its non-saving, non-dividends income tax revenue f…
Answer · Derek Mackay: Tax forecasts for Scotland are now the responsibility of the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC). The SFC were previously asked to scrutinise the Scottish Government forecasts, and found the February 2017 forecasts to be reasonable. The SFCs latest forecasts sho…
20 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the effects of incorporations in its non-saving, non-dividends income tax revenue estimates, which it made in February 2017, were reportedly underestimated.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Independent Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) are now responsible for the creation of economic and tax revenue forecasts for Scotland. Before April 2017 these forecasts were undertaken by the Scottish Government and the SFC scrutinised these forecasts. The…
20 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to implement each of the income tax bands proposed in its Draft Budget, and what the annual administration cost will be.
Answer · Derek Mackay: HMRC have estimated annual running costs of between £1.5 and £2m if income tax rates and bands remained the same as the rest of the UK. A more significant divergence between the rates and bands that apply in Scotland when compared to the rest of the UK may le…
20 Dec 2017 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it undertook with HMRC regarding any potential negative impact of diverging tax bands and rates from the rest of the UK.
17 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent to fund a trip by a team from the Institute for Healthcare Optimisation to visit NHS boards in Scotland as part of the Whole System Patient Flow Improvement Programme; whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs, and which boards the team visited.
Answer · Shona Robison: The team from the Institute for Healthcare Optimization provided advice and insight to the following boards: NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Fife, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian. They also presented at a national conference attended by staff from a…
17 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many visits to Scotland by non-UK resident personnel it has funded regarding matters related to the NHS in each of the last three years, and how much it spent on each.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has a strategic partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) based in the USA and, periodically, representatives from IHI visit Scotland. This framework contract covers all public services in Scotland, not restricted…
17 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, of the 20 nurses who have accepted posts in NHS Grampian as a result of an Australian recruitment exercise undertaken in November 2017, how many of these positions are (a) full-time and (b) permanent contracts.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. As employers, NHS Scotland heath boards have fully delegated powers to recruit and deploy staff on a variety of contractual patterns, in order to meet their service delivery responsibilities. The Scottish Government sup…
17 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which countries have been visited by Scottish Government or NHS Scotland staff to recruit clinical staff for NHS Scotland in each of the last five years; how many times each of these countries has been visited for this purpose; how much each trip cost, and how many (a) full- and (b) part…
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. NHS Scotland Health Boards have fully delegated powers to recruit and deploy staff in line with their service provision responsibilities. The Scottish Government supports NHS Health Boards in their efforts to ensure tha…
14 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been carried out of the possible impact of severe winter weather on major transport infrastructure in the north east, and whether it will provide details of any extra measures and resources being made available to ensure that transport links remain available.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Whilst we know severe weather will cause disruption in the north east, this Government has taken a wide range of steps to improve our resilience to the challenges of winter in this area, to mitigate its impacts and to recover our transport networks, businesse…
14 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Dundee City Council reportedly having the lowest level of usable reserves in Scotland, as a percentage of income, is detrimental to the long-term financial stability of the council.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and the level of usable reserve…
6 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether off model adjustments are regarded as behavioural responses for the purposes of forecasting potential reactions to income tax changes.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Independent Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) are responsible for producing tax forecasts in Scotland. Last year, before taking on this statutory responsibility, the SFC concluded that the Scottish Government’s income tax forecasts were reasonable. As the …
6 Dec 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will compensate for decreasing levels of landfill tax revenues as the amount of waste to landfill decreases.
4 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of public funds and resources by NHS Grampian to (a) fund a recruitment trip to Australia and (b) commission a delegation from the United States-based Institute for Healthcare Optimization to help reduce waiting times.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government supports NHS Health Boards in their efforts to ensure that they have the right staff in place to meet the healthcare needs of the local population. This includes searching globally, where appropriate, to recruit at all levels. Record …
1 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the third of NHS Grampian patients who are waiting for treatment are seen as quickly as possible.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13144 on 19 December 2017. 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/parliamentarybusines…
1 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Grampian being the worst performing board regarding the 18-week referral to treatment standard, what action the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport will commit to to ensure there is an improvement over the next year.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13144 on 19 December 2017. 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/parliamentarybusin…
1 Dec 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Grampian is the worst performing board regarding the 18-week referral to treatment standard.
Answer · Shona Robison: During 2017 NHS Grampian has experience a range of whole system challenges which have had an impact on the 18-week referral to treatment standard. The Scottish Government has provided significant funding to NHS Grampian in 2017-18, more than £8 million, to s…
15 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, when modelling behavioural responses in relation to the five taxation proposals outlined in the discussion paper, The Role of Income Tax in Scotland’s Budget, whether a distinction was made between potential taxpayers moving within the UK and moving abroad for the purposes of avoiding d…
Answer · Derek Mackay: Analysis of behavioural impacts from a tax change incorporate a number of different behaviours, including cross border migration. The Scottish Government’s modelling follows the standard approach adopted by HMRC and other fiscal institutions. Assumptions abou…
15 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to incorporations when modelling behavioural responses in relation to the five income tax proposals outlined in the discussion paper, The Role of Income Tax in Scotland's Budget.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Analysis of behavioural responses resulting from a tax change encompass a range of different behaviours including changes to the number of hours worked, incorporation and relocation. Annex A to the discussion paper outlines in detail the Scottish Government’s…
15 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all secondary schools in Dundee have adequate numbers of staff.
12 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to (a) administer and (b) implement each of the proposals set out in its paper, The Role of Income Tax in Scotland’sBudget.
Answer · Derek Mackay: HMRC have estimated annual running costs of between £1.5 and £2m if income tax rates and bands remained the same as the rest of the UK. A more significant divergence between the rates and bands that apply in Scotland when compared to the rest of the UK may le…
9 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to buy out the contract between NHS Tayside and Indigo Park Services UK Ltd for the parking facilities at Ninewells Hospital.
Answer · Shona Robison: Due to value for money issues and the need to prioritise patient care, there are no current plans to buy out the contract between NHS Tayside and Indigo Park Services UK Ltd for the parking facilities at Ninewells Hospital. However speculating on the potentia…
8 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle urban crime.
6 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11997 by Derek Mackay on 1 November 2017, what data is being collected from local authorities for the purpose of analysing the level of non-domestic rates relief awarded.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The level of non-domestic rates (NDR) relief awarded by local authorities is reported via regular NDR returns to the Scottish Government - these are audited by Audit Scotland and summary data is regularly published on the Scottish Government web site via the …
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what concerns regarding (a) the funding of local services and (b) other matters in the north east were raised at the Cabinet's public meeting in Montrose in August 2017; what steps it has taken to address these, and what progress has been made.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Cabinet meeting in Montrose on 15 August provided members of the public the opportunity to raise matters direct with Ministers. With regard to (a), following concerns being raised about local government funding for Angus Council I met with the Leader of …
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution has had with stakeholders in the north east since the Cabinet met in Montrose in August 2017.
Answer · Derek Mackay: I met with the Leader of Angus Council on 14 September 2017.
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures for Montrose and the Angus area have been implemented since the Cabinet met in the town in August 2017.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Ministers and officials continue to work across all areas of Scotland, including the Montrose and Angus area, to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to assess and ensure coding practice consistency across all NHS boards when recording cases of sepsis.
Answer · Shona Robison: Clinical coding training and support in nationally approved coding systems is provided to NHS Scotland staff by Information Services Division (ISD) Terminology Services, part of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). Clinical coding staff in hospital coding de…
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport last met(a) the staff of and (b) people living near to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to discuss car parking provision at the hospital.
Answer · Shona Robison: This is a local matter that is managed by NHS Tayside. We would expect the board to take into consideration the views of its staff and neighbouring community when any future decisions on provision are being considered.
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what challenges it faces in providing health services to homeless people, and what action it takes to overcome these.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Public Health Network (ScotPHN) published Foundations for well-being: reconnecting public health and housing. A Practical Guide to Improving Health and Reducing Inequalities in January 2017. It has been produced through a collaboration between a …
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of health problems among homeless people, and what change in outcomes has been observed in the last five years.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: There is a large body of evidence on the negative impacts on health and wellbeing of homelessness. NHS Health Scotland hosts the National Health and Homelessness Group, which includes representation from national and local government; the health sector, incl…