- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 April 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 April 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many rail services were (a) cancelled or (b) delayed, broken down by minutes delayed, following the breakdown of a freight train on the single track north of Dalwhinnie on 11 March 2019.
Answer
Transport Scotland does not hold this information as the Franchise Agreement with Abellio does not obligate them to provide this information to the level requested.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 April 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an islands impact assessment of the Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) remote towers project and, if so, whether it will publish the findings.
Answer
Any Islands Impact Assessment in relation to HIAL’s Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy is a matter for HIAL.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 April 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs will be (a) directly and (b) indirectly lost because of the Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) remote towers project, also broken down by the total value in salaries lost, and what the economic impact will be on each community affected.
Answer
The project is in its infancy and at this stage job losses are not anticipated as a result of HIAL’s Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to Orkney and Shetland island councils to continue to operate inter-islands ferries services.
Answer
The Scottish Government understands the significant financial challenges that can fall on individual local authorities and remains committed to the principle of fair funding in the provision of ferry services and infrastructure.
As part of this commitment, this year's Scottish Government Budget approved last month by Parliament has made available a further £10.5m in support for internal ferry services, bringing the total support provided for this purpose in the last two years to £21m.
I wrote to both councils on 6 March to advise that £5.3m was being provided to Orkney Islands Council and £5.2m to Shetland Islands Council.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 26 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent BBC investigation, what action it is taking regarding its dealings with Natural Retreats and CairnGorm Mountain Limited.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 26 March 2019
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S5F-03014 by Nicola Sturgeon on 31 January 2019 (Official Report, c. 16), whether it held any discussions with Talk Talk when it announced the planned closure of the call centre and, if so, what the outcome was.
Answer
The Scottish Government and our economic development agency, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), are in continuous contact with HIE and TalkTalk with a view to mitigating against job loss, and exploring what support we can offer staff affected.
I have written to the CEO of TalkTalk seeking a meeting to discuss their decision to close the call centre. HIE have met with TalkTalk on two occasions and on the 14 th of February the Deputy First Minister met with them to discuss the ongoing situation.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it plans to provide a continuous level of rural payments for farmers after 2020.
Answer
Rural payments for farmers will stay the same until 2021.
Between 2021 and 2024, broadly the same CAP system will be in place with changes to simplify and streamline where appropriate. These changes are currently being developed by the Simplification Taskforce.
Our ability to provide a continuous level of rural payments depends on the level of funding we receive from the UK Government. At the moment they have committed to maintaining the same cash total in funds for “farm support” until 2022. While this commitment is welcome, they have yet to provide clarity on precisely what is meant by “farm support”, and whether it would cover CAP Pillar 2 schemes such as LEADER. They have also yet to clarify how this will fit with their proposed Shared Prosperity Fund. I have repeatedly pressed the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this matter, and will continue to do so.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government for how many hours on-call ambulance drivers can safely work in addition to their dayshift.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2019
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish the Forestry Strategy, and by what means it will be laid before the Parliament.
Answer
A new Forestry Strategy for Scotland was published on 5 February 2019, following my statement to Parliament. It sets out our 50-year vision for Scotland’s forests. Through a 10-year framework, we will seek to deliver even greater economic, social and environmental benefits for the people of Scotland.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to fulfil the commitment that was made by the then First Minister in August 2008, following a Cabinet meeting in Inverness, to reduce train journey times between Inverness and Edinburgh to at least two hours 45 minutes, and an average of three hours, with the aim of making “railway travel to the heart of the Highlands, in terms of time, competitive with roads… by a mixture of projects, including line improvement, additional passing loops, double-tracking and signalling upgrades”; what improvements projects were introduced, broken down by what progress has been made with each, and, in light of the comment that “the timescale for implementation is 2011-12”, for what reason the target date was not met, and by what date this level of service will be operational.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, published in 2011, stated that the Highland Main Line Rail Improvement project would be completed in phases between 2014 and 2025.
Phase one was delivered as planned in December 2012, increasing services from 9 to 11 trains per day in each direction, and reducing journey times by an average of 6 minutes at a cost of £1.2 million.
Phase two, which is currently scheduled to be completed in December 2019, will see a £57 million investment providing an hourly service between Perth and Inverness, delivery of a reduction in average journey times by around 10 minutes and more efficient freight operations. A fleet of refurbished High Speed Trains is planned to be used for this new timetable offering customers greater comfort and more capacity. We are engaged with local communities regarding calling points with the aim of providing calls at stations which represent maximum benefit for users of the service. The new timetable will also include improvements to the first and last trains. Overall, these plans will provide passengers with better connectivity with the Central Belt and Inverness whilst boosting the economic growth for the whole of Scotland.
The long term aspiration remains to deliver a fastest journey time of 2 hours 45 minutes between Inverness and the Central Belt.