- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support local authorities meet the reported £1.2 billion backlog of road repairs required to bring roads up to standard.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to working with local government to help improve the condition of all roads in Scotland.
We have continued to treat councils very fairly despite cuts to the Scottish resource budget from the UK Government. The vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including non-protected services, including local road maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Council funding for 2017-18 is over £10.4 billion, amounting to 3.7% in additional support for local authority services. In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion. This will provide a further real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding.
Although responsibility for maintaining Scotland’s trunk and local road networks is split, the Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities to help improve the condition and safety of their networks. We do this through the Road Collaboration Programme which is jointly funded between national and local government, and overseen by the Strategic Action Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Transport and the Islands and COSLA’s Spokesperson for Environment and the Economy. This programme demonstrates our commitment to ensuring integrated service provision and providing efficient public services.
Also, following the recent snow event, the Scottish Government triggered the Bellwin Scheme on 2 March to assist local authorities with winter maintenance costs associated with this event. This discretionary scheme allows Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities address issues that relate to the condition of road surfaces, in light of a reported reduction in spending each year over the last five years.
Answer
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it would consider providing ring-fenced additional funding for The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council in relation to road repairs, in light of their responsibilities to maintain over 7,000 km and 2,000 km of roads respectively.
Answer
The Scottish Government has continued to treat all councils very fairly despite cuts to the Scottish resource budget from the UK Government. Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including non-protected services, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion, compared with £10.426 billion in 2017-18. This will provide a further real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding. Councils also have the flexibility to raise an additional £77 million by increasing council tax by up to 3 per cent.
Together with their increased council tax income, Argyll and Bute Council will receive over £210.2 million in 2018-19 compared with £207.6 million this year, an increase of £2.6 million. For Highland Council, together with increased council tax income, they will receive over £491.1 million in 2018-19 compared with £474.1 million this year, an increase of £17 million.
Also, following the recent snow event, the Scottish Government triggered the Bellwin Scheme on 2 March to assist local authorities with winter maintenance costs associated with this event. This discretionary scheme allows Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with trade unions regarding the merger of UHI colleges.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2018
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to build on the impact that the North Coast 500 route has had on tourism.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to NHS Western Isles has been in respect of patients' and escorts' air travel in each year since 2008.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. This information would need to be requested from NHS Western Isles.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to NHS Orkney has been in respect of patients' and escorts' air travel in each year since 2008.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. This information would need to be requested from NHS Orkney.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to NHS Shetland has been in respect of patients' and escorts' air travel in each year since 2008.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. This information would need to be requested from NHS Shetland.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 25 January 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking as part of its land reform policies to make crofters aware of the possibility of seeking the transfer to them of ownership of government-owned crofting estates.
Answer
The Scottish Government grant funds organisations such as Community Land Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to help promote and give advice to community groups, not individual crofters, which may be interested in acquiring part of Scottish Ministers’ crofting estates.
Support to communities interested in seeking an asset transfer of Scottish Ministers’ land in general is available from the Community Ownership Support Service, which is part of the Development Trust Association (Scotland) which receives grant funding from the Scottish Government.
Scottish Government policies and advice on land reform are available on the Scottish Government’s website and officials attend relevant conferences and events to help promote the opportunities available to communities interested in acquiring land.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 25 January 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what part the potential transfer of government-owned crofting estates to crofters might play in the land reform agenda.
Answer
Scottish Ministers would anticipate that any transfer of their crofting estates to local communities should lead to those communities being stronger and more resilient, with the opportunity for the communities to develop their land to generate economic benefits for the community.
The benefits to communities would be case dependent, but could range from the provision of housing through to supporting renewable energy and business units.
Any transfer of Ministers’ crofting estates would increase the amount of land in community ownership and thus contribute to meeting the target of one million acres of community owned land in Scotland.