- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 25 April 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with each of the projects and programmes in the Projected Project Pipeline list set out in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2015, also broken down by the (a) investment made so far; (b) updated total estimated investment and (c) progress made against timetable.
Answer
In March 2017, a range of progress updates on the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2015 were published on the Scottish Government website, including the most recent Infrastructure Investment Plan 2015, Programme Pipeline Update - which is available from the following link:
www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/IIP/IIP2015ProgrammePipelineMarch2017
In addition, on 31 March 2017, the Scottish Government wrote to the Public Audit and Post Legislative Scrutiny Committee providing a “Major Capital Projects Progress Update”.
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 April 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how many times so-called skip-stopping has taken place involving weekday services at each station on the Glasgow Central - Cathcart Circle/Neilston/Newton service in each of the last 12 months.
Answer
The number of occasions in each of the last twelve months on which a particular station was ‘skip-stopped’ is as follows:
|
Station
|
Dec-16
|
Jan-17
|
Feb-17
|
Mar-17
|
|
Burnside
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Cathcart
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
Croftfoot
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Crosshill
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
|
Kings Park
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Kirkhill
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Langside
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
|
Maxwell Park
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
|
Mount Florida
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
|
Muirend
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Patterton
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Pollokshaws East
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
|
Pollokshields East
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
|
Pollokshields West
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
|
Queens Park
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
|
Shawlands
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
|
Whitecraigs
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Williamwood
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
|
24
|
21
|
17
|
11
|
|
Trains booked to run:
|
5,216
|
5,401
|
5,179
|
5,700
|
|
|
0.5%
|
0.4%
|
0.3%
|
0.2%
|
Note:
Data are only held by Transport Scotland for the period from 24 November onwards. Thus far in April, at time of writing, no skip-stopped trains have been reported.
The data for ‘trains booked to run’, is the number of trains planned to run in each month.
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 13 April 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how many appeals against non-domestic rates valuations there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by business size, and how many (a) were successful, (b) were unsuccessful and (c) are awaiting a decision.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold data on all individual appeals, but does publish data on the numbers of revaluation appeals lodged, resolved and outstanding, at www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/NDR-Rates-Relief. The data held by the Scottish Government does not indicate business size or whether or not the appeal was successful. The latest statistics show that there were 67,026 revaluation appeals relating to the 2010 revaluation (virtually all of which were lodged in 2010-11), of which 66,664 had been resolved by 31 December 2016.
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 March 2017
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of its special advisers in post; what their (a) responsibilities and (b) pay bands are; how many there are in each pay band, what the current total salary cost of employing them is, and whether it will provide an update on any changes made, including the dates of these, since the answer to question S5W-02983 by Derek Mackay on 23 September 2016.
Answer
Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. There are currently 13 Special Advisers in post following the appointment of Stewart Maxwell on 9 January 2017.
The 13 Special Advisers and their specific responsibilities are as follows:
|
Name
|
Role
|
|
Liz Lloyd
|
Chief of Staff to the First Minister
First Minister’s Strategic Programme in Government including Inter-governmental relations
Co-ordination of the Special Adviser team
Finance (jointly with Colin McAllister)
|
|
Stuart Nicolson
|
Head of Communications
Senior Political Spokesperson for the First Minister
Strategic communications
|
|
Colin McAllister
|
Head of Policy
Programme for Government.
First Minister’s Questions
Senior Special Adviser to the Deputy First Minister.
Education.
Finance (jointly with Liz Lloyd)
|
|
Ewan Crawford
|
Senior Special Adviser
Europe and Constitutional issues
Government Strategy
|
|
Ross Ingebrigtsen
|
Deputy Political Spokesperson for the First Minister
Strategic communications planning
|
|
Katy Bowman
|
Special Adviser
Culture, Tourism and External Affairs
Policy support to the Chief of Staff
Support for the First Minister and the First Minister’s Private Office
Outreach and stakeholder engagement
|
|
Jeanette Campbell
|
Special Adviser
Communities, Social Security, and Equalities
|
|
Kate Higgins
|
Special Adviser
Rural Economy & Connectivity
Early Years, Higher & Further Education
Support to the Head of Policy
|
|
Davie Hutchison
|
Special Adviser
Health & Sport and Broadcasting
First Minister Questions
|
|
John McFarlane
|
Special Adviser
Justice and Transport
Parliamentary Business and Parliamentary liaison
|
|
Stewart Maxwell
|
Special Adviser
Business, the Economy, Skills and Fair Work
Business and Economy outreach
|
|
John MacInnes
|
Special Adviser
Political Research
Support for First Minister’s Questions and parliamentary debates
Support to Communications and Policy Special Advisers
|
|
David Miller
|
Special Adviser
Energy, Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform
|
The Special Adviser Pay Bands and Ranges and the number of Special Advisers within each Pay Band currently in place are:
|
Pay Band
|
Current Pay Range
|
Number of Special Advisers
|
|
1
|
£39,445 - £52,904
|
8
|
|
2
|
£51,041 - £67,709
|
1
|
|
3
|
£65,017 - £83,963
|
4
|
|
3 (premium)
|
£83,549 - £100,942
|
0
|
|
4
|
£86,965 - £104,462
|
0
|
The estimated total cost of the current team of 13 Special Advisers employed for a full 12 month period is £962,645. This includes all salary costs, ERNIC and employer pension contributions and the estimate can be broken down as follows:
ESTIMATED 12 MONTH COST OF CURRENT SPECIAL ADVISER TEAM
|
Number of Special Advisers
|
Salary Costs
|
*ERNIC
|
*Employer pension contributions
|
Total Cost
|
|
13
|
£720,005
|
£84,004
|
£158,636
|
£962,645
|
* The level of the employer ERNIC and pension contributions is not a matter for the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 March 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) first time and (b) non-first time buyers used the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme in each quarter since it was launched.
Answer
Information on the first time buyer status of Help to Buy (Scotland) applicants by entry-date quarter is presented in the following table. This is based on available ‘log form’ information provided by applicants following the completions of sales over the period September 2013 to March 2016. Forms are not received from all applicants, and the number of first time buyers has been approximated by applying the log form percentages to the total number of sales in each period, therefore the figures in the table should be considered as estimates only.
|
Percentage of Help to Buy (Scotland) sales to first time buyer households and non-first time buyers, by entry-date quarter (The number of first time buyers and non-first time buyers has been approximated by applying the log form percentages to the total number of sales in each period)
|
|
Entry-Date Quarter
|
% First Time Buyers (based on log form data)
|
% Non-First Time Buyers (based on log form data)
|
Total number of Help to Buy (Scotland) sales
|
Approximate number of first time buyers (rounded to the nearest ten)
|
Approximate number of non-first time buyers (rounded to the nearest ten)
|
|
2013-14 - Quarter 3
|
70%
|
30%
|
190
|
130
|
60
|
|
2013-14 - Quarter 4
|
72%
|
28%
|
560
|
410
|
160
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 1
|
64%
|
36%
|
1,360
|
880
|
480
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 2
|
58%
|
42%
|
1,090
|
640
|
450
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 3
|
58%
|
42%
|
1,000
|
580
|
420
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 4
|
74%
|
26%
|
240
|
180
|
60
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 1
|
72%
|
28%
|
1,600
|
1,150
|
450
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 2
|
66%
|
34%
|
790
|
520
|
270
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 3
|
75%
|
25%
|
820
|
610
|
210
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 4
|
72%
|
28%
|
350
|
250
|
100
|
|
Source: Help to Buy (Scotland) Log Forms (average return rate is approximately a third of all buyers) and Help to Buy (Scotland) Monitoring Information Report
|
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 March 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) median and (b) mean total household income was of applicants for the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme in each quarter since it was launched.
Answer
Information on the median and mean household income of Help to Buy (Scotland) applicants by entry-date quarter is presented in the following table. This is based on available ‘log form’ information provided by applicants following the completions of sales over the period September 2013 to March 2016. Forms are not received from all applicants, and the forms returned provide information on banded income rather than exact income, therefore the figures presented in the table should be considered as approximate estimates of household median income bands and mean income levels.
|
Help to Buy (Scotland) sales - approximate median and mean household income, by entry-date quarter (note these are approximate estimates based on banded household income data)
|
|
Entry-Date Quarter
|
Median Household Income Bands (£)
|
Mean Household Income (£) (rounded to nearest thousand)
|
|
2013-14 - Quarter 3
|
40,000 - 45,000
|
47,000
|
|
2013-14 - Quarter 4
|
40,000 - 45,000
|
44,000
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 1
|
45,000 - 50,000
|
48,000
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 2
|
45,000 - 50,000
|
49,000
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 3
|
45,000 - 50,000
|
52,000
|
|
2014-15 - Quarter 4
|
45,000 - 50,000
|
50,000
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 1
|
35,000 - 40,000
|
41,000
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 2
|
40,000 - 45,000
|
43,000
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 3
|
40,000 - 45,000
|
44,000
|
|
2015-16 - Quarter 4
|
40,000 - 45,000
|
42,000
|
|
Source: Help to Buy (Scotland) Log Forms (average return rate is approximately a third of all buyers)
|
|
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2017
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the provision of social housing.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2017
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2017
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that school uniform costs for pupils from low-income families can be met.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2017
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 1 March 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what costs have been incurred in detaining suspects in custody prior to court appearances for offences under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Act makes no provision for policing which is entirely an operational matter for Police Scotland. The member may wish to direct his request to the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.
- Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2017
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 February 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been made available by the CashBack for Communities programme in each year since 2011-12, broken down by (a) recipient and (b) activity.
Answer
We are rightly proud of our unique CashBack for Communities Programme which is delivered by partner organisations on our behalf.
Information on the funding given to CashBack partners and other community initiatives is set out on the Scottish Government website http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/policies/community-engagement/cashback/CashBack-Financial. CashBack activities are many and varied but both the main themes and spend against these themes are set out on the website. We do not hold information on an annual breakdown for the years 2008-09 to 2012-13 therefore these are grouped together.
The information does not show organisations who may have benefited from small grant schemes run by our CashBack Partners YouthLink, Youth Scotland and Creative Scotland.
The dedicated CashBack for Communities website provides information on investment within each local authority area as well as examples of the activities delivered http://www.cashbackforcommunities.org/activity-by-local-authority
