- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 24 October 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) advice and (b) guidance regarding protecting the nesting habitat of curlews (i) it and (ii) Forestry Commission Scotland provides to land managers seeking to establish new forestry, and how it ensures that this is adhered to.
Answer
Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) is the Scottish Government’s forestry advisor and regulator and as such provides advice and guidance to land managers seeking to establish new forestry.
FCS recognises the importance of protecting the nesting habitat of curlew and the potential impact that new forestry may have, and is in the process of raising the profile of this species with all the FCS regional offices.
FCS provides generic guidance to land managers seeking to establish new forestry on safeguarding protected bird species, and this guidance applies to nesting curlew.
The majority of woodland creation projects apply for financial support under the Forestry Grant Scheme. The scheme’s application process requires surveys and environmental information to be submitted where vulnerable species such as curlew are present or may be affected. In these cases FCS advises the landowner to seek advice from SNH and RSPB and to modify the planting scheme as appropriate.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to allow local authorities to set a tourism levy (a) on accommodation, (b) on vehicles and (c) by other means.
Answer
The Scottish Government have been clear in their support of the tourism sector throughout Scotland, and recognise that the tourism and hospitality sectors are key to the Scottish economy.
We have been consistent in our stance that given the potential impact on tourism enterprises already subject to - for example, high rates of VAT -we have no plans to introduce a tourism levy at this time.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 2 October 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the impact of the Apprenticeship Levy on business, and whether this involved (a) interviews with businesses directly affected by the levy and (b) the collection of data on the number and projected number of apprenticeships in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government carried out a range of analysis and engagement ahead of the introduction of the UK Government's Apprenticeship Levy. A consultation on the response to that introduction took place in the summer of 2016. In addition Ministers and Scottish Government officials were involved in around 100 specific stakeholder engagement events. Some of the organisations included are listed in the following table. Skills Development Scotland is engaging with over 230 large employers on an on-going basis through their dedicated relationship managers.
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Aggreko
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Aker Solutions
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Allied Vehicles
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Amec Foster Wheeler
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Anderside Tools Ltd
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Applusrtd.
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ASDA
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Association of British Insurers
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ATOS
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Babcock International
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BAE Systems Ltd
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Balfour Beattie
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Barnados
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BHC Structural Steelwork Design and Build
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Bibby Offshore
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Bilfinger
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BMW
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Boots
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BP
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British Gas
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British Retail Consortium
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BT Group
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Cape plc
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Carillion
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Centrica
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Chartered Management Institute
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Clydesdale Bank
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CMS
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College Development Network
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Colleges Scotland
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Concept Northern
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Confederation of British Industry
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Construction Industry Training Board
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Construction Scotland
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Convention of Highlands and Islands
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COSLA
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Department for Education
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Devro (Scotland Ltd)
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Diageo
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Diamond Power
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Doosan Babcock
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DuPont
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East Kilbride and District Group Training Association
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EDF Energy
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Edinburgh Airport
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Edinburgh College
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Edinburgh University
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Edinburgh Woollen Mill
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Edrington Group Ltd
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Emmerson
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Energy & Utility Skills
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Energy Skills Partnership
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Engineering Construction Industry Training Board
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Enterprise Engineering
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Ethos Energy
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Federation of Master Builders
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Federation of Small Businesses
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Fife College
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Finmeccanica
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First Bus group
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Forth Valley College
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GBR Dupont
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GE Aviation
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Glasgow Airport (AGS Group)
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Glasgow Caledonian University
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Glasgow Developing the Young Workforce
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Global Energy
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GSK
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Hargreaves Services
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Hewlett Packard
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HSBC
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Industry Leadership Group
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Institute for Public Policy Research
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Institute of Directors
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John Clark Motor Group
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John Russell Group
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Johnson & Johnson
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Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler
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Learndirect
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Leonardo
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Limelight Training Edinburgh
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Lloyds Bank
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Maclay Murray & Spens LLP
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Mactaggart & Mickel
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McCurragh
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McTaggart Scott Co Ltd
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Mercer
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Mitie
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Morisons LLP
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Mozolowski and Murray
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National Construction College Scotland
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National Health Service Scotland Apprenticeship network
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NFU Scotland
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NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
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Northern Ireland Government
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Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation
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Oil & Gas UK
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Open College of the Arts
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OPITO
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Oracle
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Petrofac
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Pinsent Masons
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Plexus Ltd
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Police Scotland
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Princes Trust
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Purvis Group
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Road Haulage Association
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Robert Gordon University
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Robertsons Group
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Royal Bank of Scotland
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Royal Society of Chemistry
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Sainsbury’s
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Santander
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Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board
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Scottish Association of Engineering Education
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Scottish Chamber of Commerce
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Scottish Council for Development and Industry
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Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
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Scottish Courts
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Scottish Decorators Federation
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Scottish Engineering
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Scottish Food and Drink Federation
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Scottish Funding Council
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Scottish Gas
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Scottish Motor Trade Association
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Scottish Power
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Scottish Prison Service
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Scottish Retail Consortium
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Scottish Training Federation
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Scottish Water
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Scottish Whisky Association
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Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies
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SecuriGroup
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Skills Development Scotland
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Standard Life
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Star Refrigeration Ltd
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STATS
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Stork Technical Services
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STUC
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STV
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Subsea7
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Technip UK
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Terex Trucks Ltd
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Tesco
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The Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
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The Restaurant Group
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The Scottish Salmon Company
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Third Sector Employability Forum
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Tigers Ltd
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UK Government
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UK Thales Group
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United Biscuits Ltd
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Universities Scotland
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UTC Aerospace Systems
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Values into Action
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veolia.com
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Virgin Money
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Weir group
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Welsh Government
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William Grant Ltd
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Wood Group
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Skills Development Scotland routinely collects and publishes data on the number of Modern Apprentices in Scotland.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a campervan levy.
Answer
The Scottish Government is mindful of the increased demands on ferry services given the affordability of travel following the full roll out of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) in the Western Isles.
The reduction of fares to RET levels has had a positive impact on island communities, boosting local tourist trade and local economies. We want to see this continue, however we are aware that there have been some challenges for those wishing to travel to and from remote and island communities.
Along with operators, we will continue to monitor Scotland’s ferry services and frequently review service provision to and from the islands, including all options in regard to demand management measures.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government whether the comment by the Minister for International Development and Europe on Good Morning Scotland on 21 September 2017 that (a) extra capacity is required on ferries to and from the Western Isles and (b) there should be a levy on drivers of campervans visiting the Western Isles represents government policy and, if so, when this was agreed.
Answer
Dr Allan’s comments were made in his capacity as constituency MSP.
Dr Allan has written to me asking what consideration the Scottish Government might give to a scheme for an additional levy on ferry fares to enable a fund that would allow communities to direct investment for the provision of facilities for motorhomes and other parts of the tourist industry.
The Scottish Government has made a substantial investment in the Stornoway-Ullapool route, including the £42 million MV Loch Seaforth and the majority of the funding for the recent harbour upgrades at Ullapool and Stornoway. This is in addition to continuing to fund significantly reduced fares through the RET scheme since 2008.
The Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan keeps forecasted demand under review on an annual basis and helps develop long-term investment plans to meet this demand. The most recent Plan, published in December 2016, identified the Stornoway-Ullapool and Uig-Tarbert-Lochmaddy routes as ones where demand pressures were growing and committed to a comprehensive appraisal of future options, which will commence later this year.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the salaries of university principals and vice-chancellors, in light of the recent announcement by the UK Government in relation to universities in England.
Answer
As autonomous institutions, the salary levels of Principals and Vice-Chancellors are a matter for each university's governing body and remuneration committee. However, the Scottish Government is clear that we expect universities to exercise restraint in setting senior pay. The Scottish Government's position is that senior pay packages should be in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other university staff. Institutions must ensure the highest standards of transparency in setting pay awards. We welcome further work that the higher education sector is progressing to increase transparency and accountability in remuneration committee decision-making.
All higher education institutions in Scotland publish the details of senior remuneration on an annual basis. Every institution reports on the number of staff paid in the higher salary brackets.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) warning letters, (b) court citations and (c) warrants to apprehend have been issued by courts in each sheriffdom in each year since 2007-08 to offenders who have defaulted on their fines, broken down by fine type.
Answer
This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government, following the publication of its response to the UK Government’s position paper on citizens’ rights, whether it will publish a response to the EU’s position paper on essential principles of the financial settlement in the context of withdrawal from the EU.
Answer
The Scottish Government will consider whether to respond to UK Government and EU position papers on an individual basis following consideration of their content.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how the number of teacher training places at the University of Aberdeen in the current academic year compares with last year.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2017
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 August 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how many fines enforcement officers there are, broken down by sheriffdom.
Answer
This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
