- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each local authority area are in receipt of the single-person discount for (a) water charges and (b) council tax.
Answer
The number of dwellings in receipt of the single occupant discount is presented in the following table.
Local Authority | Single Occupant Discount for Council Tax | Single Occupant Discount for Water Charges |
Water and wastewater | Water Only | Wastewater Only |
Aberdeen City | 45,790 | 44,989 | 154 | 37 |
Aberdeenshire | 35,853 | 30,025 | 2,502 | 41 |
Angus | 20,680 | 18,439 | 973 | 234 |
Argyll & Bute | 15,320 | 12,622 | 1,759 | 85 |
Clackmannanshire | 9,470 | 8,890 | 75 | 8 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 25,963 | 22,387 | 2,228 | 91 |
Dundee City | 32,552 | 32,510 | 18 | 19 |
East Ayrshire | 22,176 | 21,547 | 418 | 12 |
East Dunbartonshire | 14,599 | 14,340 | 113 | 2 |
East Lothian | 16,141 | 15,313 | 438 | 23 |
East Renfrewshire | 11,797 | 11,340 | 67 | 3 |
Edinburgh, City of | 93,803 | 92,628 | 150 | 63 |
Eilean Siar | 5,149 | 3,978 | 1,100 | 7 |
Falkirk | 28,129 | 27,765 | 245 | 25 |
Fife | 65,471 | 61,744 | 672 | 226 |
Glasgow City | 138,711 | 137,735 | 20 | 8 |
Highland | 39,680 | 33,191 | 4,675 | 74 |
Inverclyde | 15,401 | 15,195 | 49 | 2 |
Midlothian | 13,180 | 12,711 | 187 | 170 |
Moray | 15,601 | 13,955 | 945 | 21 |
North Ayrshire | 27,340 | 26,154 | 470 | 10 |
North Lanarkshire | 58,451 | 58,321 | 365 | 7 |
Orkney Islands | 3,689 | 2,402 | 914 | 11 |
Perth & Kinross | 25,450 | 22,389 | 1,481 | 109 |
Renfrewshire | 35,163 | 34,322 | 163 | 10 |
Scottish Borders | 20,938 | 18,205 | 1,022 | 47 |
Shetland Islands | 3,638 | 2,932 | 713 | 15 |
South Ayrshire | 20,567 | 19,807 | 430 | 22 |
South Lanarkshire | 57,746 | 54,285 | 857 | 18 |
Stirling | 13,723 | 13,075 | 536 | 22 |
West Dunbartonshire | 18,093 | 17,741 | 44 | 2 |
West Lothian | 28,240 | 27,893 | 301 | 8 |
Total | 978,504 | 928,830 | 24,084 | 1,432 |
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Denham on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that demand for legal aid in civil cases is met.
Answer
Legal aid budget in Scotland is demand led. Those who meet the eligibility criteria for both civil and criminal legal aid will have access to it. If it is a matter of Scots Law (including UK law that applies in Scotland) and could be heard in a Scottish Court, an application can be made to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (via a solicitor). Legal aid in Scotland is provided for more areas of law than in England and Wales, for example, in family law and housing.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether businesses that are not connected to the water network are routinely exempt from water and sewage charges, and for what reason charges can be imposed.
Answer
Businesses are liable for water, sewerage and drainage charges when the property benefits from these services. A business will not be liable for charges only if the property has no connection to any services.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that parole board reports should be made available to victims and witnesses on request.
Answer
As we committed to in this year’s Programme for Government, we will consult on specific measures to make parole processes more open and transparent. This will include consulting on measures to provide victims and their families with information on Parole Board decisions, as well as mechanisms to strengthen the voice of victims in parole processes. The consultation will be published before the end of the year. These issues and other PfG commitments to improve support for victims will be considered by the Victims Taskforce, which will be co-chaired by the Justice Secretary and the Lord Advocate and will meet for the first time on 12 th December.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that bus services that are supported by public funding meet the requirements of (a) wheelchair users and (b) people using prams or buggies.
Answer
The legislation relating to the accessibility of public transport is reserved to the UK Parliament and is set out in the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) 2000. Since 1 January 2017 all buses (single and double deck) are required to be fully accessible and coaches will be fully accessible from 1 January 2020. Within this framework, the design and layout of individual vehicles are the responsibility of operators and manufacturers.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what accessibility standards a transport company must meet to receive a Bus Service Operators Grant.
Answer
The Bus Service Operators Grant is payable only on a local bus service as defined in section 2 of the Transport Act 1985 or a community transport service possessing section 19 or 22 permits. The services must also meet the further requirements detailed in the Bus Service Operators Grant (Scotland) Regulations 2002, as amended. The Bus Service Operators Grant does not require a service to meet any particular accessibility standards, however all local services are required to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what legislation there is to prevent caravans parking on public roads.
Answer
There is no specific legislation to prevent a motorist parking a caravan on a public road. However, if the caravan is causing an obstruction or is dangerously parked then the motorist would be in breach of Regulation 103 of the Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986 (SSI 1986/1078), and Police Scotland will be able to investigate and, where necessary arrange for its removal.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how criminal sentences can be appealed when they are given “in cumulo” (taken together).
Answer
The mechanism for appealing in cumulo sentences is the same as for other appeals that may be made against sentence. The legal framework providing for appeals against sentence is contained in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 as well as any associated court rules that have been made by Act of Adjournal.
The relevant appeal court determining an appeal against sentence has the power to set aside the original sentence, whether in cumulo or otherwise, and substitute another in its place. Any such decision is entirely a matter for the discretion of the court.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with its counterparts in Wales regarding the work of WEDINOS, the Welsh Emerging Drugs and Indemnification of Novel Substances Projects, and whether it has any plans to support a similar system in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the Welsh Government on a range of matters, which has in the past included discussions regarding WEDINOS.
There are no current plans to introduce a system similar to WEDINOS. Scotland already has excellent intelligence and data sharing mechanisms through a network of local drug trend monitoring groups. This network will be further supplemented by a national drug trend monitoring group which has recently been established by Scottish Drugs Forum.
- Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Denham on 22 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004, and what its position is on amending section 3(3) to redefine "night hours" to be the period beginning at 9.00 pm.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises concerns about the antisocial use of fireworks and has put in place restrictions on when fireworks can be set off. We continue to keep under review the effectiveness of the current regulations. I will be launching a consultation on the use and regulations of fireworks early next year to better understand their impact on communities. This consultation will inform any actions that the Scottish Government could take to reduce the negative impact of fireworks. This could include, for example, increased restrictions on where and when fireworks can be used, improved access to advice and support to reduce the anti-social impact of fireworks, and new national guidance to support local partner agencies.