Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-03382

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 September 2016
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fergus Ewing on 3 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in delivering the national CAP loan scheme.

The National Basic Payment Support Scheme 2016 was announced to Parliament on 13 September 2016. Delivery of the scheme has proceeded on the timescale set out in the announcement. Loan letters were posted to 17,324 farmers and crofters, the vast majority of potential applicants, on 27 September 2016. These letters offered a loan of 80 per cent of each individual’s estimated 2016 Basic and Greening payments up to a maximum of 150,000 euros. Recipients of these letters are invited to respond by 12 October 2016, in order to receive their loan in the first half of November 2016.

Regrettably, after the letters were sent, the Scottish Government uncovered a miscalculation affecting a small percentage of businesses which had not been picked up during the sample checking carried out in advance. In these cases, the loan calculation did not take full account of their Region three land, resulting in them being offered a smaller loan amount than they were entitled to.

Swift action has been taken to ensure this does not affect the timetable for getting the correct loan payments to those farmers. Area offices began phoning affected businesses on 28 September 2016 to explain and apologise for the situation. Revised loan letters will be issued to the affected farmers and crofters during the week beginning 3 October 2016, with a new return deadline. As long as they respond to the second letter by the new deadline of 19 October 2016, there will be no impact on the timing of their loan and they will receive a payment for the correct loan amount in the first half of November. If any affected farmer or crofter is unable to respond by the new deadline, the Government will still honour the correct loan amount but the timing of the payment will depend on the time taken to respond.

The Government has also checked that for other businesses with Region three land, and for all region one and Region two land, the calculation has been carried out correctly.

As set out in the initial announcement, the small number of businesses for whom it was not possible to make a loan offer at this stage, because the complexity of their case required further work to be carried out, will receive their offer at a later date, and the Government will also write to any Basic Payment applicants who are not eligible for CAP payments and are therefore also not eligible for a loan.

Question reference: S5O-00169

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the creation and promotion of the North Coast 500 has had on tourism in the North Highlands.

While anecdotal evidence from VisitScotland and other stakeholders has indicated that the North Coast 500 has been very successful in boosting tourism along its route, firm data is not presently available. The new working group established by Highlands and Islands Enterprise which I referred to in my previous answer has identified the measurement of the benefits arising from this new route as a key action.

Question reference: S5O-00116

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to Highland Games.

Question reference: S5W-01556

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 15 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it is making on improving (a) broadband and (b) 3G coverage across rural areas.

The Scottish Government and its partners are investing over £410 million in the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) Programme, which will extend access to fibre broadband to at least 95% of premises in Scotland by the end of 2017. We are also investing up to £16.5 million in Community Broadband Scotland to support innovative community-led broadband projects in areas least likely to have superfast broadband delivered through the DSSB programme. We are committed to going beyond this, and extending access to 100% of premises by 2021. We will set out further details of our delivery approach in the coming months. Our immediate priority is to finalise the coverage footprint of the DSSB programme, utilising residual resources within both contracts. We will then undertake an open market review(s) to confirm commercial investment plans and enable us to confirm an intervention area for our new investment programme. Once completed, we will launch new procurement activity.

Although reserved to Westminster, the Scottish Government is committed to doing everything it can, with the powers and funding available, to improve mobile coverage for rural and remote areas across Scotland. Recently we agreed an action plan with mobile operators that sets out a range of actions aimed at extending coverage. Additionally we are working with the UK Government to maximise the impact of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme. This will deliver a number of new 4G-capable mobile masts across Scotland in the coming years.

Question reference: S5O-00088

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 30 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the offshore Beatrice development will have on the economy and, in particular, in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross.

This project is expected to deliver around £680 million into the UK and Scottish economy via employment and supply chain opportunities during the construction phase, utilising the Port of Nigg and between £400 million - £525 million during the wind farm’s 25 year operational life, which will be operated out of Wick Harbour. As a result 100 direct and indirect jobs are likely to be retained and created at Nigg, whilst 200 jobs are likely to be safeguarded at Bifab.

Question reference: S5W-00289

Asked by: Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) local authority and (b) housing association homes have been built since 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Details are as follows:

(a) Local authority homes delivered since 2007 - the Council House Building Programme was not introduced until 2009-10:

Local Authority	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Aberdeenshire			71	80		8
Angus			21	28	73	39
City of Aberdeen			85	31
City of Dundee			28		8
City of Edinburgh				67		48
Clackmannanshire				24	20	40
Dumfries and Galloway						12
East Ayrshire		10	40	10		90
East Dunbartonshire			19	47	46	54
East Lothian		157	9	161	106	100
Falkirk			84	36		160
Fife	41		57	70	52
Highland			34	73	114	191
Midlothian		115	116	206	76	1
Moray		48		154		108
North Ayrshire		23	40		12	121
North Lanarkshire		38	93		120	85
Orkney		30	28	36	24	26
Perth and Kinross			56	31	31	52
Renfrewshire					37
Shetland					20	10
South Ayrshire			68		34	6
South Lanarkshire			61	20	117
Stirling			38		43	68
West Dunbartonshire					48	36
West Lothian		248		42	343

(b) Housing association homes delivered since 2007:

Local Authority	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Aberdeenshire	86	162	460	201	46	18	57
Angus	112	87	78	61	44	12	72	42
Argyll and Bute	206	129	35	194	60	96	153	97
City of Aberdeen	100	33	60	224	64	68	159	32
City of Dundee	131	304	91	174	92		75	44
City of Edinburgh	491	411	750	510	639	378	417	260
Clackmannanshire	3	3	70	64	2	45	0	5
Dumfries and Galloway	276	185	88	70	73	70	80	364
East Ayrshire	80	158	206	105	105	42	15
East Dunbartonshire	26	42	26	136	11	102	94	100
East Lothian	80	63	94	86	67	9	31	2
East Renfrewshire		20	119	57	15	119	16
Falkirk		39	123	119	58	42		51
Fife	282	394	168	244	134	223	61	149
Glasgow	981	918	952	1,137	1,314	647	825	1,371
Highland	388	425	381	517	291	159	109	39
Inverclyde	93	85	363	25	381	171	126	6
Midlothian	35	53	56	53	18	121	26	11
Moray	100	95	87	242	145	40		1
North Ayrshire	139	105	98	82	64	100	89	117
North Lanarkshire	75	264	224	217	124	166	109	137
Orkney	37	45	36	25	80	67	44	7
Perth and Kinross	153	178	348	112	101	48	44	8
Renfrewshire	168	101	109	119	283	175	159	56
Shetland	15	43	70	20	54	16	8	57
South Ayrshire	62	68	232	0	99	14	50
South Lanarkshire	156	392	329	106	243	215	136	45
Stirling	134	123	64	96	56	14	65	58
The Scottish Borders	81	92	34	168	1	83	37	49
West Dunbartonshire	48	87	81	54	217	13	0	66
West Lothian	85	119	181	123	59	66	58	25
Western Isles	44	72	43	11	90	15	34	8

Figures in respect of the full financial year 2015-16 will not be available until the next release of official statistics which are due to be published on 14 June 2016.