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-28057

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to an oral question from Maureen Watt MSP by the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Tourism on 18 March 2020 (Official Report, col.11) regarding support for the fishing sector, whether it can confirm that a package of support has been agreed, and, if so, whether it will provide details.

Question reference: S5W-27863

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in each of Scotland’s city region deals to date.

We have committed over £1.8 billion over the next 10 to 15 years to city region deals, regional growth deals and associated investments. Five city region deals are currently in delivery. We will invest £500 million in the Glasgow city region, £300 million in the Edinburgh and South of Scotland region, £135 million in the Inverness and Highland city region, £250 million in the Aberdeen city region, and £45.1 million in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire region through our deals programme. In addition, £150 million will be invested in the Tay Cities region. We aim to sign a full deal agreement for the Tay Cities as soon as possible. The following table sets out total expenditure to 31 January 2020 on those deals in delivery.

City Region Deal	Total Spend - Scottish Government and UK Government combined	Total Scottish Government Spend
Glasgow	£193,670,000	£95,000,000
Aberdeen	£58,925,490	£29,462,745
Inverness & Highland	£15,051,328	£11,577,225
Edinburgh & South East Scotland	£77,711,340	£14,694,774
Stirling & Clackmannanshire	£804,690	£804,690
Total spend -Scottish City Region Deals	£346,162,848	£151,539,434

Note: the Scottish Government has also agreed additional funding packages for a number of deals including £254 million for Aberdeen and £5 million for Stirling and Clackmannanshire. The full deal for Stirling and Clackmannanshire was signed on 26 February 2020.

Heads of Terms have been signed for two regional growth deals, committing investment of £85 million to the Borderlands deal and £103 million in the Ayrshire deal, with good progress being made towards agreeing full deals for both. We remain focused on achieving 100% coverage of Scotland with growth deals and have committed £32.5 million to a deal for Moray, with £25 million committed to a deal for Argyll and Bute. We aim to agree Heads of Terms for both deals as soon as possible.

Falkirk and the Islands are the last two areas in Scotland waiting on confirmation of a specific investment commitment to their respective deals. We want to indicate our intended investment quantum in the short term. Following the absence of an announcement about these areas in the UK Budget, we are calling on the UK government to do likewise.

Question reference: S5W-27825

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26086 by Derek Mackay on 12 November 2019, whether, in the interests of transparency, it will reconsider its position on publishing each Scottish Growth Scheme monthly report.

Question reference: S5W-27823

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses no longer offer support to help fund the Scottish Growth Scheme, and for what reasons.

The Scottish Growth Scheme is available to unlock investment for viable businesses across Scotland. Businesses do no directly support the activities delivered under the Scottish Growth Scheme. All the activities under the Scottish Growth Scheme are readily available apart from the Scottish European Growth Co-investment programme, which was closed on 31 January by the European Investment Fund with the UK withdrawal from the European Union.

Question reference: S5W-27824

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26084 by Derek Mackay on 12 November 2019, whether it will provide an update regarding how much money has been invested in the Scottish Growth Scheme to date, and how many businesses have been supported by this.

Question reference: S5W-27866

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when RET fares will be applied to the Gourock-Dunoon services provided by (a) CalMac Ferries Limited and (b) Western Ferries (Clyde) Limited.

Question reference: S5W-27865

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual subsidy costs are for each route on ferry services provided by CalMac Ferries Limited.

Question reference: S5W-27864

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the current total level of its borrowing is, and what this represents as a percentage of its borrowing capacity.

Question reference: S5W-27862

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how it calculated the figure of £468 million of anticipated Barnett consequentials listed in Table 1.02 of its Budget 2020-21.

The £468 million of anticipated Barnett consequentials in Table 1.02 of the Scottish Budget 2020-21 is based on the published Costings Document for the Conservative Party manifesto for the UK General Election in December 2019. In that document, Table 1 lists resource spending commitments amounting to £1,505 million and Table 6 lists capital spending commitments amounting to £3,290 million. Scotland’s Barnett share of those figures is estimated as £142million of resource funding and £326 million of capital funding, giving the total of £468 million.

Question reference: S5O-04214

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to utilise the Scotland Reserve in its 2020-21 Budget.