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-27185

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 20 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government where Scotland's Centre for Regional Inclusive Growth is based; what its annual budget is, and how many full-time equivalent staff it employs.

Question reference: S5W-27356

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with its £50 million town centres fund for 2019-20, and whether it will publish an evaluation of its impact.

The £50 million capital Town Centre Fund for 2019-20 is enabling local authorities to stimulate a range of investments supporting the themes of our Town Centre Action Plan which encourages town centres to diversify and flourish.

Local authorities submitted progress reports in November 2019 and will submit end of year financial reports by 31 March 2020, with projects due to complete by 30 September 2020. There is a shared interest in promoting and highlighting the achievements of local authorities in terms of delivery and impact, and we will consider steps for evaluation of the Fund once projects are complete.

Question reference: S5W-27183

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on hiring external meeting rooms in hotels, conference centres and other facilities in each of the last five years.

Information held in the Scottish Government finance reporting IT system shows spend on hiring external meeting rooms in hotels, conference centres and other facilities detailed below.

The figures exclude any such costs that cannot be separated out from the overall costs of events organised outwith the Scottish Government estate.

2014-2015*	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-19
£38,051.41	£15,873.57	£10,847.35	£6,228.29	£30,204.19

*Year is 01-04-YYYY – 31-03-YYYY

Question reference: S5W-27360

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 13 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it received in receipts from the Apprenticeship Levy in each of the last three years, and how much it expects to receive in 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-27074

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 5 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many business improvement districts there are, and how many more it plans to establish.

There are presently 39 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) operational in Scotland enabling local business partnerships to vote to invest collectively to deliver improvements and create platforms for local economic growth. A further 14 BIDs are currently in development.

BIDS is a model open to local business communities to use if they wish and, as such, there is no target to establish a particular number of BIDs. Scotland’s Improvement Districts (part of Scotland’s Towns Partnership) is the Scottish Government’s official support and development partner. Through this, we are developing a new and more expansive BID model which will deliver more inclusive and energetic partnerships, increase support and capacity to BIDs to strengthen their impact, and bring greater sustainable growth to town centres and other areas across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-27132

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to use the platform of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 to promote Scotland tourism, businesses and exports in Japan this summer.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to ensure that we maximise opportunities around the Tokyo Olympics.

I undertook a successful visit to Japan between 7 – 13 October 2019, to strengthen the growing cultural, governmental and business links between Scotland and the world’s third-largest economy. We will continue to work with partners including SDI to build on our established relationships and identify opportunities in 2020 to enhance trade and investment collaboration. This activity will focus on renewable energy, science and technology and food and drink exports, including Scotch Whisky, Scottish seafood and, following the lifting of the ban on Scotch beef, red meat. The Olympic and Paralympic Games present an opportunity to partner with DIT around their planned ‘Great Weeks’ which are centred around Healthy Ageing and Creative Technology.

In Tokyo, I launched Scotland’s 2020 Year of Coasts and Waters, which encouraged Japanese tourists to visit Scotland. Potential cooperation around the 2020 Tokyo cultural Olympiad and 2020 Paralympics also formed part of several discussions with regional and national representatives, and we look forward to cultural exchanges throughout the year, including 12 projects supported by Creative Scotland in partnership with the British Council, and the performance by the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra as part of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.

I attended events at the Scottish Rugby Union’s pop-up Scotland Rugby House, meeting Japanese and Scottish rugby fans and hearing about the amazing reception the Scotland team received at their training camp in Nagasaki. We continue to look towards building on ever increasing sporting links - sportscotland, our National Agency for Sport, will be represented at the Olympics and Paralympics. Specialist performance support staff will attend as part of Team GB and these staff will play a vital role in giving Scottish and British athletes the best platform to achieve success at the Games.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26689 on 11 December 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-27076

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it established its ministerial taskforce to address population concerns; who the members of the taskforce are; how often it will meet each year, and how it will work with (a) local government and (b) other stakeholders.

The Ministerial Population Task Force was established in June 2019 and meets quarterly throughout the year. The following ministers are members of the Task Force - other ministers may also attend the Task Force depending on the issues on the agenda:

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs (Chair)
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport
Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government
Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment
Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands
Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development
Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation
Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills
Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science

I recently met local council leaders to discuss the population challenges facing their areas and officials supporting the Task Force regularly meet representatives from local government and other organisations in order to hear their perspectives. Population was a main discussion point at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands, which met on 28 October 2019 in Inverness. COSLA, Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise attend the Population Programme Board, which forms part of the governance structure of the Task Force. The Task Force will continue to engage with a range of partners, including local government.

Question reference: S5W-27077

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 3 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how long the interim chief executive of South of Scotland Enterprise will be in place, and by what date a permanent chief executive will be in position.

Question reference: S5O-04090

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the cumulative percentage divergence has been between total GDP growth in the Scottish and UK economies since May 2007.

Question reference: S5W-27075

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines "inclusive growth", and what information it has regarding whether this is the same definition used by all (a) local authorities and (b) agencies involved with enterprise.

The Scottish Government set out its definition of Inclusive Growth, and how it relates to the activities of its Enterprise Agencies, in the answer to question S5W-15066 on 14 March 2018. This states that Inclusive Growth is growth that combines increased prosperity with greater equity; that creates opportunities for all and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity fairly.

Promoting a shared inclusive growth agenda across Scotland is a key objective of this Government – evidenced, for example, by the establishment of Scotland’s Centre for Regional Inclusive Growth – which is working with partners across Scotland, including Local Authorities, to drive improvements in inclusive growth outcomes across Scotland’s communities.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx