Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has received the document from Mr Dick.

Aberdeen City Council has provided categorical assurances that there is no evidence to support these claims, and the Scottish Government are liaising with the Council regarding technical analysis of Mr Dick’s claims. Aberdeen City Council, in discussion with Hub North Scotland, will consider what further actions can be undertaken to provide greater assurance.

Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, it is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate across Scotland. Accordingly, the question on the relevance of the use of visual inspections as part of those Brimmond School investigations should be directed to the building owner, Aberdeen City Council.

The reports by Buro Happold and Fairhurst were commissioned by Hub North Scotland, Aberdeen City Council's delivery partner for the Brimmond School project. Accordingly, the question on whether the reports will be published should be directed to Hub North Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold a central list of complaints raised about home reports.

The correct recourse for anybody who has a complaint about a home report is through their surveyor.

Home reports must be signed off by a fully qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and as such they are bound to act in accordance with the RICS guidance. If there are concerns about surveyors, they should be brought to the attention of the RICS, who may wish to investigate.

The surveyor is liable under the legislation to the buyer for any material loss suffered as a result of an incorrect home report. This ensures that the home report provides an independent assessment of the property, which can be relied upon by both the seller and buyer, based on a non-invasive inspection of the property.

Furthermore, a home buyer can contact The Property Ombudsman (TPO) for advice and possible investigation. TPO scheme is a UK government approved scheme to provide independent redress in relation to disputes between consumers and property agents.

Transport Scotland is committed to supporting the Scottish Government’s initiative to encourage fair and progressive work practices.

No staff employed by Transport Scotland, either directly or via the Temporary and Interim Staff Frameworks, are employed on zero hour contracts.

The following table shows the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) for patients resident in Scotland who have received elective or emergency treatment as an inpatient or day case in hospitals in England in each year since 2009-10.

The Scottish Government does not hold passport data. Nationality and citizenship are matters that are fully reserved to the United Kingdom Government under the Devolution Settlement. The responsibility for issuing passports sits with HM Passport Office, which is part of the Home Office.

The Scottish Household survey (SHS) produces annual estimates of the number of adults (17+) in possession of a drivers licence. Transport Scotland publishes the SHS transport and travel data directly. The latest estimates for 2018, published on 10 September 2019 show that 69.5% of Scottish adults over 17 have a drivers licence.

Further information is available here - https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/transport-and-travel-in-scotland-2018-pdf-version/ .

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

I have passed your query to Steve Dunlop, the Chief Executive, and asked him to respond to you directly.

This £54.7 million is included within the 2019-20 Scottish Budget and is fully absorbed in supporting work already underway, including EU exit preparation.

A full breakdown of money allocated to EU Exit preparation is contained within the
Scottish Government overview of no deal preparations published on 8 October: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-overview-no-deal-preparations/ .