- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 July 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted an assessment of biogenic habitats, and, if so, what the outcome was.
Answer
The Marine Strategy assessment published in October 2019 includes an indicator for sublittoral rock and biogenic habitats. The assessment found that Good Environmental Status has not yet been achieved in either the Greater North Sea or the Celtic Seas. The report can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system
/uploads/attachment_data/file/841246/marine-strategy-part1-october19.pdf .
Scotland’s Marine Atlas which was published in 2011 provides baseline information. The new version which is due to be published later this year will provide an assessment against the baseline for biogenic habitats.
Furthermore, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) undertook an assessment of 11 Priority Marine features which included biogenic habitats and provided advice to Marine Scotland. This advice was published as part of the scoping consultation on Priority Marine Features held from 05 July to 31 August 2018 and can be found at https://consult.gov.scot/marine-scotland/priority-marine-features/ .
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2020
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2020
To ask the First Minister what steps will be taken to avoid a big increase in youth unemployment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2020
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how much in non-domestic rates relief will be given in the financial year 2020-21 to (a) Aldi, (b) Asda, (c) Co-op, (d) Lidl, (e) Morrisons, (f) Sainsbury’s and (g) Tesco.
Answer
The grants and reliefs are being administered by local authorities and Scottish Government does not hold information on individual relief recipients.
We are determined to help keep companies in business and our financial support now exceeds the £2.3 billion passed on from the UK Government.
This includes a universal 1.6% relief available to all non-domestic properties, and a 100% relief for businesses in the Retail, Hospitality, Leisure and Airport sectors.
The Scottish Government accepted the recommendation of the Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates to publish lists of recipients of rates relief, and we are working with local councils to deliver this in the future, in line with General Data Protection Regulations.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2020
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 27 May 2020
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government has had any discussions with the Treasury regarding Project Birch, the plan to assist struggling companies of strategic importance.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 27 May 2020
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 April 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 7 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it will provide to North Ayrshire Council to support the construction of a new Ardrossan Academy, in light of the proposals being approved.
Answer
I am pleased that an Ardrossan Community Learning and Innovation Hub - to replace Ardrossan Academy and Winton Primary School - is one of the projects to benefit from the first phase of the Learning Estate Investment Programme. Initial funding discussions have been held with Council officers regarding the Ardrossan project. These will be confirmed in the near future, once the immediate pressures arising from the COVID-19 crisis have been addressed.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils there were in each local authority area in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2019, also broken down by how many had additional support needs.
Answer
Statistics on the number of pupils in the primary and secondary sectors in each local authority and the number of these pupils with additional support needs are published in the Pupil Census Supplementary Statistics .
The number of pupils in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in 2012 and 2019 may be found in Table 6.2 and Table 7.2 respectively of the 2019 edition of this publication: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/ . The number of pupils with additional support needs in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in 2019 may be found in Table 6.10 and Table 7.5 respectively of the same publication.
The number of pupils with additional support needs in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in 2012 may be found in the Table 6.10 and Table 7.5 respectively of the 2012 edition of this publication: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/pupcensus2012.
The Pupil Census collects information on the number of pupils who require additional support to access education not the number of pupils who have been diagnosed with specific needs. Differences in the assessment and recording of additional support needs between local authorities are likely responsible for some of the variation in figures between individual authorities.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2020
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what it considers will be the impact on sport of an extended ban on public gatherings.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2020
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how much it anticipates it would cost each year to provide free ferry travel to island residents aged 18 and under.
Answer
Currently we do not have a definitive estimate of the annual cost of providing free ferry travel to island residents aged 18 and under.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its decision to extend free bus travel to those aged 18 and under, what consideration it will give to allowing young island residents to travel free on ferries.
Answer
We have committed to a national concessionary travel scheme for free bus travel for people aged 18 and under from January 2021, subject to completion of the necessary preparations, including due diligence and research. We will engage with young people across the country to ensure that all areas benefit from the measures.
Support is provided for young people who use ferries through the YoungScot national entitlement card. Young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who live on islands receive four vouchers for single trips or two returns from the islands to the mainland. In addition, under-16s travel for half the adult fare, and under-5s travel completely free.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2020
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 17 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a Greenspace Scotland report stating that ground-source heating from urban parks could provide low-carbon energy to heat 15% of homes.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the work of Greenspace Scotland in estimating the potential for ground source heating from parks.
As we transition to a low carbon economy we will use a range of sources for heating. We are working with local authorities to develop Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies to identify and coordinate delivery of the most appropriate forms of low carbon heat for each area in Scotland and improvements to the energy efficiency of the building stock. We continue to build the evidence base necessary to inform Scottish Government policy and local authority strategies. We are grateful to Greenspace Scotland for the initiative they have shown, and will work with them to incorporate their work into our growing evidence base.
The Scottish Government, through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP), provided £100,000 of financial support to Edinburgh City Council in 2017 for the development of the renewable heat project at Saughton Park. This support enabled the completion of a low carbon heat options appraisal and technical study. Through our Community And Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), the Scottish Government has also supported Greenspace Scotland to examine similar approaches in five parks across the Falkirk and North Lanarkshire Council areas.
Large scale heat sources need dedicated infrastructure to deliver the heat to our buildings. Heat networks will have a key role to play in supplying Scotland's heat in future and will support our efforts to reduce emissions. We have introduced the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill to create the circumstances needed to unlock the full potential of the sector and support its growth. Alongside the Bill, the Scottish Government is continuing to demonstrate its strong support for the heat networks sector. In the Budget we have announced a £50 million Heat Networks Early Adopter Challenge Fund - a ring-fenced fund for local authority heat network projects - and we continue to provide support through our District Heating Loan Fund and Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme.
