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-11736

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of the country's breeding curlew population; what proportion of the (a) UK, (b) European and (c) global population this represents, and how this compares with previous years.

The most recent population estimate for breeding curlews in Scotland is approximately 58,800 pairs, with 66,000 pairs estimated in the UK in total. Scotland has approximately 89% of the UK population.

The most recent European estimate was published by Birdlife International in 2015, as 212,000-292,000 pairs. Scotland’s population represents 20.1% - 27.7% of this estimate.

Wetlands International estimate the global population of curlew at approximately 835,000-1,310,000 individuals.

In Scotland, the British Trust for Ornithology’s Breeding Bird Survey data suggests that curlews have declined by approximately 59% since 1994. Across the UK, the decline was estimated at 48% for the same time period. This compares to an estimated 30-49% decline in the global population of curlews over the last 31 years.

Question reference: S5W-11448

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to allow local authorities to set a tourism levy (a) on accommodation, (b) on vehicles and (c) by other means.

Question reference: S5W-11332

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 2 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the impact of the Apprenticeship Levy on business, and whether this involved (a) interviews with businesses directly affected by the levy and (b) the collection of data on the number and projected number of apprenticeships in Scotland.

The Scottish Government carried out a range of analysis and engagement ahead of the introduction of the UK Government's Apprenticeship Levy. A consultation on the response to that introduction took place in the summer of 2016. In addition Ministers and Scottish Government officials were involved in around 100 specific stakeholder engagement events. Some of the organisations included are listed in the following table. Skills Development Scotland is engaging with over 230 large employers on an on-going basis through their dedicated relationship managers.

Aggreko

Aker Solutions

Allied Vehicles

Amec Foster Wheeler

Anderside Tools Ltd

Applusrtd.

ASDA

Association of British Insurers

ATOS

Babcock International

BAE Systems Ltd

Balfour Beattie

Barnados

BHC Structural Steelwork Design and Build

Bibby Offshore

Bilfinger

BMW

Boots

British Gas

British Retail Consortium

BT Group

Cape plc

Carillion

Centrica

Chartered Management Institute

Clydesdale Bank

CMS

College Development Network

Colleges Scotland

Concept Northern

Confederation of British Industry

Construction Industry Training Board

Construction Scotland

Convention of Highlands and Islands

COSLA

Department for Education

Devro (Scotland Ltd)

Diageo

Diamond Power

Doosan Babcock

DuPont

East Kilbride and District Group Training Association

EDF Energy

Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh College

Edinburgh University

Edinburgh Woollen Mill

Edrington Group Ltd

Emmerson

Energy & Utility Skills

Energy Skills Partnership

Engineering Construction Industry Training Board

Enterprise Engineering

Ethos Energy

Federation of Master Builders

Federation of Small Businesses

Fife College

Finmeccanica

First Bus group

Forth Valley College

GBR Dupont

GE Aviation

Glasgow Airport (AGS Group)

Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Developing the Young Workforce

Global Energy

GSK

Hargreaves Services

Hewlett Packard

HSBC

Industry Leadership Group

Institute for Public Policy Research

Institute of Directors

John Clark Motor Group

John Russell Group

Johnson & Johnson

Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler

Learndirect

Leonardo

Limelight Training Edinburgh

Lloyds Bank

Maclay Murray & Spens LLP

Mactaggart & Mickel

McCurragh

McTaggart Scott Co Ltd

Mercer

Mitie

Morisons LLP

Mozolowski and Murray

National Construction College Scotland

National Health Service Scotland Apprenticeship network

NFU Scotland

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Northern Ireland Government

Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation

Oil & Gas UK

Open College of the Arts

OPITO

Oracle

Petrofac

Pinsent Masons

Plexus Ltd

Police Scotland

Princes Trust

Purvis Group

Road Haulage Association

Robert Gordon University

Robertsons Group

Royal Bank of Scotland

Royal Society of Chemistry

Sainsbury’s

Santander

Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board

Scottish Association of Engineering Education

Scottish Chamber of Commerce

Scottish Council for Development and Industry

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

Scottish Courts

Scottish Decorators Federation

Scottish Engineering

Scottish Food and Drink Federation

Scottish Funding Council

Scottish Gas

Scottish Motor Trade Association

Scottish Power

Scottish Prison Service

Scottish Retail Consortium

Scottish Training Federation

Scottish Water

Scottish Whisky Association

Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies

SecuriGroup

Skills Development Scotland

Standard Life

Star Refrigeration Ltd

STATS

Stork Technical Services

STUC

STV

Subsea7

Technip UK

Terex Trucks Ltd

Tesco

The Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

The Restaurant Group

The Scottish Salmon Company

Third Sector Employability Forum

Tigers Ltd

UK Government

UK Thales Group

United Biscuits Ltd

Universities Scotland

UTC Aerospace Systems

Values into Action

veolia.com

Virgin Money

Weir group

Welsh Government

William Grant Ltd

Wood Group

Skills Development Scotland routinely collects and publishes data on the number of Modern Apprentices in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-11443

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a campervan levy.

The Scottish Government is mindful of the increased demands on ferry services given the affordability of travel following the full roll out of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) in the Western Isles.

The reduction of fares to RET levels has had a positive impact on island communities, boosting local tourist trade and local economies. We want to see this continue, however we are aware that there have been some challenges for those wishing to travel to and from remote and island communities.

Along with operators, we will continue to monitor Scotland’s ferry services and frequently review service provision to and from the islands, including all options in regard to demand management measures.

Question reference: S5W-11449

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the comment by the Minister for International Development and Europe on Good Morning Scotland on 21 September 2017 that (a) extra capacity is required on ferries to and from the Western Isles and (b) there should be a levy on drivers of campervans visiting the Western Isles represents government policy and, if so, when this was agreed.

Dr Allan’s comments were made in his capacity as constituency MSP.

Dr Allan has written to me asking what consideration the Scottish Government might give to a scheme for an additional levy on ferry fares to enable a fund that would allow communities to direct investment for the provision of facilities for motorhomes and other parts of the tourist industry.

The Scottish Government has made a substantial investment in the Stornoway-Ullapool route, including the £42 million MV Loch Seaforth and the majority of the funding for the recent harbour upgrades at Ullapool and Stornoway. This is in addition to continuing to fund significantly reduced fares through the RET scheme since 2008.

The Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan keeps forecasted demand under review on an annual basis and helps develop long-term investment plans to meet this demand. The most recent Plan, published in December 2016, identified the Stornoway-Ullapool and Uig-Tarbert-Lochmaddy routes as ones where demand pressures were growing and committed to a comprehensive appraisal of future options, which will commence later this year.

Question reference: S5W-11264

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the salaries of university principals and vice-chancellors, in light of the recent announcement by the UK Government in relation to universities in England.

As autonomous institutions, the salary levels of Principals and Vice-Chancellors are a matter for each university's governing body and remuneration committee. However, the Scottish Government is clear that we expect universities to exercise restraint in setting senior pay. The Scottish Government's position is that senior pay packages should be in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other university staff. Institutions must ensure the highest standards of transparency in setting pay awards. We welcome further work that the higher education sector is progressing to increase transparency and accountability in remuneration committee decision-making.

All higher education institutions in Scotland publish the details of senior remuneration on an annual basis. Every institution reports on the number of staff paid in the higher salary brackets.

Question reference: S5W-11250

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) warning letters, (b) court citations and (c) warrants to apprehend have been issued by courts in each sheriffdom in each year since 2007-08 to offenders who have defaulted on their fines, broken down by fine type.

Question reference: S5W-11280

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, following the publication of its response to the UK Government’s position paper on citizens’ rights, whether it will publish a response to the EU’s position paper on essential principles of the financial settlement in the context of withdrawal from the EU.

Question reference: S5O-01290

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how the number of teacher training places at the University of Aberdeen in the current academic year compares with last year.

Question reference: S5W-10695

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many fines enforcement officers there are, broken down by sheriffdom.