- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when the roll-out of its R100 programme will reach homes in Aberdeenshire, and when they will all have access to at least 30mbps internet speeds.
Answer
Telecommunications, including investment in and supporting of broadband infrastructure, is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Despite this, the Scottish Government is the only UK administration to have committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband access.
Every home and business in Scotland will be able to access superfast broadband – at speeds of 30Mbps or more - by the end of 2021.
The Scottish Government is committing £600 million to the initial phase of the Reaching 100% (R100) programme and, with procurement now underway, we expect to announce initial deployment plans early in 2019, once contracts have been agreed.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the expected lifetime mileage capacity is of a class 43 High Speed Train, and what the average mileage is of the refurbished class 43 units that are being introduced to the ScotRail fleet.
Answer
Scottish Government does not hold this information but all 54 of the class 43 power cars will undergo significant upgrades prior to being introduced into service on Scottish inter-city routes from this summer with the first few already here in Scotland. They will run between Scotland’s seven main cities, delivering 40% more seats than operate on those routes today and are faster, popular with passengers and will be upgraded to provide the latest standard of comfort, accessibility and catering provision.
Good, high quality refurbishment can deliver a passenger experience comparable with new rolling stock. HSTs’ key components have been changed many times over and the work that will be carried out before they enter passenger service will deliver a reliable, refurbished train with extended life.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 26 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried of the impact on local care services in areas in which the (a) NHS board and (b) local authority is awarded lower than the average national funding per head of population.
Answer
The position regarding the basis of funding for NHS Boards is set out in the response to question S5W-15959 on 26 April 2018.
Funding provided to Local Authorities by the Scottish Government is allocated using a needs-based formula which is discussed and agreed with COSLA on behalf of all 32 Local Authorities in Scotland.
The Scottish Government’s policy towards Local Authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual Local Authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including funding for care services, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
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 .
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 26 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the average annual funding is for NHS boards, broken down by per head of population, and how this compares with how much each receives.
Answer
Population level is only one of the factors taken into account by the Scottish Government when allocating funding to NHS Boards; other key factors include relative deprivation and need for healthcare of different Board areas. These factors are taken into account in the NRAC formula which is used when allocating funding to NHS Boards.
The Scottish Government has invested significantly in supporting the boards that are behind parity and, over a seven year period, has committed an additional £1.2 billion to those Boards that are below their NRAC parity levels.
In 2018-19 health resource budget will increase by over £400 million to £13.1 billion, with frontline NHS Boards receiving an additional 3.7% increase which includes £175 million to help deliver service improvements and reform in our NHS. All boards will be within 0.8 per cent of NRAC parity.
More information on the NRAC formula is available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/Resource-Allocation-Formula/ .
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, which of the refurbished class 43 units that are being introduced to the ScotRail fleet has the highest mileage, how many miles it has travelled, and in what year this train was first used.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15943 on 26 April 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of priority or blackspot areas for its R100 programme.
Answer
Telecommunications, including investment in and supporting of broadband infrastructure, is a matter reserved to the UK Government. Despite this, the Scottish Government is the only UK administration to have committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband access.
The R100 Intervention Area was determined through an Open Market Review (a detailed consultation with suppliers and a necessary part of the State Aid approval process), which identified premises that will not have superfast broadband access delivered, either commercially or via the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.
Within this intervention area, we have taken the decision to focus the initial R100 procurement on more rural areas, incentivising suppliers to target the most difficult to reach premises.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when the education secretary last met the Director of Education and Children’s Services for Aberdeenshire Council.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 25 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the average annual local authority (a) block grant and (b) total funding is, broken down by per head of population, and how this compares with how much each receives.
Answer
Please find the 2018-19 Block Grant per head and the 2018 19 total funding per head in the following table.
Local Authority | Population | 2018-19 Block Grant £m | Block Grant Per Head £ | 2018-19 Total Funding £m | Total Funding Per Head £ |
Aberdeen City | 229,840 | 320.6 | 1395 | 352.9 | 1536 |
Aberdeenshire | 262,190 | 408.1 | 1557 | 453.0 | 1728 |
Angus | 116,520 | 196.2 | 1684 | 213.4 | 1832 |
Argyll & Bute | 87,130 | 191.7 | 2200 | 208.0 | 2388 |
Clackmannanshire | 51,350 | 92.2 | 1795 | 100.8 | 1963 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 149,520 | 278.7 | 1864 | 307.2 | 2055 |
Dundee City | 148,270 | 286.6 | 1933 | 317.4 | 2141 |
East Ayrshire | 122,200 | 220.0 | 1801 | 240.0 | 1964 |
East Dunbartonshire | 107,540 | 180.5 | 1678 | 193.2 | 1796 |
East Lothian | 104,090 | 167.9 | 1613 | 183.5 | 1762 |
East Renfrewshire | 93,810 | 174.8 | 1863 | 184.6 | 1968 |
City of Edinburgh | 507,170 | 701.3 | 1383 | 798.7 | 1575 |
Eilean Siar | 26,900 | 93.9 | 3491 | 103.8 | 3860 |
Falkirk | 159,380 | 271.1 | 1701 | 293.3 | 1840 |
Fife | 370,330 | 617.7 | 1668 | 671.7 | 1814 |
Glasgow City | 615,070 | 1205.6 | 1960 | 1384.3 | 2251 |
Highland | 234,770 | 434.8 | 1852 | 485.9 | 2070 |
Inverclyde | 79,160 | 160.0 | 2022 | 173.0 | 2185 |
Midlothian | 88,610 | 153.6 | 1734 | 167.7 | 1893 |
Moray | 96,070 | 154.9 | 1613 | 169.0 | 1759 |
North Ayrshire | 135,890 | 265.4 | 1953 | 276.2 | 2033 |
North Lanarkshire | 339,390 | 596.0 | 1756 | 646.8 | 1906 |
Orkney Islands | 21,850 | 68.4 | 3132 | 81.0 | 3709 |
Perth & Kinross | 150,680 | 242.4 | 1609 | 263.9 | 1751 |
Renfrewshire | 175,930 | 301.4 | 1713 | 326.7 | 1857 |
Scottish Borders | 114,350 | 201.1 | 1756 | 231.2 | 2019 |
Shetland Islands | 23,200 | 80.3 | 3462 | 92.7 | 3996 |
South Ayrshire | 112,470 | 195.9 | 1742 | 212.2 | 1886 |
South Lanarkshire | 317,100 | 544.2 | 1716 | 587.9 | 1854 |
Stirling | 93,750 | 162.9 | 1738 | 177.4 | 1893 |
West Dunbartonshire | 89,860 | 182.5 | 2031 | 203.3 | 2262 |
West Lothian | 180,130 | 306.1 | 1699 | 330.8 | 1837 |
Scotland Total | 5,404,700 | 9456.7 | 1750 | 10431.6 | 1930 |
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 April 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 24 April 2018
To ask the Scottish Government by what date all sections of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) will be open to traffic.
Answer
In my statement to Parliament on 22 March 2018, I advised that it may be prudent to anticipate a late autumn 2018 date for the project opening.
Transport Scotland will continue to work with the contractor to establish whether any further measures can be implemented to ensure the project is not only delivered at the earliest opportunity but to identify if sections of new road can be opened in advance of the whole of the project.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report in the Press and Journal on 12 March 2018 that, due to recruitment difficulties, NHS Grampian is not administering sufficient chronic pain treatment; how the situation at NHS Grampian compares with the other NHS boards, and how it is supporting NHS Grampian in dealing with recruitment issues.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have been in correspondence with NHS Grampian over the last few months and have been advised of particular challenges within the Board in relation to delivering pain clinics. NHS Grampian has faced significant staff absences in the past year that has affected waiting times. However, recent recruitment has been successful and has enabled additional clinics to be offered.
NHS Grampian are currently carrying out a review of its elective care planning review, specifically in regard to the proposal for its chronic pain services. The review is due to be completed at the end of March 2018.
NHS Grampian were also given an extra funding of £4.9 million to help reduce waiting times across services, with it being up to the Board to decide where to invest this funding. We will continue to work with NHS Grampian to improve performance.
