- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for social enterprises that use the outdoors to promote mental health and wellbeing.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00583 on 16 June 2016 . 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: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of lottery funding awarded to each parliamentary constituency expressed also on a per capita basis.
Answer
The National Lottery is reserved to the UK Government and information on how lottery funds are distributed in Scotland is not held by the Scottish Government. However the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland has provided a breakdown of the lottery funding it awarded to each parliamentary constituency in 2015-2016, this is set out in the following table.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has lead responsibility for the National Lottery and publishes information on the distribution of lottery funding on its website. This information can be searched for by local authority area, by UK parliamentary constituency and by funding distributor, including all ‘good cause’ funding distributors in Scotland: http://www.lottery.culture.gov.uk/Search.aspx
Lottery funding distributed by the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland between 1 April 2015 and 1 April 2016
| Scottish Parliament Constituency Name | Number of projects | Amount invested |
| Aberdeen Central | 13 | £506,712 |
| Aberdeen Donside | 6 | £42,143 |
| Aberdeen South and North Kincardine | 8 | £61,091 |
| Aberdeenshire East | 15 | £122,537 |
| Aberdeenshire West | 20 | £157,775 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 18 | £123,594 |
| Almond Valley | 17 | £484,667 |
| Angus North and Mearns | 15 | £1,013,586 |
| Angus South | 14 | £1,176,968 |
| Argyll and Bute | 45 | £1,390,132 |
| Ayr | 13 | £1,120,763 |
| Banffshire and Buchan Coast | 14 | £128,783 |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Ross | 32 | £2,024,499 |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | 21 | £1,011,379 |
| Clackmannanshire and Dunblane | 27 | £776,107 |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | 19 | £761,971 |
| Clydesdale | 27 | £630,157 |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | 23 | £795,841 |
| Cowdenbeath | 11 | £743,186 |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | 19 | £138,864 |
| Cunninghame North | 21 | £298,682 |
| Cunninghame South | 19 | £1,427,560 |
| Dumbarton | 28 | £199,772 |
| Dumfriesshire | 22 | £148,216 |
| Dundee City East | 17 | £140,658 |
| Dundee City West | 17 | £153,616 |
| Dunfermline | 13 | £90,178 |
| East Kilbride | 15 | £182,366 |
| East Lothian | 24 | £169,064 |
| Eastwood | 5 | £523,464 |
| Edinburgh Central | 47 | £3,989,085 |
| Edinburgh Eastern | 17 | £154,166 |
| Edinburgh Northern and Leith | 24 | £1,616,878 |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | 21 | £535,671 |
| Edinburgh Southern | 13 | £1,089,362 |
| Edinburgh Western | 12 | £109,798 |
| Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | 28 | £1,050,753 |
| Falkirk East | 15 | £351,385 |
| Falkirk West | 31 | £811,350 |
| Galloway and West Dumfries | 31 | £960,412 |
| Glasgow Anniesland | 19 | £151,726 |
| Glasgow Cathcart | 13 | £670,998 |
| Glasgow Kelvin | 48 | £3,594,926 |
| Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn | 41 | £4,002,299 |
| Glasgow Pollok | 16 | £213,542 |
| Glasgow Provan | 26 | £1,557,525 |
| Glasgow Shettleston | 26 | £1,259,417 |
| Glasgow Southside | 47 | £2,295,048 |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | 35 | £3,515,325 |
| Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse | 18 | £154,941 |
| Inverness and Nairn | 21 | £217,212 |
| Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley | 32 | £517,802 |
| Kirkcaldy | 17 | £495,590 |
| Linlithgow | 14 | £1,026,310 |
| Mid Fife and Glenrothes | 11 | £570,490 |
| Midlothian North and Musselburgh | 18 | £125,893 |
| Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | 33 | £981,872 |
| Moray | 13 | £223,103 |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 35 | £1,915,317 |
| Na h-Eileanan an Iar | 14 | £101,314 |
| North East Fife | 19 | £136,628 |
| Orkney Islands | 11 | £723,431 |
| Paisley | 32 | £1,905,867 |
| Perthshire North | 29 | £750,966 |
| Perthshire South and Kinross-shire | 14 | £96,880 |
| Renfrewshire North and West | 14 | £102,101 |
| Renfrewshire South | 31 | £260,621 |
| Rutherglen | 19 | £225,764 |
| Shetland Islands | 17 | £103,702 |
| Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch | 35 | £1,338,394 |
| Stirling | 38 | £531,609 |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | 15 | £112,469 |
| Uddingston and Bellshill | 21 | £755,090 |
| Total | 1589 | £57,847,359 |
Source: Big Lottery Fund Scotland
Note: Due to the nature of Big Lottery Fund Scotland’s reporting system, distribution of funds is based on the main location of project delivery. Certain areas therefore have larger amounts invested partly because many organisations are based in these constituencies although their projects may be delivered nationally.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 15 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been a recent change to the rights of grandparents seeking access to their grandchildren and whether a review is planned.
Answer
There have been no changes made to the rights of grandparents. However, the Scottish Government is planning to review the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The 1995 Act makes provision on parental responsibilities and rights, on contact orders and on related areas.
As well as the planned review of the 1995 Act, the Scottish Government is already carrying out work to refresh the non-statutory Parenting Agreement for Scotland, which includes the charter for grandchildren: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/112493/0027333.pdf. The charter highlights the important role that grandparents and the wider family can play in raising children.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it supports the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and how it supports the global effort to tackle the illegal trade in antiquities.
Answer
The Scottish Government is proud to support the UNESCO Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property (the Paris convention). Membership of United Nations organisations such as UNESCO and controls on imports and exports are reserved to the United Kingdom Government which ratified the Paris convention in 2002.
The UK Government is proposing to ratify the Hague convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocols of 1954 and 1999, in the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts Bill) which will require a legislative consent motion to be passed by the Scottish Parliament.
Scotland has hosted the trafficking culture programme at the Scottish crime and justice centre at the University of Glasgow that produces evidence-based research into the contemporary global trade in looted cultural objects.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 15 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how the business rates in Elgin city centre compare with the national average and other comparable cities and towns.
Answer
This information is not held, however the rateable value of all properties is published online at saa.gov.uk and the Scottish assessors use the same valuation methodologies when valuing properties across Scotland. In addition, the same poundage rate and national relief schemes apply in Elgin.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote cycling events such as cyclosportives; what impact this has on (a) tourism and (b) the economy of (i) Scotland, (ii) Moray and (iii) the Highlands and Islands, and what funding it provides.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00463 on 10 June 2016. 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
Since 2003, VisitScotland’s EventScotland team has invested £2.6 million to support 55 cycling events across Scotland. 23 of these events have taken place in the Highland region, attracting £1.2 million of this support. It is estimated the total net additional spend generated by all of these events at a Scotland level is £26 million. At a local authority level, this total is estimated to be £38 million. For the Highlands specifically, the net additional spend from the 23 supported events in the region is estimated to be £22.5 million. Recent examples of supported events include ‘Etape Loch Ness’ in Inverness in April 2016 and the ‘Mountain Bike World Cup’ in Fort William in June 2016. In addition, Highland and Islands Enterprise has contributed towards infrastructure costs to allow for the development of the cycling tourism sector and events, which also includes the Nevis Range for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.
VisitScotland also undertakes significant activity to promote cycling in Scotland and to assist the tourism industry harness the economic benefits of the sport. Their consumer website showcases a wide range of cycle routes and cycling events and VisitScotland also delivers the Cyclists Welcome Scheme, which accredits businesses who cater for cyclists and visitors with an interest in outdoor activities and the environment. To date there are 1077 total Cyclists Welcome Scheme members across Scotland.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for establishing the land commission and for its work to begin.
Answer
The Scottish Government aims to appoint the five land commissioners and the tenant farming commissioner by the end of 2016, with the land commission in operation on 1 April 2017.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how cycling events benefit Scotland; what the outcome is of the most recent research, and what further research is planned.
Answer
The latest report into the value of cycle tourism was published in June 2013 by Transform Scotland, the national sustainable transport alliance. This states that the total value of cycle tourism – by residents and visitors, touring and leisure cycling – in Scotland is up to £239 million per year; that leisure cycle tourism contributes £58.5 million to the gross value added (GVA) of Scotland; and that when combined with mountain biking, for which separate prior research had been conducted by Ekos in 2009, the total value of cycle tourism in Scotland is estimated to be between £241 million and £362 million per year, with a cumulative annual contribution to GVA of £129 million. Further information is available at: http://transformscotland.org.uk/what-we-do/research/the-value-of-cycle-tourism/.
Both mountain biking and road cycling are growth sports in Scotland and events make a key contribution in both supporting delivery of the national event strategy ‘Scotland The Perfect Stage’ as well as the ongoing development of the sport. In addition to the significant economic benefits from cycle tourism, media coverage of cycling events such as the Mountain Bike World Cup and Tour of Britain receive extensive television coverage and act as a driver for helping to promote Scotland as a cycling destination of choice, as well as positively contributing to Scotland’s international profile.
We are not aware of any plans to undertake further research at this stage.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage people to take up teaching posts in the Moray area.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2016
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been awarded in grants from the Scottish Land Fund to applicants in Moray since 2007 and who the successful applicants were.
Answer
The Scottish Government began funding the Scottish Land Fund in 2012, prior to this, communities could access funding from a variety of different streams to support land and land asset acquisitions. Since its’ launch in 2012 two projects in Moray have received funding from the Scottish Land Fund, totalling £831,500. Successful applicants were Covesea Lighthouse Community Company and The Findhorn Conservation Company.
