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: S5O-03755

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Referendums (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S5W-25976

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will raise with Dundee City Council reports that a restructuring of swimming lessons run by Leisure and Culture Dundee could result in a 45% reduction in the number of lessons on offer in the city, with lessons reduced from seven to four days a week at Lochee pool.

Question reference: S5W-26017

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 6 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings in the Office for National Statistics report, Personal well-being in the UK: April 2018 to March 2019, which records 15.3% and 9.8% increases respectively in levels of anxiety over the last year among people in Angus and Dundee, and what its position is on whether the performance of NHS Tayside might have contributed to this.

It is disappointing to see the reported increase in levels of self-reported anxiety in people in Dundee and Angus from 2017-18 to 2018-19. However, this may not represent a rise in illness but rather may be at least in part a reflection of increased public awareness of emotional and mental health, and a reduction in stigma, helping people to feel more comfortable talking about mental and emotional wellbeing. Over the full period of the report (2011-12 to 2018-19) the self-reported anxiety levels for both Angus and Dundee City have undulated. The report also indicates that the self-reported anxiety level for Scotland as a whole has improved by 3.4% from the year ending March 2013 to the year ending March 2019.

It would be inadvisable to speculate, on or assert any causal link between the data and any actions undertaken by NHS Tayside. However, it has been recognised that NHS Tayside Mental Health services are currently performing below the standards expected by the Scottish Government. That is why NHS Tayside commissioned an Independent Inquiry into their Mental Health services. The Inquiry is set to conclude before the end of the year with a final report to be published shortly thereafter.

The Scottish Government continues to support NHS Tayside through an established Oversight Group which facilitates both expert advice and practical support to ensure performance improvement.

Question reference: S5O-03668

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the delayed implementation of the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill, how it plans to reduce landfill use in the north east.

As part of the recently announced transitional arrangements for the ban, there will be a centrally co-ordinated intervention to help local authorities procure solutions for their residual waste. Scottish Landfill Tax will be used to provide a further incentive to ensure that transitional work proceeds at the necessary pace. We’ll also continue to prioritise reducing waste and increasing recycling to reduce reliance on landfill.

Question reference: S5O-03614

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what cost benefit analysis has been undertaken on building the Dundee Northern Relief Road since the fourth Strategic Transport Projects Review was published.

Question reference: S5W-25137

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for a timetabled plan to lower the business rates burden, as set out in its submission on the 2020-21 budget.

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair and sustainable non-domestic rates system. In 2019-20 we increased the poundage by below the Consumer Price Index, which ensures that over 90 per cent of properties in Scotland pay a lower poundage than they would in other parts of the UK. We also offer the most generous package of non-domestic rates reliefs anywhere in the UK, worth an estimated £750 million in 2019-20, including measures that are unique in the UK such as the Business Growth Accelerator.

Question reference: S5W-25138

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reduce the Large Business Supplement by April 2020, as recommended by the Barclay review in 2017.

Question reference: S5W-25136

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for a freeze in the headline poundage rate, as set out in its submission on the 2020-21 budget.

Question reference: S5W-25135

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional tax revenue from business rates will be generated in 2020-21 from the proposed CPI-linked increase in the poundage rate, broken down by sector.

Question reference: S5W-25139

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for a moratorium on any new or additional business rates levies during the remainder of the current parliamentary session, as set out in its submission on the 2020-21 budget.