- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to ensure that rural communities have access to local GP services.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02058 on 17 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the Official Report can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-23-03-2023?meeting=15218
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any impact assessment was conducted before the decision was made to end the Network Support Grant Plus on 31 March 2023, and, if so, whether it will provide further information on the key findings of any such assessment.
Answer
The Scottish Government provided £223 million of support to bus services throughout the Covid pandemic. The Network Support Grant Plus was always a temporary fund put in place to support bus services as patronage recovered following the Covid 19 Pandemic. Travel has changed following the pandemic with amended service levels and new passenger travel patterns, therefore it is important that the support we give transport operators continues to evolve as the network adapts and make sure it remains fit for purpose and is sustainable long term.
The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of bus services and is committed, in conjunction with operators and local authorities, to looking at ways of improving services. The Scottish Government continues to invest in the bus network to support long term growth The Network Support Grant, which keeps fares more affordable and networks more extensive than would otherwise be the case, continues to be available in 2023 - 2024 and the Scottish Government is providing extra funding to support a marketing campaign to encourage people back to bus.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set aside any contingency funding to meet any unforeseen additional costs associated with the planned repairs of Bute House, and, if so, how much it has set aside.
Answer
As part of the tender process contractors have set aside 10% of the contracted tender cost as contingency. We will confirm the tender value in due course.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated towards the planned repairs of Bute House.
Answer
The Scottish Government are in the process of competitively tendering for parts of the Bute House repair schedule and therefore the full cost of the planned repairs has yet to be determined. We will publish all the costs proactively at the conclusion of the works.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of homes included in the original R100 plans will be connected with fibre broadband by the time of the programme's completion.
Answer
We expect all eligible premises within R100 contract build plans to have been connected by the time of the programme’s completion. As the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is demand-led, it is not possible to know with certainty the percentage of properties that will secure a connection via the Scheme upon completion.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to close the gap in full fibre coverage between Scotland and England, in light of reports that the gap has grown since June 2022.
Answer
In an update published to their website on 2 February 2023, Ofcom’s latest figures show that full fibre coverage in Scotland has been extended to around 1.1 million properties – 41% of all properties, which is the same percentage coverage as England (source: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-2022 ).
This is, in large part, a direct result of the policies we have put in place to enhance Scotland’s digital infrastructure and improve digital connectivity. This includes our R100 programme, where the vast majority of connections delivered through the R100 contracts are full-fibre and gigabit-capable, delivering speeds up to 30 times faster than our original superfast commitment.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when the deferred £33 million of ring-fenced agriculture funds will be returned to the budget for the portfolio covering rural affairs and islands.
Answer
The cost crisis created an unprecedented challenge with the Scottish Government exploring all financial options to support the emergency response to help people and businesses through its Emergency Budget Review (EBR) in 2022.
The then DFM and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, John Swinney MSP, publicly confirmed to Parliament in his EBR statement that the deferred budget of £33 million would be returned to the sector in future years, ensuring this money is ultimately used to deliver on Scotland's rural priorities.
Future budgets are set through the annual parliamentary Budget Bill process and the appropriate profile for returning this funding will be considered as part of the 2024-25 process.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many households Connecting Scotland has reached since the programme was launched.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13958 on 26 January 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Harper Macleod LLP since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Harper MacLeod are a provider of external legal services to The Scottish Government via call-off contracts under the Legal Services Framework 2019 to 2023 .
The Scottish Government Legal Directorate hold quarterly review meetings with Harper MacLeod to discuss contract performance; adherence to service levels; sustainability; community benefits and contract governance. Other ad hoc meetings will be held between Harper MacLeod and policy and legal colleagues.
The Scottish Government does not comment on legal advice or communications between itself and its legal advisors. In doing so the Scottish Government observes legal professional privilege between client and lawyer. This also maintains the Scottish Ministerial Code, paragraphs 2.38 and 2.39. Therefore, the sharing of content or outcomes of these meetings would be inappropriate.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 14 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been issued to local authorities regarding current houses in multiple occupation legislation.
Answer
The Scottish Government issued statutory guidance to local authorities on the licensing of houses in multiple occupation in 2012: https://www.gov.scot/publications/licensing-multiple-occupied-housing-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-local-authorities/ .