- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether any local authorities are not in whole or in part subscribed to Scotland's national electricity supply framework arrangements.
Answer
All 32 local authorities use the national Framework for the Supply of Electricity, however if local authorities are also getting electricity from another source or another contract, then Scottish Government do not have visibility of this and this information would only be available from each individual local authority.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the responses to its consultation on managing deer for climate and nature.
Answer
The Managing Deer for Climate and Nature: Consultation Analysis report was published on the Scottish Government website on 9 September 2024.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the legislative requirement for Crown Estate Scotland to obtain market value in its transactions.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not made a recent assessment of the legislative requirement for Crown Estate Scotland to obtain market value in its transactions. An assessment is not required under the Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of any potential reduction in grant funding for the Timberlink shipping service.
Answer
My officials are in exploratory discussions with the service provider and users of the Timberlink ferry service to explore the future of the contract. As part of this officials are engaging with Timberlink users to assess the feasibility of introducing a new funding contribution from them. At this stage no formal impact assessment has been undertaken.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many unique views there have been of the website, Mind Yer Time, in each of the last 12 months.
Answer
The number of unique views to the Scottish Youth Parliament/Children’s Parliament Mind Yer Time website in each of the last 12 months are as follows:
Date range | Active users | New users |
10th September - 30th September 2023 | 160 | 151 |
1st October - 4th November 2023 | 261 | 246 |
5th November - 2nd December 2023 | 277 | 259 |
3rd December - 6th January 2024 | 214 | 209 |
7th January - 3rd February 2024 | 215 | 204 |
4th February - 2nd March 2024 | 325 | 299 |
3rd March - 6th April 2024 | 465 | 438 |
7th April - 4th May 2024 | 259 | 247 |
5th May - 1st June 2024 | 269 | 249 |
2nd June - 6th July 2024 | 497 | 486 |
7th July - 3rd August 2024 | 286 | 272 |
4th August - 31st August 2024 | 1019 | 1013 |
1st September - 11th September 2024 | 116 | 107 |
| 4273 | 4180 |
"Active users" is the number of people who engaged with the site or app in the specified date range. "New users" is the number of people who have never visited the site or app before in the specified date range.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of developing the website, Mind Yer Time.
Answer
Scottish Government funding for the development and maintenance of the Scottish Youth Parliament/Children’s Parliament Mind Yer Time website is as follows:
Year | £ |
2020-21 | 53,400 |
2021-22 | 39,600 |
2022-23 | 5,000 |
2023-24 | 40,187 |
2024-25 | 40,000 |
Total | 178,187 |
Mind Yer Time is an online hub specifically designed to give children and young people advice on social media use, screen time, sleep and the impacts of these things on body image and mental wellbeing.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that individual artists can still apply for and have access to public funding, in light of Creative Scotland's recent change to its guidance on applications from individual artists.
Answer
The Scottish Government provides significant funding to Creative Scotland each year and will continue doing so. It is disappointing that Creative Scotland took the decision about the Open Fund before the Scottish Government could complete due diligence to release funding, as is normal practice. The due diligence has now been completed and the funding has been released to Creative Scotland.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the budget provision to provide 100% rates relief for hospitality businesses on islands and specific remote locations; what consultation has taken place regarding the impact of applying this relief at that level, and what plans it has to maintain it.
Answer
The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecasts from December 2023 estimate the cost of Hospitality Relief for Islands and Specified Remote areas to be £4 million in 2024-25. An Island Communities Impact Assessment, published alongside the Non-Domestic Rates (Islands and Remote Areas Hospitality Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 which deliver this relief, considers the impact of this relief.
Scottish Ministers have, and continue to have, regular engagement with representatives of the hospitality sector on non-domestic rates matters, including relief, through quarterly roundtables as well as the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates sub-group which includes a task team considering the impact of non-domestic rates reliefs.
Decisions on non-domestic rates and reliefs for 2025-26 will be considered in the context of the Scottish Budget.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether the budget to deliver the planned HMP Highland will be reduced, in light of the wider budgetary pressures highlighted in its fiscal statement on 3 September 2024.
Answer
The price for HMP Highland is set in the construction contract which was awarded in April 2024. While there remains a risk of extension of time (and associated costs) due to extreme weather or other unforeseen circumstances, it is expected that the agreed price will be the price paid.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 24 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it next plans to publish its Analysis of the National Performance Framework Indicators from the Perspective of Disability.
Answer
The upcoming Disability Equality Plan, however, will set out an intention to improve disability-specific evidence in collaboration with Disabled Peoples Organisations.
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of analysing, collecting and publishing disability data alongside other equalities breakdowns. This is set out in the Equality Evidence Strategy 2023-2025.
There is currently no plan to repeat this publication.