- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to introduce an antisocial behaviour action plan, similar to that which has recently been announced for England and Wales.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to tackling all forms of antisocial behaviour and to making all of our communities safe places where people can live free from fear or harm. I will monitor the development of the UK Government’s Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan as I consider how best to continue to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour in Scotland.
The Scottish Government continues to support local authorities and Police Scotland to further reduce the damage caused by antisocial behaviour in our communities, including investing in prevention and early intervention. These agencies have a range of powers available to tackle antisocial behaviour. Additionally, the Scottish Government has been working with the Scottish Community Safety Network to better understand how we can prevent antisocial behaviour, and limit its harms.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding Highly Protected Marine Areas in offshore waters around Scotland.
Answer
I have written to the Defra Secretary of State twice regarding the designation of HPMAs in Scottish offshore waters. A meeting between Scottish Ministers and the Defra Minister of State for Biodiversity, Marine and Rural Affairs is currently being arranged to discuss the issue.
- 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 Siobhian Brown on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Scottish Women's Aid since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials also engage with stakeholder organisations as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Scottish Women’s Aid as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls. A representative from Scottish Women’s Aid also sits on at least one working group within the Scottish Government, the Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board (ES JSB) and further detail on this can be found on the Scottish Government’s website: Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to hold discussions with the UK Government regarding the location of the proposed new Investment Zone in Scotland, as announced in the UK Government's Spring Budget.
Answer
Scottish Government officials are in exploratory discussion with the UK Government on their evolving proposals for Investment Zones and how they could work in Scotland. They have emphasised that any zones in Scotland must be developed in partnership between the Scottish and UK Governments; must be tailored to Scotland’s economic strengths and opportunities, and our policy and governance landscape; and must seek to build on existing activity in a way that works for business and supports innovation across sectors. Further information is awaited from the UK Government on a number of key issues, but we hope to make progress in the coming weeks.
- 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 Mairi McAllan on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Ricardo-AEA Ltd since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government has had a number of meetings with Ricardo AEA Ltd since May 2021:
- Meetings to discuss research and analysis that Ricardo AEA Ltd has been commissioned to deliver for Scottish Government: this has involved around 20 research commissions, each with regular meetings to discuss project progress and direction, to agree method and approaches and to review and sign off outputs.
- Meetings related to working groups and advisory groups to which Ricardo provides technical expertise, for example related to air quality, either convened by Scottish Government or convened by others (eg UK Government) and in which Scottish Government is a co-participant. These meetings discuss matters such as data and evidence provision, analytical methods and research dissemination.
- 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 Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a whisky levy.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to implement a whisky tax.
- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the directors of finance of each local authority.
Answer
Scottish Government officials meet with local authority Directors of Finance representatives on a monthly basis and last met on 10 March 2023. The Scottish Government will continue to meet with COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of topics, including current and future budget pressures.
- 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 Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Advice Direct Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to meet with Advice Direct Scotland on a regular basis. The purpose of these meetings are to discuss the key issues affecting Scottish consumers and agree how we can work together to ensure we are delivering support and advice to as many people who need it as possible.
- 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 Mairi Gougeon on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scotch Whisky Association to discuss decarbonisation, and what the objectives were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government meets with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) regularly to discuss a range of topics, including decarbonisation matters.
The Scottish Government Industrial Decarbonisation Team is due to meet the SWA by mid April 2023 to discuss their implementation of the NetZero/Sustainability Strategy and opportunities for decarbonisation by fuel switching or shifting to more energy-efficient technologies.
The Scottish Government recognises the role that the Scotch Whisky industry has in moving towards net zero and welcomes the work carried out by the sector in this area.
- 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 Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what grant funds have been made available to local authorities in each of the last 12 months.
Answer
The annual local government finance settlement consists of both revenue and capital grants and local authorities also receive additional ring-fenced funding outside the annual settlement.
In 2022-23 the General Revenue Grant funding within the annual local government finance settlement was paid in equal instalments every Wednesday throughout the year with the General Capital Grant payments being made monthly, in or around the middle of each month. All other ring-fenced funds are paid as and when required throughout the financial year.
Details of the final 2022-23 local government finance settlement are set out in the Local Government Finance Circular 3/2023 - Local government finance circular 3/2023: settlement for 2023-24 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and the provisional funding out-with the settlement was set out in the 2022-23 Scottish Budget document Table 5.17 - Scottish Budget 2022 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
