- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 17 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by EDF that its ambition is to extend the life of Torness power station.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 17 January 2024
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 8 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are working on preparations for a National Care Service, and what the cost of these civil servants is on (a) an annualised and (b) a cumulative basis.
Answer
The current Full Time Equivalent of Civil Servants working on the preparations for a National Care Service is 160. The cost of this for 2023-24 is estimated to be £9.77 million. This is an average cost of £814k per month. The cumulative spend from 2021-22 to November 2023 is £17.4 million.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential economic impact of extending the 75% rates relief to hospitality and small retail businesses.
Answer
Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2024-2025 are considered in the context of the Scottish Budget in line with the Framework for Tax 2021 and with consideration given to affordability; the Scottish Draft Budget for 2024-2025 will be set out on 19 December. Forecasted costs of the Scottish Government’s non-domestic rates policies are published by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts .
Our rates relief package in 2023-2024 is estimated to be worth £749m, including the Small Business Bonus scheme which remains the most generous relief for small businesses in the UK, and ensures that around half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in Scotland will pay no rates.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 11 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake stakeholder engagement on alcohol marketing with consumer groups as well as businesses, before launching a public consultation on revised proposals on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion.
Answer
In developing narrower proposals on alcohol marketing the Scottish Government will take account of both the potential public health benefits as well as potential impacts on industry, business and consumers. The next phase in this work will be targeted engagement early in 2024, which will include engagement with a range of stakeholders including those representing business and consumer interests.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost would be of extending the 75% rates relief to hospitality and small retail businesses.
Answer
The total cost of non-domestic rates relief policies depends on other decisions taken in the Scottish Budget including the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates. Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2024-2025, including the Property Rates, will be announced in the Scottish Budget 2024-2025 on 19 December 2023.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to adapt or increase the use of independent audiology provision as it reviews the commissioning of audiology services.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains fully committed to enhancing community audiology services. We are continuing to work closely with NHS Boards, Independent Providers and the Third Sector to develop fully integrated and sustainable audiology care and treatment located closer to the local communities being served. Our approach will continue to be informed by holistic consultation with the audiology sector, as well as by outcomes from the recently published Independent Review of Audiology services in Scotland.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reduce waiting times for access to NHS audiology services.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23310 on 11 December 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: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what projections it has made on the likely number of pubs and hospitality-related businesses that there will be in Scotland in (a) one (b) three and (c) five year(s).
Answer
The Scottish Government does not produce projections on the number of businesses in Scotland, overall or for individual sectors.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many disciplinary cases have been brought forward against Scottish Government employees as a result of any failure to ensure that the records for which they are responsible are complete and accurate.
Answer
There have been no disciplinary cases against Scottish Government employees as a result of a failure to ensure that the records for which they are responsible are complete and accurate.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many disciplinary cases have been brought forward against Scottish Government employees as a result of any failure to ensure that records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with its records management principles.
Answer
There has been one case of disciplinary action taken against a Scottish Government employee as a result of a failure to ensure that records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with its record management principles. The disciplinary action was taken in 2018 and the case was dealt with under the minor misconduct procedures.