Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-02063

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to consult people in remote and rural areas on the impact of the new GP contract.

Question reference: S5O-02029

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage female pupils to consider enrolling in the STEM teaching initiative run by the universities of Dundee and the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S5W-15012

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it would consider providing ring-fenced additional funding for The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council in relation to road repairs, in light of their responsibilities to maintain over 7,000 km and 2,000 km of roads respectively.

The Scottish Government has continued to treat all councils very fairly despite cuts to the Scottish resource budget from the UK Government. Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including non-protected services, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion, compared with £10.426 billion in 2017-18. This will provide a further real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding. Councils also have the flexibility to raise an additional £77 million by increasing council tax by up to 3 per cent.

Together with their increased council tax income, Argyll and Bute Council will receive over £210.2 million in 2018-19 compared with £207.6 million this year, an increase of £2.6 million. For Highland Council, together with increased council tax income, they will receive over £491.1 million in 2018-19 compared with £474.1 million this year, an increase of £17 million.

Also, following the recent snow event, the Scottish Government triggered the Bellwin Scheme on 2 March to assist local authorities with winter maintenance costs associated with this event. This discretionary scheme allows Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.

Question reference: S5W-15010

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support local authorities meet the reported £1.2 billion backlog of road repairs required to bring roads up to standard.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with local government to help improve the condition of all roads in Scotland.

We have continued to treat councils very fairly despite cuts to the Scottish resource budget from the UK Government. The vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including non-protected services, including local road maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Council funding for 2017-18 is over £10.4 billion, amounting to 3.7% in additional support for local authority services. In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion. This will provide a further real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding.

Although responsibility for maintaining Scotland’s trunk and local road networks is split, the Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities to help improve the condition and safety of their networks. We do this through the Road Collaboration Programme which is jointly funded between national and local government, and overseen by the Strategic Action Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Transport and the Islands and COSLA’s Spokesperson for Environment and the Economy. This programme demonstrates our commitment to ensuring integrated service provision and providing efficient public services.

Also, following the recent snow event, the Scottish Government triggered the Bellwin Scheme on 2 March to assist local authorities with winter maintenance costs associated with this event. This discretionary scheme allows Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.

Question reference: S5W-15011

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities address issues that relate to the condition of road surfaces, in light of a reported reduction in spending each year over the last five years.

Question reference: S5O-01867

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with trade unions regarding the merger of UHI colleges.

Question reference: S5O-01830

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to build on the impact that the North Coast 500 route has had on tourism.

Question reference: S5W-14248

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to NHS Western Isles has been in respect of patients' and escorts' air travel in each year since 2008.

Question reference: S5W-14249

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to NHS Orkney has been in respect of patients' and escorts' air travel in each year since 2008.

Question reference: S5W-14247

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to NHS Shetland has been in respect of patients' and escorts' air travel in each year since 2008.

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