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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-30286

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will fully implement the review of the impacts of bottom-trawling and scallop dredging of Priority Marine Features before 31 March 2021.

Question reference: S5W-30288

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether any review of the status of marine biogenic habitats has found that there has been (a) a loss, (b) no change or (c) a recovery in the status and/or extent of these since 2011.

The Marine Strategy assessment published in October 2019 includes an indicator for sublittoral rock and biogenic habitats. The assessment found that Good Environmental Status has not yet been achieved in either the Greater North Sea or the Celtic Seas. The report can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841246/marine-strategy-part1-october19.pdf ’.

Scotland’s Marine Atlas which was published in 2011 provides baseline information. The new version which is due to be published later this year will provide an assessment against the baseline for biogenic habitats.

Question reference: S5F-04172

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2020

To ask the First Minister what steps will be taken to avoid a big increase in youth unemployment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-28939

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much in non-domestic rates relief will be given in the financial year 2020-21 to (a) Aldi, (b) Asda, (c) Co-op, (d) Lidl, (e) Morrisons, (f) Sainsbury’s and (g) Tesco.

The grants and reliefs are being administered by local authorities and Scottish Government does not hold information on individual relief recipients.

We are determined to help keep companies in business and our financial support now exceeds the £2.3 billion passed on from the UK Government.

This includes a universal 1.6% relief available to all non-domestic properties, and a 100% relief for businesses in the Retail, Hospitality, Leisure and Airport sectors.

The Scottish Government accepted the recommendation of the Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates to publish lists of recipients of rates relief, and we are working with local councils to deliver this in the future, in line with General Data Protection Regulations.

Question reference: S5F-04153

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 May 2020

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government has had any discussions with the Treasury regarding Project Birch, the plan to assist struggling companies of strategic importance.

Question reference: S5W-28421

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it will provide to North Ayrshire Council to support the construction of a new Ardrossan Academy, in light of the proposals being approved.

I am pleased that an Ardrossan Community Learning and Innovation Hub - to replace Ardrossan Academy and Winton Primary School - is one of the projects to benefit from the first phase of the Learning Estate Investment Programme. Initial funding discussions have been held with Council officers regarding the Ardrossan project. These will be confirmed in the near future, once the immediate pressures arising from the COVID-19 crisis have been addressed.

Question reference: S5W-28717

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils there were in each local authority area in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2019, also broken down by how many had additional support needs.

Statistics on the number of pupils in the primary and secondary sectors in each local authority and the number of these pupils with additional support needs are published in the Pupil Census Supplementary Statistics .

The number of pupils in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in 2012 and 2019 may be found in Table 6.2 and Table 7.2 respectively of the 2019 edition of this publication: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/ . The number of pupils with additional support needs in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in 2019 may be found in Table 6.10 and Table 7.5 respectively of the same publication.

The number of pupils with additional support needs in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in 2012 may be found in the Table 6.10 and Table 7.5 respectively of the 2012 edition of this publication: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/pupcensus2012.

The Pupil Census collects information on the number of pupils who require additional support to access education not the number of pupils who have been diagnosed with specific needs. Differences in the assessment and recording of additional support needs between local authorities are likely responsible for some of the variation in figures between individual authorities.

Question reference: S5T-02111

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers will be the impact on sport of an extended ban on public gatherings.

Question reference: S5W-27794

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it anticipates it would cost each year to provide free ferry travel to island residents aged 18 and under.

Question reference: S5W-27701

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 20 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its decision to extend free bus travel to those aged 18 and under, what consideration it will give to allowing young island residents to travel free on ferries.

We have committed to a national concessionary travel scheme for free bus travel for people aged 18 and under from January 2021, subject to completion of the necessary preparations, including due diligence and research. We will engage with young people across the country to ensure that all areas benefit from the measures.

Support is provided for young people who use ferries through the YoungScot national entitlement card. Young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who live on islands receive four vouchers for single trips or two returns from the islands to the mainland. In addition, under-16s travel for half the adult fare, and under-5s travel completely free.