- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many mobile phones have been confiscated from prisoners in HMP and YOI Grampian in each month since they were issued in 2020.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
The following table provides the number of SPS issued mobile phone handsets that have been confiscated at HMP & YOI Grampian, each month, since implementation in July 2020:
Month | July 20 | Aug 20 | Sep 20 | Oct 20 | Nov 20 | Dec 20 | Jan 21 | Feb 21 | Mar 21 | Apr 21 | May 21 | Jun 21 | Jul 21 | Aug 21 |
Number confiscated | 4 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 38 | 21 | 5 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 23 | 16 | 18 | 27 |
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans and policy regarding the freeze on council tax.
Answer
The Scottish Government's policy in relation to locally determined Council Tax increases will be set out as part of future Scottish Budget outcomes.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to reducing business rates for ATM providers, and, in light of reports that ATMs require more than 3,500 withdrawals per month to be financially sustainable, what action it (a) can take and (b) is taking to encourage ATM providers to continue a service in rural communities.
Answer
The Scottish Government have continued to ensure that the sites of standalone ATMs in rural areas are exempt from rating. Other ATMs may benefit from as much as a 100% rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme.
Under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, each local Council has wide-raging powers to create rates reliefs to reflect local needs. This may apply to a sole business, sector or area. The relief may be an adaptation of an existing national relief scheme or a unique standalone scheme.
Although the UK Government retains legislative and regulatory responsibility for banking and financial services, the Scottish Government stands ready to work constructively with banks, regulators and the UK Government to ensure that the ability to freely and easily access cash is maintained. The Scottish Government has repeatedly requested that the UK Government appoint a regulator with sole responsibility for cash infrastructure.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what empirical data it expects local authorities to provide to allow the introduction of a short-term let control area.
Answer
Guidance for local authorities on establishing control areas and the reasons and evidence they need is set out in chapter 2 of Planning circular 01/2021: short-term let control areas .
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when the Victims Taskforce will next meet.
Answer
We remain committed to delivering the work of the Victims Taskforce, which is anticipated to reconvene before the end of 2021.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time employees there are in each cabinet secretary's and minister's private office, broken down by pay scale.
Answer
The current allocation of full-time employees per Scottish Government Minister is:
Cabinet Secretary/Minister | Number of Private Office staff by Grade and pay scale |
A4 £24,184-£25,709 | B1 £26,995-£29,776 | B2 £31,266-£35,813 | B3 £39,312-£47,065 | C1 £49,420-£61,617 | C2 £64,698-£74,675 |
First Minister | 0.5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Minister for Drugs Policy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Parliamentary Business | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Education & Skills | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment & Training | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Children & Young People | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Economy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Just Transition, Employment & Fair Work | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Public Finance, Planning & Community Wealth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy & Biodiversity | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health & Sport | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Mental Wellbeing & Social Care | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy & Transport | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Transport | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Environment & Land Reform | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing & Local Government | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Equalities & Older People | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Social Security & Local Government | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel & Tenants’ Rights | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Veterans | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Community Safety | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs & Culture | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Culture, Europe & International Development | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the consultation on its draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets.
Answer
The Scottish Government will publish its response to the consultation on the draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets ahead of laying the draft Licensing Order in November.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the proposal in its Programme for Government, how it plans to support 2,000 women to transition back to work following a career gap; how the figure of 2,000 was reached, and over what time period this transition back to work is expected to take place.
Answer
We committed in our 2018-19 Programme for Government to invest up to £5 million over a three year period to support 2,000 women who have had a career break to return to the workplace. This commitment and the scale of ambition built on the learning from our 2017 pilot Women Returners Programme.
An initial Programme commenced in late 2020 which offered immediate support to women during the pandemic. Within the three month period of delivery it attracted twelve projects offering support to over 450 women. This included projects such as HRC Recruitment which provided employability workshops combined with menopause support and mental health fitness coaching to women over 50 years old.
The programme for government published in September 2021 committed to continuing the programme. SDS are delivering the programme this year on behalf of Scottish Government backed with up to £2 million. Bids from prospective providers are currently being assessed. Women will be given support to enable them to apply for jobs or take part in activity such as further training that suits their own personal needs, timescales and circumstances for returning to work.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK and Danish governments on the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.
Answer
Currently, there has been no discussion with the UK and Danish Governments on the newly announced Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. However, Scottish Ministers expect to meet with the Danish Government ahead of COP26 to discuss climate change and other areas of mutual interest.
In line with the Scottish Government’s evidence based approach to policy development, we have committed to undertaking a programme of work and analysis to better understand Scotland’s energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how this aligns with our climate change targets.
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 September 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that young people's views on climate change are listened to in the run up to COP26.
Answer
On 13 September, we announced £300,000 of support for the 16th conference of youth—COY16—the UN’s official youth event for COP26. For the first time, five young people from Scotland will join participants from around the world and will help to shape the conference’s statement. We also support the Young Scot-led Scottish youth climate programme, which enables Scottish children and young people to host a climate youth summit ahead of COP26 to design the legacy that they want from the conference and to act as local champions across the country.
