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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.

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Question reference: S5W-15896

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much business rates relief has cumulatively saved businesses since 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Non-domestic (business) rate relief has saved ratepayers around £4.5 billion cumulatively between 2009-10 and 2015-16.

The following table sets out the cumulative amount of business rates relief awarded between 2009-10 and 2016-17 at a local authority level based on audited figures collected by local authorities.

Data on business rate relief prior to 2009-10 is not available at a local authority level, and data relating to 2017-18 will be published in February 2019 as part of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2017-18 publication.

Cumulative Non-Domestic Rates Relief Paid (2009-10 to 2016-17) by Local Authority

Local Authority	Cumulative Relief (£m)	Local Authority	Cumulative Relief (£ m)
Aberdeen City	£198	Highland	£225
Aberdeenshire	£141	Inverclyde	£55
Angus	£72	Midlothian	£61
Argyll & Bute	£72	Moray	£51
Clackmannanshire	£26	North Ayrshire	£94
Dumfries & Galloway	£90	North Lanarkshire	£220
Dundee City	£165	Orkney Islands	£23
East Ayrshire	£68	Perth & Kinross	£129
East Dunbartonshire	£54	Renfrewshire	£153
East Lothian	£66	Scottish Borders	£88
East Renfrewshire	£36	Shetland Islands	£34
Edinburgh, City of	£638	South Ayrshire	£85
Eilean Siar	£25	South Lanarkshire	£210
Falkirk	£92	Stirling	£85
Fife	£271	West Dunbartonshire	£50
Glasgow City	£801	West Lothian	£135
		Total	£4,510

Note - Estimates include mandatory and discretionary elements of relief where applicable (funded by Scottish Government), but excludes backdated payments of relief and discretionary relief paid directly from local authorities.

Question reference: S5W-15895

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the average saving per property will be in 2018-19 as a result of its package of business rates, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government offers the most competitive business rates relief package in the UK worth an estimated record £720 million in 2018-19.

As of 1 April 2018 over 251,000 properties were on the valuation roll. This means the relief package this year will deliver an average saving of around £2,860 per property.

However, as not all properties receive relief, the average saving for those properties that are in receipt of relief will be considerably higher than £2,860.

Question reference: S5W-15893

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each local authority area will be exempt from business rates in 2018-19.

The following table shows the number of properties on the valuation roll for the most recent year that data is held (2015-16) that paid no business rates, for example because they were in in receipt of 100% rates relief.

This figure excludes premises that may have qualified for new 100% reliefs introduced since this time, including Day Nursery Relief and the Business Growth Accelerator.

Number of properties on the valuation roll (at October 2016) that were exempt from paying business rates

Local Authority	Number of properties	Local Authority	Number of properties
Aberdeen City	2,684	Highland	11,202
Aberdeenshire	7,404	Inverclyde	1,226
Angus	3,046	Midlothian	1,373
Argyll & Bute	5,439	Moray	2,857
Clackmannanshire	848	North Ayrshire	2,917
Dumfries & Galloway	6,031	North Lanarkshire	4,432
Dundee City	2,826	Orkney Islands	1,553
East Ayrshire	2,143	Perth & Kinross	4,970
East Dunbartonshire	1,093	Renfrewshire	3,038
East Lothian	2,018	Scottish Borders	4,787
East Renfrewshire	885	Shetland Islands	1,292
Edinburgh, City of	8,291	South Ayrshire	2,576
Eilean Siar	1,693	South Lanarkshire	4,287
Falkirk	2,426	Stirling	2,868
Fife	7,078	West Dunbartonshire	1,277
Glasgow City	12,388	West Lothian	2,572
		Total	119,520

Note – Estimates include over 7,000 properties on the roll that did not pay rates because their rateable value was £0 at the time.

Other properties qualify through 100% relief schemes. Data is the most recent available.

Question reference: S5O-01998

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland has shared its experience of tackling knife crime with the Metropolitan Police.

Question reference: S5O-01948

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to grow the economy of Cunninghame North.

Question reference: S5O-01923

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the factors that impact on child poverty.

The Scottish Government's commitment to tackling child poverty is made clear by our ambitious targets, set out in the Child Poverty Act, which was unanimously passed by this Parliament in November. As our targets demonstrate, we know that reducing poverty is fundamentally about increasing income and reducing costs. We are already taking a wide range of action in both these areas to provide support to families on a low income.

For example: we have established two new funds providing £29 million for tackling poverty – the Social Economy Growth Fund & Aspiring Communities Fund; we are committed to the Living Wage and over the next three years will work to become a 'living wage nation'; since August, every new-born child in Scotland has received a baby box and from summer 2019 low income parents will benefit from the new enhanced Best Start Grant; more than 134,500 P1-P3 children are benefitting from free school meals, delivering annual savings for families of around £380 per child; and we will almost double publicly funded early learning and childcare by 2020. All in addition to the £100 million we invest every year to mitigate the worst effects of UK Government welfare cuts.

But we will go further. In order to meet our ambitious child poverty targets for 2030 we will commit to a range of action in our Child Poverty Delivery Plan, to be published by the end of this month, backed by a
‎ £50 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund. I look forward to sharing that Plan with Parliament.

Question reference: S5O-01886

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding building a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There have been various ideas for bridges or tunnels between Scotland and Northern Ireland over the years although to date there has been no robust assessment of the costs or benefits of such proposals. It is clear that the delivery of any fixed link would be complex and present significant challenges and we are at the very early stages of thinking on our approach. With this in mind I have instructed Transport Scotland officials to initiate discussions around exploring the potential of improving the vital connections between our two islands.

Question reference: S5F-02098

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2018

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the dangers of teenagers in Ayrshire ingesting substances purporting to be the drug, MDMA.

Question reference: S5W-14436

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to healthcare practitioners to ensure that survivors of sexual violence receive healthcare that is sensitive to their needs.

Healthcare and Forensic Medical Services Standards for people who have experienced rape, sexual assault or child sexual abuse were published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, in December 2017. These widely available standards are an important step toward ensuring that, working in collaboration with partner agencies, consistent high quality trauma informed care is provided by Health Boards throughout Scotland. Standardising the quality of care offered will further ensure the timely collection of high quality evidence to support any criminal justice proceedings.

The Taskforce for the improvement of services for adults and children who have experienced rape and sexual assault, established by the Scottish Government, and chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, has set out key priorities areas for delivery within its five year work plan. These include developing the Quality Indicators which will underpin the standards and the development of clinical pathways and guidance to clinical practitioners delivering these services.

NHS Education for Scotland has also been commissioned by the Scottish Government to provide portable education and trauma-informed training with the aim of increasing the number of particularly female physicians who are able to undertake forensic medical examinations. NES have also been funded to provide mentoring, peer support and continuous professional development for those new to the service, as well as experienced forensic physicians already undertaking this work. Feedback from a reference group of organisations who represent the views of those with lived experience informs all aspects of the work of the Taskforce.

The Taskforce’s 5 year work plan can be accessed here: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/rape-and-sexual-assault-victims-taskforce-high-level-work-plan/High%20Level%20Work%20Plan.pdf?inline=true

The HIS standards can be accessed here: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/personcentred_care/resources/sexual_assault_services.aspx

Question reference: S5O-01787

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it will take forward the Ayrshire Growth Deal, given that it has not yet received UK Government support.