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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-08007

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in the college estate in each year since 1999.

Investment in the college estate in each year since 1999 is set out in the following table:

Year	Capital Investment £m*
99-00	18
00-01	39
01-02	29
02-03	21
03-04	21
04-05	38
05-06	49
06-07	87
07-08	122
08-09	92
09-10	107
10-11	109
11-12	50
12-13	28
13-14	28
14-15	27
15-16	25.5
16-17	27
17-18	47.4**

*Capital investment allocation after autumn budget review.

**Amount agreed in this years budget.

Question reference: S5W-07367

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 15 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it will have with the Oil and Gas Authority regarding supporting exploratory drilling in the Rockall Basin, in light of the recent seismic surveys in the region.

It is crucial that the Oil and Gas Authority concentrates on actions to help encourage and attract investment in exploration opportunities across the UKCS. With exploration levels currently at record lows – with only 15 exploration wells and 8 appraisal wells completed in 2016, a drop of around 25% compared to 2014. The recent investment in seismic data, which has allowed for the revaluation of Rockall basin, demonstrates the opportunities that continue to exist across the UKCS - particularly in Scottish adjacent waters.

However, the UK Government must take further action to stimulate exploration. The Scottish Government has repeatedly demanded action from UK Ministers, who retain the key economic levers, to ensure the industry, and its workforce, have the future they deserve. While we welcome the establishment of a panel, as announced in the Chancellor's Spring Budget, this needs to come forward with actions and not just become another 'talking shop'.

Question reference: S5O-00779

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to support healthcare professionals who come to Scotland as refugees to gain employment in the NHS.

Question reference: S5W-07028

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in each local authority area will be exempt from the large business supplement because of the increased threshold.

The following table shows the estimated number of properties that will no longer be liable for payment of the large business supplement from 1 April 2017 due to uplift of the threshold to rateable value of £51,000, split by Local Authority Area.

Local Authority	Number
Aberdeen City	609
Aberdeenshire	371
Angus	118
Argyll & Bute	135
Clackmannanshire	55
Dumfries & Galloway	167
Dundee City	234
East Ayrshire	120
East Dunbartonshire	99
East Lothian	101
East Renfrewshire	62
Edinburgh, City of	1,113
Eilean Siar	44
Falkirk	200
Fife	459
Glasgow City	1,247
Highland	445
Inverclyde	78
Midlothian	116
Moray	111
North Ayrshire	144
North Lanarkshire	409
Orkney Islands	46
Perth & Kinross	216
Renfrewshire	260
Scottish Borders	144
Shetland Islands	49
South Ayrshire	162
South Lanarkshire	360
Stirling	181
West Dunbartonshire	107
West Lothian	319
Scotland	8,281

Question reference: S5W-07302

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment is has made on the impact on the current model of non-domestic rates of the trend in large retailers moving to online sales and away from the high street.

Question reference: S5W-07301

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Assessors Association regarding its capacity to deal with appeals arising from the proposed non-domestic rates revaluations.

Question reference: S5W-07300

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what is position is on whether the warehouses of online retailers should be valued and subject to business rates in the same way as the premises of high street retailers, and what discussions it has had with the Scottish Assessors Association regarding this.

Question reference: S5W-06912

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 6 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Oil and Gas UK regarding the subsea standardisation guidelines.

The Scottish Government has not been directly engaged by Oil and Gas UK on the creation of these guidelines.

However, exploration drilling has fallen substantially over the past few years with twenty three exploration and appraisal wells drilled in 2016 compared to a total of 26 in 2015 and 31 in 2014. The unlocking of small pools represents a significant opportunity to maximise Economy recovery from the UkCS. The OGA have stated that about 350 unsanctioned discoveries containing more than three billion barrels of oil equivalent are still accessible in the UKCS.

These guidelines, created by Industry for Industry, could allow new reserves to be unlocked, allowing the UKCS to achieve its full potential.

Question reference: S5W-07410

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports people with Lyme's disease and raises awareness on the (a) prevention of tick bites and (b) detection of early symptoms.

NHS staff follow published guidance, for example the British Infection Association’s 2011 position statement on Lyme Borreliosis, when caring for a patient who may have Lyme disease. Lyme disease is easily treated with antibiotics if diagnosed early. If left untreated, there is a risk of developing serious long-term complications requiring specialist treatment. I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06306 on 31 January 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5O-00752

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist businesses in the north east that have been affected by changes in global oil prices.