- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 25 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reduce or remove non-domestic rates on solar panel installations to support businesses in decarbonisation and help meet its target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
Answer
The Scottish Government provides support to the renewable energy sector through a number of non-domestic rates reliefs, such as the renewable energy relief. We continue to consider ways to support the renewable energy sector and keep all of our non-domestic rates policies under review.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 18 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has used social media to raise awareness of Lyme Disease and active ways to avoid contracting it, and, if so, what handles, phrases, hashtags and words it has used in this regard.
Answer
Scottish Government, along with key partners, ran a social media campaign throughout summer 2018 encouraging young people to enjoy the outdoors, whilst promoting outdoor health messages such as checking for and removing ticks safely using the tags @ramblersscot, @youngscot, @nature_scot #TopTipsToFightTicks, #HealthyOutdoors #AGreatDayOut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqLIp-zJJKQ
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 18 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the study by Ernst & Young in 2019 on England’s Premier League, what information it has on how much is raised in tax revenue as a result of the Scottish Professional Football League; how many jobs it supports, and what contribution it makes to the tourism sector in Scotland.
Answer
HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for income tax data across the UK. While anonymised sample data is shared with the Scottish Government, we do not have detailed breakdowns for football or any other sectors. Data at such a specific level is often not disclosed due to issues around taxpayer confidentiality.
However, we recognise that football makes a significant contribution to the Scottish economy.
For example, in November 2018, Celtic FC published a report commissioned from the Fraser of Allander Institute which showed the club contributed £165 million to the Scottish economy in a year.
The SPFL has commissioned research to consider the economic impact of all 42 senior clubs, and I understand this will be published shortly.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 18 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question to S5W-27191 by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 February 2020, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding how many boys will not receive the vaccination.
Answer
Information on the number of boys born in 2006 is available on the National Records for Scotland website available at: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/. As per my previous answer, eligibility for the HPV vaccine is based on boys being in S1 during 2019/20 and not by DOB criteria.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an analysis of the efficacy of windfarm grant conditions imposed by its reporters when granting planning permission for wind turbine applications on appeal, and whether it has conducted a review into local authorities’ reasons and ability to enforce these conditions.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not undertaken any analysis in respect of the efficacy of planning conditions in wind farm developments. It is the responsibility of the determining authority, whether that be the planning authority or Scottish Ministers on appeal, to ensure that conditions meet the six tests set out in Circular 4/1998 on the Use of Planning Conditions in Planning Permissions, in that they are necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development to be permitted, enforceable, precise, and reasonable in all other respects. Any party, including the local planning authority, has the right to challenge the reporters decision to the Court of Session on a point of law – this could include matters relating to conditions attached to a planning permission.
Enforcement of planning control is a matter for the planning authority. There are a wide range of enforcement powers in planning legislation and planning authorities have discretion to determine what power, or combination of powers, to use in any particular situation.
Where an appeal has been made to Scottish Ministers, planning regulations require the planning authority to provide to the appointed reporter, amongst other things, a note of the conditions that the planning authority consider should be imposed in the event that planning permission is granted. In the majority of appeals which are allowed these conditions are largely accepted by the reporter however it is open to them to decide that some or all of those conditions should be amended or that additional conditions should be imposed. DPEA will give careful consideration to any possible impact on any future decisions in relation to any matters raised in this regard from a planning authority.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27594 by Kevin Stewart on 4 March 2020, in the event that residents of residential caravan sites are unaware of their legal right to a Written Statement, who is legally responsible for ensuring that site owners of residential caravan sites issue these statements to their residents
Answer
It is the responsibility of the resident to familiarise themselves with their rights. As with all forms of home ownership, the Scottish Government would encourage prospective purchasers of residential caravans to make themselves aware of all of their rights and obligations before purchasing a home. If a site owner has failed to give the occupier a written statement, the occupier may apply to the court for an order requiring the owner to give him a written statement.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27329 by Kevin Stewart on 21 February 2020, whether caravan site owners are obliged to use the written statement in the format set out in the Mobile Homes Act 1983, or are permitted to produce their own statement, and who is legally responsible for ensuring that site owners of residential sites issue written statements to their residents.
Answer
The Mobile Homes (Written Statement) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 require that the written statement must be in the form set out in the Schedule to the Regulations or a form substantially to the same effect. The Mobile Homes Act 1983 states that if the owner has failed to give the occupier a written statement, the occupier may apply to the court for an order requiring the owner to give him a written statement.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 February 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS will introduce a catch-up programme to provide HPV vaccinations for all boys at school who were born in 2006, and, if not, how many boys will not receive the vaccination as a consequence.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27190 on 25 February 2020. 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 .
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 February 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what advice is being given to concerned parents of boys who will not be covered by the HPV vaccination programme.
Answer
Vaccination policy in Scotland, as with the rest of the UK, is based on recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI has not recommended a catch up of older boys at this time on the basis that the girls’ HPV vaccination programme has proved highly successful, with coverage in Scotland exceeding 90% in the routine cohort, which has established good levels of herd protection and means that there would be limited additional benefits to be gained from a catch up programme in boys. The JCVI keeps its recommendations under review and if the advice on HPV vaccination was to change we would of course give this due consideration.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 February 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether HPV vaccinations for boys are administered according to age group or school year, and whether boys born in 2006 are being inoculated.
Answer
Vaccination policy in Scotland, as with the rest of the UK, is based on recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Following the Committee’s recommendation the HPV vaccination programme has been extended to include S1 boys this academic year (2019-20) and we would encourage all those eligible to take up the offer. The JCVI has not recommended a catch up approach for the HPV boys programme. The JCVI keeps its recommendations under review and if the advice on HPV vaccination was to change we would of course give this due consideration.