- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 29 October 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in each of the last five years have been subject to council tax, broken down by the proportion in each band.
Answer
The number and proportion of properties the Scottish Government has recorded as being subject to Council Tax by each band in the last five years is as follows:
Number of Chargeable Dwellings in Scotland |
Year | Band A | Band B | Band C | Band D | Band E | Band F | Band G | Band H | TOTAL |
2019 | 500,127 (20%) | 573,544 (23%) | 405,430 (16%) | 341,710 (14%) | 341,644 (14%) | 199,994 (8%) | 128,893 (5%) | 13,591 (1%) | 2,504,933 |
2018 | 503,209 (20%) | 572,175 (23%) | 401,847 (16%) | 336,392 (14%) | 337,232 (14%) | 196,377 (8%) | 126,529 (5%) | 13,340 (1%) | 2,487,101 |
2017 | 505,129 (20%) | 572,271 (23%) | 399,508 (16%) | 332,640 (13%) | 333,611 (13%) | 192,916 (8%) | 124,270 (5%) | 13,150 (1%) | 2,473,497 |
2016 | 504,715 (21%) | 571,217 (23%) | 397,023 (16%) | 328,309 (13%) | 329,682 (13%) | 189,367 (8%) | 122,158 (5%) | 12,936 (1%) | 2,455,406 |
2015 | 506,424 (21%) | 569,737 (23%) | 394,252 (16%) | 324,461 (13%) | 326,438 (13%) | 186,282 (8%) | 120,179 (5%) | 12,745 (1%) | 2,440,518 |
Note: ‘Chargeable Dwellings’ are those dwellings on the valuation roll in September of each year minus those dwellings that are exempt from Council Tax.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 October 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether the expenditure for capital projects reported in the Scottish Water annual report and accounts in each of the last three years that has been published in accordance with Section 45(2) of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 represents unplanned expenditure each year above that anticipated for each listed project.
Answer
The expenditure for capital projects reported in the Scottish Water Annual Report and Accounts in each of the last three years represents all capital expenditure in those years to support delivery of the Objectives set by Ministers under Section 56A of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 October 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23670 by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 June 2019, by what date it will publish the revised intervention area list.
Answer
As I announced to Parliament during General Questions on Thursday 10 October, BT plc were the only bidder for both the Central and South lots of the R100 procurement and, subject to due diligence and governance, we intend to proceed to contract signature with BT as soon as possible.
More than one bid was received for the North lot of the procurement, and I will announce a preferred bidder in due course.
We are conscious of the very strong interest among communities and their elected representatives as to the specific implications for them and are keen to ensure that detailed information on the intervention area to be covered under the contract is provided at the earliest opportunity, alongside information on our aligned interventions to address those properties not covered under the main procurement itself. We remain on course to sign the R100 contracts before the end of 2019, and we will make delivery timescales publicly available as soon as possible, after contracts have been signed.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 14 October 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what the large business rates supplement has been in each of the last 15 years, broken down by how much tax revenue this generated.
Answer
The large business supplement to the non-domestic rate in each of the last 15 years is set out in the table below, along with the estimated associated revenue. The estimated net revenue up until 2011-12 is based on the Assessor's Valuation Roll. The Scottish Government holds property-level relief information from 2012-13 onwards, which has been used in addition to the Valuation Roll to improve the accuracy of the estimates in those years. While the two methodologies used to derive the figures are broadly similar, comparisons over the 15-year time period should be made with caution.
Year | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
Large Business Supplement (pence) | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
Estimated net LBS income (£m) based on Assessors Valuation Roll | 13 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 33 | 33 | | | | | | | | |
Estimated net LBS income (£m) based on Assessors Valuation Roll and Local Authority billing information | | | | | | | | 38 | 43 | 52 | 62 | 125 | 127 | 129 | 130 |
Source: Assessors' Valuation Roll, Local Authority Billing information.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 October 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its paper, Government spend over £25,000: January 2019, for what purpose it spent £98,651.60 on Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, UK Branch.
Answer
In line with the Scottish Government Digital Strategy, the Social Security Directorate, Chief Digital Officer Division, has adopted a cloud first approach and are delivering the vast majority of Social Security Scotland technology from the cloud.
This figure is for delivering our technology from the cloud for the period 1 January – 31 January 2019.
Adopting a cloud first approach ensures we have resilience and are able to expand or contract our systems according to future demand whist maintaining a sharp focus on costs compared to the traditional or historical technology model of over provisioning.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect families who have been affected by domestic abuse.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2019
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 19 September 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority has been allocated from the Town Centre Fund, also broken by how this has been spent.
Answer
The £50 million Town Centre Fund was developed in partnership with COSLA and launched on 1 March. The fund has been distributed across all local authorities to enable them to stimulate and support a wide range of investments which encourage town centres and city neighbourhoods to diversify and flourish.
It is for local authorities to decide how to allocate funding in the context of the Town Centre First Principle and Town Centre Action Plan and, more recently, the Place Principle. These decisions should be based on an understanding of town centre performance and ownership, shared visions and plans; with the involvement of local communities, partners and stakeholders.
Town Centre Fund – Local Authority Allocation
Local Authority | Allocation |
Aberdeen City | £1,351,000 |
Aberdeenshire | £3,286,000 |
Angus | £1,080,000 |
Argyll and Bute | £1,242,000 |
City of Edinburgh | £2,613,000 |
Clackmannanshire | £683,000 |
Dumfries and Galloway | £1,529,000 |
Dundee City | £735,000 |
East Ayrshire | £1,701,000 |
East Dunbartonshire | £944,000 |
East Lothian | £1,275,000 |
East Renfrewshire | £981,000 |
Falkirk | £1,976,000 |
Fife | £4,335,000 |
Glasgow City | £3,010,000 |
Highland | £2,965,000 |
Inverclyde | £660,000 |
Midlothian | £910,000 |
Moray | £1,233,000 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | £223,000 |
North Ayrshire | £1,418,000 |
North Lanarkshire | £3,250,000 |
Orkney Islands | £200,000 |
Perth and Kinross | £1,983,000 |
Renfrewshire | £1,459,000 |
Scottish Borders | £1,421,000 |
Shetland Islands | £205,000 |
South Ayrshire | £1,064,000 |
South Lanarkshire | £2,506,000 |
Stirling | £1,077,000 |
West Dunbartonshire | £859,000 |
West Lothian | £1,826,000 |
Scotland | £50,000,000 |
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support Highlands and Islands businesses experiencing losses due to cuts in rural banking services.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2019
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 July 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the results of the Good Food Nation consultation.
Answer
The Good Food Nation Proposals for Legislation consultation responses are currently being analysed and the report is expected to be published shortly.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what figures are used for benchmarking NHS boards equality and diversity data, and whether the figures are nationally or locally based.
Answer
Data on equality and diversity is published on an annual basis in June within the workforce section of NHS National Services Scotland's Information Services Division (ISD) website: .
This data is broken down nationally, regionally and by NHS boards to provides figures for benchmarking and comparison purposes.
Decisions relating to benchmarking equality and diversity data are matters for each individual NHS board within the framework of the current legislative requirements under the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. This includes a Public Sector Equality Duty that requires NHS boards to have due regard to advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.
The Regulations impose specific duties on Scottish public authorities to publish a set of Equality Outcomes at four yearly intervals and thereafter to report on progress every two years.
