- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 25 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how the demand for additional support needs in schools is taken into account as part of the local government funding formula and what the specific adjustment has been for Moray in each of the last five years.
Answer
The local government finance settlements were maintained over the period 2012-16 with extra money for additional responsibilities and the total settlement for 2016-17 amounts to over 拢10.3 billion. Moray Council receives its fair share of this total sum, through the needs based formula, which amounts to over 拢164.7 million tin 2016.
The vast majority of the revenue funding, including funding for additional support needs in schools, is being provided by means of a block grant and as a result funding for individual services is not separately identifiable. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
The 2015 annual report to Parliament on the implementation of additional support for learning legislation indicates that education authorities spent just over 拢4.8 billion on education in Scotland. Of that, 拢579 million is spent on additional support for learning. This is an increase of 拢24 million on 2014 expenditure. This equates to just over 12% of the overall spend on education in Scotland and an increase of 1% on 2014.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what the average wage is in each parliamentary constituency, listed by ranking.
Answer
The following table provides the median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in Scotland for 2015 by Scottish parliamentary constituency.
|
Scottish Parliamentary Constituency
|
Median Gross Weekly Pay (拢)
|
Rank
|
|
Aberdeen Donside
|
595.3
|
1
|
|
Aberdeen South and North Kincardine
|
526.9
|
2
|
|
Edinburgh Western
|
524.9
|
3
|
|
Edinburgh Pentlands
|
516.7
|
4
|
|
Cowdenbeath
|
513.7
|
5
|
|
Aberdeenshire West
|
510.1
|
6
|
|
Glasgow Pollok
|
489.1
|
7
|
|
Edinburgh Eastern
|
485.7
|
8
|
|
Edinburgh Central
|
481.5
|
9
|
|
Glasgow Kelvin
|
466.1
|
10
|
|
Shetland Islands
|
463.0
|
11
|
|
Edinburgh Southern
|
454.6
|
12
|
|
Aberdeen Central
|
454.6
|
13
|
|
Dumbarton
|
447.0
|
14
|
|
Glasgow Shettleston
|
444.7
|
15
|
|
Airdrie and Shotts
|
439.8
|
16
|
|
Falkirk East
|
439.6
|
17
|
|
Uddingston and Bellshill
|
438.4
|
18
|
|
Dundee City West
|
430.2
|
19
|
|
Rutherglen
|
427.3
|
20
|
|
Renfrewshire North and West
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426.2
|
21
|
|
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane
|
425.6
|
22
|
|
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire
|
424.8
|
23
|
|
Almond Valley
|
424.3
|
24
|
|
Linlithgow
|
423.7
|
25
|
|
Dundee City East
|
423.5
|
26
|
|
Argyll and Bute
|
423.3
|
27
|
|
Na h-Eileanan an Iar
|
420.0
|
28
|
|
Falkirk West
|
417.7
|
29
|
|
Paisley
|
415.5
|
30
|
|
East Kilbride
|
412.9
|
31
|
|
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn
|
411.3
|
32
|
|
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley
|
409.4
|
33
|
|
Glasgow Southside
|
409.0
|
34
|
|
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
|
407.3
|
35
|
|
Stirling
|
407.3
|
36
|
|
Glasgow Anniesland
|
403.9
|
37
|
|
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
|
402.8
|
38
|
|
Strathkelvin and Bearsden
|
402.6
|
39
|
|
East Lothian
|
401.7
|
40
|
|
Glasgow Cathcart
|
398.2
|
41
|
|
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
|
393.1
|
42
|
|
Motherwell and Wishaw
|
391.7
|
43
|
|
Inverness and Nairn
|
387.8
|
44
|
|
Dunfermline
|
386.4
|
45
|
|
Edinburgh Northern and Leith
|
384.4
|
46
|
|
Glasgow Provan
|
383.3
|
47
|
|
Aberdeenshire East
|
382.0
|
48
|
|
Cunninghame South
|
382.0
|
49
|
|
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
|
380.4
|
50
|
|
Coatbridge and Chryston
|
378.4
|
51
|
|
Renfrewshire South
|
377.5
|
52
|
|
Ayr
|
377.0
|
53
|
|
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse
|
376.6
|
54
|
|
Mid Fife and Glenrothes
|
376.3
|
55
|
|
Perthshire North
|
372.5
|
56
|
|
Moray
|
371.6
|
57
|
|
Cunninghame North
|
370.9
|
58
|
|
Greenock and Inverclyde
|
367.8
|
59
|
|
North East Fife
|
366.4
|
60
|
|
Kirkcaldy
|
358.4
|
61
|
|
Midlothian North and Musselburgh
|
357.8
|
62
|
|
Banffshire and Buchan Coast
|
356.1
|
63
|
|
Clydesdale
|
349.7
|
64
|
|
Dumfriesshire
|
346.9
|
65
|
|
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
|
345.4
|
66
|
|
Clydebank and Milngavie
|
341.4
|
67
|
|
Galloway and West Dumfries
|
338.5
|
68
|
|
Angus South
|
337.2
|
69
|
|
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
|
335.6
|
70
|
|
Orkney Islands
|
334.1
|
71
|
|
Angus North and Mearns
|
332.9
|
72
|
|
Eastwood
|
311.9
|
73
|
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2015, Office for National Statistics
Notes:
- Covers employees aged 16+ on the PAYE system on adult rates and whose pay was not affected by absence.
- Full-time defined as employees working more than 30 paid hours per week (or 25 or more for the teaching professions)
- The median, which is used in this answer, is the preferred measure for earnings as the arithmetic average can be skewed by extreme outliers.
- Based on Scottish parliamentary constituency boundaries and are workplace based i.e. include all those that work in the constituency area regardless of where they live.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated from the bus route development fund to each local authority in each of the last five years, also expressed on a per capita basis.
Answer
<>The Bus Route Development Fund specific grant was rolled up and included in the general revenue grant funding from 1 April 2008 and, as a result, there are no allocations for individual local authorities. From that date it has been the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the total financial resources availableto them on the basis of local needs and priorities, including any funding for bus route development, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many and what percentage of bus routes are subsidised in each local authority.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of routes subsidised. The Scottish Transport statistics do provide information on the levels of government spend on bus services. Table 2.9 gives figures for central and local government support for bus services between 2004-05 and 2014-15. Table 10.3 gives information on the net revenue expenditure on roads and transport by council and type. Table 10.5 provides the gross capital account expenditure on local authority roads and transport by council.
Public Transport support and other bus expenditure across local authority can be found in the Provisional Outturn & Budget Estimates 2014-15 Workbook
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what nationalities of fishing vessels are entitled to fish in Scottish territorial seas.
Answer
12 non-Scottish nations fish in the seas around Scotland: Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Faroe, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Of these, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands also have limited access for particular stocks in specific areas of UK territorial waters under Scottish jurisdiction between 6 and 12 nautical miles from the base line.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what international fisheries agreements Scotland is party to both in its own right and via the UK or EU; who the signatories are to each; how many vessels registered in Scotland receive quota allocations as a result, and what the economic benefit to Scotland is.
Answer
Scotland is an integral part of the UK delegation at those international negotiations from which the Scottish quota derives. These include the annual EU December Fisheries Council (at which the UK negotiates with other EU member states in its own right), and the pure coastal states negotiations and bilateral coastal states negotiations with Norway and with the Faroe Islands (at which the UK negotiates as part of the EU delegation).
The EU December Fisheries Council gives rise to the annual fishing opportunities regulation which is binding on all EU member states with fishing interests, including the UK. The pure coastal states agreements are signed by various combinations of the EU, Norway, Faroe, Iceland and the Russian Federation, depending on the stock in question. The bilateral coastal states agreements between the EU and Norway and the EU and Faroe Islands are signed by those parties respectively.
There were 1,957 active licences under Scottish administration on 1 January 2016. All licence holders are eligible to receive a quota allocation through membership of a producer organisation or through the nationally managed non-sector pools.
The provisional total value of all landed species to Scotland in 2015 was 拢437 million, of which quota species comprised 拢364 million.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many countries have an interest in the coastal states fisheries negotiations; what stocks are involved; what vessels registered in Scotland are involved, and what the estimated commercial value is of each quota.
Answer
Five parties have a direct interest in coastal states negotiations: the EU group (comprising 28 member states), Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland and the Russian Federation. In addition, other fishing parties such as Greenland regularly attend as observers.
The pure coastal states negotiations agree the management of the main pelagic stocks including mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring. The bilateral coastal states negotiations with Norway and with the Faroe Islands agree the management of a significant number of key demersal stocks including cod, haddock, whiting and saithe.
For the pure coastal states negotiations, there are currently 22 active Scottish administered pelagic vessels that are affected. For the bilateral coastal states negotiations, the remaining 1,935 vessels in the Scottish administered fleet are affected in one way or another.
The provisional total value of all landed pelagic quota species in 2015 was 拢160 million of which mackerel comprised 拢131 million. The provisional total value of all landed demersal and shellfish quota species in 2015 was 拢204 million.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance is available for households that were affected by flooding prior to Storm Desmond.
Answer
The unprecedented scale of flooding, both in terms of scale of flooding situation and wide geographic coverage, required substantive and immediate action to support those communities affected. As such, in January 2016 the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government would provide funding to local authorities to allow them to pay out grants of 拢1,500 to people whose properties were flooded at any point from July 2015 to 31 March 2016. The support package provided in January 2016 was a response to these exceptional events and it is not anticipated that it would be an automatic response to any future flooding events.
The Scottish Government appreciates the devastating impact that flooding can have and is working to reduce flood risk across the whole of Scotland through the implementation of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, and the continued funding of flood protection schemes. To support those affected by flooding the Scottish Government provides financial support to the Scottish Flood Forum and Flood Re, which was launched on 1 April 2016, should enable homeowners to find affordable flood insurance.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 July 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage stakeholders to work better together to mitigate flood risk and protect communities and the environment on the River (a) Lossie, (b) Spey and (c) Findhorn.
Answer
The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 has facilitated an ambitious strategic approach to reducing flood risk across Scotland. This legislation provided, for the first time, clarity as to who the responsible authorities are for implementing actions to reduce flood risk. This has helped Scottish Environment Protection Agency to develop the 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies, published in December 2015, which, taken together, provide the first ever national plan for flood risk management in Scotland. The Strategies set out the causes and receptors of flooding and prioritised actions to reduce flood risk in the first six year planning cycle
The clarity provided by the legislation has helped responsible authorities to work in partnership with each other to support the development of the strategies and the associated local delivery plans and their engagement with wider partners, including local communities and businesses. In parallel with other local plan districts, the local delivery plan for Findhorn, Nairn and Speyside was published on 22 June 2016.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 30 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question SW5-00476 by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016, whether it will express each figure on a per capita basis ranked in descending order.
Answer
The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Decisions about National Lottery funding of grant applications and awards is a matter for lottery distributors, including the Big Lottery Fund Scotland.