Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-19528

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any complaints or issues raised with the Scottish Government regarding Morrison Construction in relation to government contracts.

Scottish Government are aware of an ongoing complaint in relation to works being carried out by Morrison Construction at the site of the new Women's National Facility, near Stirling.

Residents living adjacent to the site have made claims alleging vibration damage to their properties resulting from the works. Scottish Prison Service are liaising with residents, local Councillors and the local MSP to investigate and resolve this issue. A structural report has been carried out and an offer to conduct a further independent report has not as yet been taken up by the residents.

At this point, there is no link shown that the works being carried out at this facility are the cause of any damage to neighbouring properties. Scottish Prison Service will remain in dialogue with the residents, local Councillor and local MSP to resolve this matter.

Morrison Construction is a reputable contractor who have approached previous works carried out for the public sector in a responsible manner and address complaints promptly. Other than the above, Scottish Government are not aware of any other complaints or issues of note in relation to Morrison Construction.

Question reference: S6W-18694

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling were eligible for (i) 100% rates relief and (ii) all other levels of rates relief, through the Small Business Bonus Scheme, in (A) 2021, (B) 2022 and (C) 2023.

Tables 1 and 2 present the number of properties receiving SBBS as at 1 June 2021 and 1 July 2022, in Clackmannanshire and Stirling council areas. These figures are based on the billing data provided by councils to the Scottish Government as at those dates.

Equivalent figures for 2023 are not currently available. These are expected to be published in late 2023.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of properties eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme, as we are unable to reliably identify business chains.

Table 1: Properties receiving SBBS relief in Clackmannanshire.

Year	100% SBBS	Other SBBS awards
2021	790	50
2022	800	50

Source: Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2022 tables 8b and 8c. In 2021 and 2022, ‘Other SBBS awards’ are usually, but not always, 25%.

Table 2: Properties receiving SBBS relief in Stirling.

Year	100% SBBS	Other SBBS awards
2021	2,940	170
2022	2,940	170

Source: Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2022 tables 8b and 8c. In 2021 and 2022, ‘Other SBBS awards’ are usually, but not always, 25%.

Properties which were in receipt of SBBS relief on 31 March 2023, and saw an increase in their net rates liability from the 1 April 2023, may be eligible for the Small Business Transitional Relief. This relief caps the maximum increase in the net rates liability relative to 31 March 2023 at £600 in 2023-24.

Question reference: S5W-35797

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the average award granted by the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Hardship Fund has been.

Question reference: S5W-35798

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons that applications to the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Hardship Fund have been rejected.

Data for the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) was compiled by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of all three enterprise agencies. Scottish Enterprise has provided a breakdown of the percentage of applications rejected and the reason for rejection:

54% were rejected because the applicant business had a positive cashflow balance after 6 months. The appraisal on grant award value required the business to demonstrate, through their own supplied cashflow projection, what they thought their cashflow would be over a 6 month period. The grant was designed to support immediate hardship amongst eligible businesses, however where they demonstrated they had sufficient cash reserves no award could be made.
26% of applicants were rejected as they were not within one of the qualifying SIC codes.
13% of applicants were rejected because they did not have a business bank account. A business bank account was a minimum eligibility requirement for all applicants.
7% were rejected for ‘other reasons’ . This would include the business was found no longer to be trading, was insolvent, business was not based in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-35792

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made to the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Hardship Fund, also broken down by how many have (a) been approved, (b) been rejected and (c) yet to be processed.

The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF), was administered by the enterprise agencies in Scotland. Each enterprise agency administered funds in its respective area and performance data was compiled by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of all three agencies. This data was published on 4 August on the Scottish Government website. Coronavirus (COVID-19): hardship and resilience funds statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A table summarising the number of applications made, how many were approved, how many were rejected, and if there are any applications yet to be processed is set out below.

Applications received

Applications approved

Applications rejected

Applications still to be

processed

3412*

1908**

1504

0

*excluding duplicates, entries created but never submitted, withdrawn applications, etc.

**excluding failing the bank check, did not provide sufficient information, or failing on basic eligibility

The Scottish Government continues to support businesses during these challenging times. Our approach is tailored to Scotland’s economic needs by providing support, including the CTHEHF, which was unavailable elsewhere in the UK.

Question reference: S5O-05115

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding offering routine COVID-19 testing to police officers.

Question reference: S5O-05104

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to boost the tourism sector in the Clackmannanshire and Dunblane constituency.

Question reference: S5W-34835

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many families in the Clackmannanshire local authority area received a Baby Box since they were introduced.

Registration opened on 15 June 2017, and delivery of Baby Boxes nationwide began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.

We are unable to give the number of Baby Boxes delivered in the Clackmannanshire local authority area as we only record numbers of Baby Boxes distributed by Health Board area. We can provide the number of boxes delivered in Forth Valley Health Board.

The total number issued in Forth Valley up to 22 January 2021 is 8571 Baby Boxes.

The total breakdown is provided below:

2017(15 August – 31 December)	1132 Baby Boxes
2018	2525 Baby Boxes
2019	2449 Baby Boxes
2020	2311 Baby Boxes
2021(up to 22 January)	154 Baby Boxes

Question reference: S5W-34832

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of (i) households and (ii) business premises have had access to superfast broadband since 2016.

Ofcom has provided the following figures for numbers of properties in Scotland able to access superfast broadband - of 30 Megabits per second (30Mbps) and above - by year.

Unfortunately, the figures provided do not break down between residential and business properties, and, on a directly comparable basis, only go as far back as 2017:

Year	Properties with superfast coverage (30Mbps+)
2020	2,581,836
2019	2,573,289
2018	2,563,554
2017	2,276,309

However, Ofcom’s Connected Nations annual reports for 2019 and 2020 provide information on coverage percentages across residential and commercial properties in Scotland, as set out in the following table:

Year	Superfast coverage in residential properties (%)	Superfast coverage in commercial properties (%)
2020	94	83
2019	92	83

Prior to 2019, these reports outline coverage percentages by non-SME properties and SME properties:

Year	Superfast coverage in non-SME properties (%)	Superfast coverage in SME properties (%)
2018	92	86
2017	87	78
2016	83	72

More information can be found on Ofcom’s website at:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-2020 .

The Scottish Government, alongside our partners in the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme has played a key role in extending the reach of fibre broadband. Independent broadband analysis site, thinkbroadband (the same site the UK Government quotes in its own figures), states that 94.6% of premises across Scotland are now able to access superfast broadband speeds of 30Mbps and above – up from just 59.3% in 2014, when DSSB deployment began.

I am pleased to report that 10,655 premises in the constituency of Clackmannanshire and Dunblane now have access to fibre broadband, thanks to the DSSB roll-out, with over 10,398 of those being provided with access to superfast speeds at the UK definition of 24Mbps and above.

Question reference: S5W-34831

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses (a) are eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme and (b) have been exempt from paying non-domestic rates in the financial year 2020-21 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, in the Clackmannanshire local authority area.

Tell us your views

Chamber and committees