Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-03566

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Electricians Working Group last met and what issues it discussed.

Question reference: S6W-03567

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Electricians Working Group is next scheduled to meet and what issues will be on the agenda.

Question reference: S6W-03568

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcomes were of its consultation on the regulation of electricians, and how it plans to take these conclusions forward.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on the regulation of electricians closed on 12 February 2021. All responses were analysed and a report was published on 23 March 2021. A link to the report can be found on the consultation web page at https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/a-consultation-on-the-regulation-of-electricians In addition, on the same web page can be viewed the submitted responses where consent had been given to publish the response. The Scottish Government is currently considering its response to the consultation and key stakeholders will be updated in due course.

Question reference: S6O-00169

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor and review the COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme.

Question reference: S6O-00081

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it has undertaken of island economies following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Question reference: S6W-01385

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that (a) ministers, (b) officials and (c) its agencies (i) are fully aware of and (ii) follow its guidance regarding three- and one-day COVID-19 testing prior to visiting island communities, and under what circumstances this guidance might not be required to be followed.

The Scottish Government encourages anyone planning to visit a Scottish Island to test for coronavirus prior to travel, this includes any Ministers, staff or agency employees who are traveling to the islands. Scottish Government staff are not routinely travelling for work purposes and continue to work from home wherever possible.

Pre-departure testing for travel to the Scottish Islands is a voluntary scheme, however, everyone is encouraged to participate in order to reduce the risk of inadvertently carrying coronavirus into one of the island communities. Information on travel, including to the Scottish islands, is set out in the COVID-19 Framework for Decision Making – Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis, which is available at www.gov.scot/coronavirus .

Question reference: S6W-01896

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what changes it has made in its revised short-term let licensing order in relation to tourist (a) bed and breakfast accommodation and (b) self-catering units.

Short-term lets can offer people a flexible and cheaper travel option, and have contributed positively to Scotland’s tourism industry and local economies across the country. However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of lets can cause problems for neighbours and make it harder for people to find homes to live in. The Scottish Government considers regulation of short term lets to be vital in balancing the needs and concerns of residents and communities that have been raised with us, alongside wider economic and tourism interests.

The revised draft Licensing Order was published for consultation on 25 June 2021. Table 1 in the consultation paper sets out details of the changes that have been made to the Licensing Order.

Question reference: S6W-01895

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many guest houses it estimates there are in Scotland, and how many are licensed under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Question reference: S6W-00554

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has received in Barnett consequentials since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic from UK Government measures that have been introduced to support larger self-catering units, and how much of this funding it has allocated to similar measures in Scotland.

There is no specific allocation within consequentials arising from support for large self-catering though we have ensured that they have received financial support via the Strategic Framework Business Fund, and Business Restart Grants as well as a tailored package of support to help mitigate against the impact of the single household restrictions via the large self-catering and exclusive use support funds. This is in addition to the 100% Business Rates Relief that we have provided for all businesses in the Hospitality, Retail and Leisure Sectors for both the 20/21 and 21/22 Financial Years. We also ensured businesses not on the NDR roll were eligible for equivalent Strategic Framework Business Fund support via the small accommodation providers council tax fund (SAP-CT).

Question reference: S6W-00557

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the COVID-19 household meeting restrictions have had on the self-catering sector, and what engagement it has carried out with the sector regarding this.

We understand that a proportion of self-catering businesses, which are larger (7+) and rely on multiple households sharing continue to face challenges in trading due to household restrictions. We worked closely with the sector in order to produce tailored grant support for large self-catering businesses and exclusive use properties as well as targeted support for businesses who pay council tax via the small accommodation providers council tax fund. We have engaged regularly with the sector throughout the pandemic to understand operating conditions and to develop support to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions. We have regular dialogue with the STA, the ASSC and STERG and will continue to review areas that may need further support on an ongoing basis as we progress through the levels framework, in particular to those sectors which are subject to greater constraint.

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