Chamber and committees

For Bands A-C (junior to middle management grades) the Scottish Government does not use external recruitment agencies to fill temporary or permanent posts where the worker is employed by SG directly. At senor civil service level recruitment agencies are sometimes used to identify potential candidates for such roles.

The table provides this information for temporary and permanent employed roles in the senior civil service from 2018 onwards broken down by recruitment agency.

There has been no discussion between the UK and Scottish Governments over the introduction of a digital sales tax in Scotland. The Scottish Government is closely monitoring the UK Government’s planned forthcoming consultation on the arguments for and against an online sales tax, as announced in its final report to their fundamental review of business rates published alongside the UK Budget on 27 October.

As set out in the draft Framework for Tax, which only recently closed for consultation on 26 October, the Scottish Government is committed to exploring the introduction of a digital sales tax in Scotland.

Exploring the introduction of a digital sales tax in Scotland will be progressed in line with the Scottish Government’s fiscal and tax policy making cycle and will monitor closely the UK Government’s planned forthcoming consultation on the arguments for and against an online sales tax, following the conclusion of their fundamental review of business rates this autumn.

The Scottish Government is working with retail businesses, trade unions, academia, public sector and trade organisations to develop a Retail Strategy that will enable the retail sector in Scotland to play its part in creating a fairer, greener and stronger Scotland. The Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth Building made a statement to Scottish Parliament on 26 October confirming that the Retail Strategy will be published later this year.

The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and decisions have still to be taken in relation to the prospective sale of the business.

We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.

The Clyde 2020 initiative has brought together both scientific research and practical measures to improve the marine ecosystem of the Clyde. It has achieved a range of outputs and outcomes since 2014, for example to improve the public and stakeholder understanding of current scientific evidence in the form of a Layman’s Guide, analysed scientific outputs from assessments and their impacts, and operated as a sub-group of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership to provide scientific advice and input to the process of developing a regional marine plan for the Clyde marine region.

Once the Clyde 2020 initiative’s remit is agreed then the appropriate level of financial and administrative support will be identified along with the associated timeframe for this support.

The UK Government is responsible for determining which airline or country is allowed to operate flights into the UK and there is no role for the Scottish Government in approving any flights.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government, in compliance with our obligations under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the UK and the EU.

It is for the airport’s management team to consider all potential business opportunities to maximise the use of the assets of the airport. Handling military flights has been a key part of Prestwick’s business for decades and remains an important and specialised part of its overall offering.